Lev Shestov | "The Theory of Knowledge" | Existentialist Philosophy & Literature

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10 жыл бұрын

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In this video, I discuss the Existentialist philosopher Lev Shestov's short essay, "The Theory of Knowledge". In it, Shestov discusses the nature of truth and how post-Kantian Critical Philosophy, and the History of Philosophy have missed the sorts of truth that philosophers genuinely engaged in the practice of Philosophy -- an activity rather than a method or a discipline -- have encountered and attempted to convey.
In his view, the Theory of Knowledge really functions as an apologetics for science, which indicates a kind of uneasiness or insecurity even about what is helps to be most reliable and certain. Truth in the full sense is not what the sciences can provide, nor is it found by universal assent of all rational beings, nor by application of disciplinary methods
Shestov attacks logic and necessity, and espouses a metaphysical pluralism, in which it is possible for a number of great philosophers and philosophies to attain ultimate truths while still disagreeing with each other. He also distinguishes between philosophies, teachings or interpretations about those philosophies, and deductions from those philosophies.
#Shestov #Philosophy #Existentialism #Criticism #Freedom #Creativity #Rationality #Metaphysics #Groundlessness #Skepticism

Пікірлер: 37

@dmitryandreyev8579 10 жыл бұрын

The humility with which you deliver these lectures lends credibility to Philosophy as such.

@GregoryBSadler 10 жыл бұрын

Thanks! What you're referring to is what Aristotelians call the function of "ethos" (though Aristotle was not all that big on humility himself!

@dmitryandreyev8579 10 жыл бұрын

I love that point about a Truth having value only if it has value for oneself irrespective of outside opinion. reminds me of Rilke.

@GregoryBSadler 10 жыл бұрын

Yes, those two have quite a bit in common. . . .

@Elwood_McCable 6 жыл бұрын

R. Maria Rilke, L. Shestov, F. Nietzsche, H. Miller, E.A. Poe. These men can be recalled within our history as the greatest prophets of the self and all were able to show, in their way, the subjectivity of truth, the relativity of morality and the inability of society or collective to singularly define reality.

@dmitryandreyev8579 10 жыл бұрын

There is just so much good stuff here. The part about "proof" slams the nail on the head. I usually have to justify myself by making analogy to IKEA furniture. You could buy furniture that comes with an instruction manual that teaches you how to assemble it, but from time to time you won't find such a manual; you just have to assemble it by yourself. Similarly, certain experiences have other, "auxiliary" experiences which corroborate them, but others do not. They are still experiences, and theories are in a sense experiences as well (except of inner phenomena rather than outer phenomena). Dmitry.

@GregoryBSadler 10 жыл бұрын

Yes -- that in turn reminds me of Pierce's understanding of signs and what he called "interpretants" -- which turn out to be other signs that help one determine what the original sign actually means, i.e. to interpret it.

@GregoryBSadler 10 жыл бұрын

new video in the Existentialism series. Last on Shestov for a while -- back to Heidegger for a bit

@kirinofag 9 жыл бұрын

I never really had any exposure to Shestov before these videos. Thank you for making them! I'm convinced I have to read Shestov some time in the near future. I honestly think this KZfaq channel is one of the better philosophy resources I can find on the web. Definitely one of the major reasons I'm motivated to actually pick up and read serious philosophical texts. Thank you for all of your hard work.

@GregoryBSadler 9 жыл бұрын

You're very welcome!

@dmitryandreyev8579 10 жыл бұрын

Agh! The distinction between philosopher and teacher just helped me to crack a personal riddle I was grappling with. The process of analysis in describing things to someone IS truly very different from Inquiry. What a relief; I couldn't figure out why I was obsessing over these different modes. Thank you.

@GregoryBSadler 10 жыл бұрын

You're welcome -- yes, that is something that has been distinguished by quite a few philosophers: the process of inquiry vs. the process of explanation (to another person)

@dmitryandreyev8579 9 жыл бұрын

Excellent to re-visit. Thanks you. Dm.

