314 - In Search Of Philosophic Understanding

In Search Of Philosophic Understanding
By Edwin A. Burtt
329 pp. New York, The New American Library, 1965. $5.75.

In this book by a distinguished professor emeritus of philosophy at Cornell, the reader is offered not a philosophical "system" but a "guide" in the search for philosophic understanding. Professor Burtt points out that, while Greek and medieval philosophy was primarily a theory of being and modern philosophy has been mainly a quest for the right

315 - In Search Of Philosophic Understanding

method of attaining knowledge, many philosophers have also sought to deepen man's understanding of himself and his world by criticizing accepted presuppositions and replacing them by others more adequate to his broadening experience. It is this latter function above all which philosophers should perform in our time of rapid change and crisis.

Starting from common sense, Western philosophers have sought to correct its errors by three main methods: intuitionism, rationalism, and empiricism. Since intuitionism and rationalism can provide no principle by which to resolve the conflicts between different intuitions and systems of explanation, Burtt accepts the method of empiricism which holds that knowledge consists of verified hypotheses whose truth is not absolute. However, the empiricist requires criteria to determine what is and what is not a fact, and these criteria are derived from the presuppositions of the person who observes the facts. Hence, it is a major part of the task of the philosopher to explore the basic presuppositions concerning reality and value which underlie different philosophies. In performing this task, he must take account of the emotional forces and interests which affect the presuppositions of a philosopher. For the adoption and defense of a philosophy are influenced by certain motives, for example, the impatient demand of logical positivists for prompt and definite solutions of all problems affects their restriction of meaning to tautologies and empirically verifiable statements. Although psychoanalysis has made us aware that the interests and motives behind our presuppositions are often unconscious, Burtt believes that we do not need to be permanently imprisoned by our presuppositions. A philosopher can in a measure transcend his biases by placing himself in the position of others, seeing how reality looks from their perspective, and seeking to arrive at agreement with them. He need not deny the influence of motives and interests on his thinking but can become aware of motives such as fear of novelty or longing for security which hamper his quest for truth and can develop motives such as the desire to discover hidden facts which will support that quest. This makes possible a "continuing revolution in our philosophical presuppositions" through an "expanding awareness" of reality.

Professor Burtt himself exemplifies this conception of philosophy by his openness to insights and values in very diverse philosophical positions of the present time, especially linguistic analysis, existentialism, and Marxism. At the same time, he points out the limitations and errors in each of these positions. For example, he acknowledges the constructive achievements of the analysis of "ordinary language," but his criticism of its weaknesses and limitations is one of the most penetrating and comprehensive that have appeared. Again, he recognizes the importance of the insights of Heidegger into the meaning of death and of Sartre into the

316 - In Search Of Philosophic Understanding

reality of freedom, but he also sees the limitations of the "secular tragic hero."

In his description of Jesus as the "religious tragic hero," the Christian character of his own philosophy becomes apparent. "He [Jesus] must be the incarnation in human form of the infinite spirit of God, who has chosen to share the limitation and sufferings of men in order to awaken in them a responsive union with his boundless love." And love is not only a redeeming power which awakens love in others and creates good in the midst of evil; it is also a necessary condition of the knowledge of other persons by freeing one from self-centeredness and making it possible for him to respond positively to others. However, Burtt is critical of Christian theologians who make exclusive claims for the truth of the Christian faith. Saints of other religions such as Gandhi have also attained union with the divine and shown the fruits of the spirit, and Christians who deny this are guilty of "a self-righteous assumption of spiritual preeminence, which