@dmitryandreyev8579 10 жыл бұрын

This has been one of your most enlightening videos for me.

@GregoryBSadler 10 жыл бұрын

Why is that?

@dmitryandreyev8579 10 жыл бұрын

The part about not needing to express a truth to others. It seems contrary to what Socrates was doing.

@dmitryandreyev8579 10 жыл бұрын

Yet I suppose that this does not necessarily mean that one ought not to express a Truth, eventually.

@justinscott8517 Жыл бұрын

You do present philosophers quite fairly, which is very refreshing.

@GregoryBSadler Жыл бұрын

Yes, that's part of my approach

@blankname5177 9 ай бұрын

19:21 Such a beautiful thing to say. This reminds me of Perpetua and her belief in the Christian faith, whom we discussed in my world history class. What a brilliant mind!

@monkmonk40 10 жыл бұрын

Great stuff. Thanks!

@GregoryBSadler 10 жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

@brandonwadlington4075 10 жыл бұрын

Excellent video Dr. Sadler. I enjoy your philosophy of.... well philosophy, and what it is and or requires. And from the sounds of it I agree with Shestov quite a bit, although I have yet to read him.

@GregoryBSadler 10 жыл бұрын

Well, about being yet to read him, you're in good company -- very few people have read him in recent years! Glad you enjoyed the video, and the philosophy behind it

@brandonwadlington4075 10 жыл бұрын

That's too bad! It's an error I'm hoping to remedy some day, there's just a lot of books I have to get to before Shestov.

@Ralf_Wilmes 10 жыл бұрын

Interesting vid. Thanks. Personal curiosity: you mention that Ayn Rand got Aristotle wrong. Would you briefly elaborate? I'm asking because she seems to champion him actually and I've dug deep into objectivism the last years (and took quite some distance of it lately). Thanks.

@GregoryBSadler 10 жыл бұрын

Not really worth elaborating on here. You're read a lot of Rand, so the thing to do would be to read Aristotle, and see whether he actually sounds like the guy she champions. I'd start with the Nicomachean Ethics

@Ralf_Wilmes 10 жыл бұрын

Ok I will, cause it interests me Gregory. Thanks.

@thescapegoatmechanism8704 7 жыл бұрын

Is the book you're holding a collection of Shestov's essays?

@GregoryBSadler 7 жыл бұрын

Yes, it contains the essay I'm discussing in the video, which is from the work Penultimate Words

@Tganamo 9 жыл бұрын

You rock. Thanks so much for you time! This is like i'm sitting right across from ya.

@GregoryBSadler 9 жыл бұрын

you're very welcome! Glad you enjoyed it

@dmitryandreyev8579 10 жыл бұрын

Is this technically Epistomology?

@GregoryBSadler 10 жыл бұрын

Depends on how you define the term, or the field. I think a lot of people working in Analytic philosophy would have a hard time seeing this as epistemology. Those working from the classical traditions of philosophy, not so much

@dmitryandreyev8579 10 жыл бұрын

"If you want to ruin a new idea, give it the widest possible publicity." This reminds me of all of those musicians in the Indie genre that grow to loathe their most popular songs for their popularity. Lorde might be the most recent example; she wrote an anti-pop song (as an anthem for social outsiders) that quickly became irrelevant by being overplayed amidst fairly terrible music.

@chris65536 9 жыл бұрын

There is actually a professor of philosophy at some college with whom I had an earlier conversation online who said something like: "We now know things that we did not before. Aristotle thought slavery was OK. We now know better." You know, we moderns know better than those ancients. While you will never get any argument out of me advocating slavery, this still just struck me as arrogant. Or, as you said, hubristic. If you google "aristotle slavery" you can find so many people who dismay over the fact that Aristotle was OK with slavery. It seems to really upset and confound them.

@GregoryBSadler 9 жыл бұрын

The joke's on them. Aristotle actually wasn't ok with slavery per se -- just in rather limited circumstances. A bit of a careful read of Politics book 1 would be all they'd need.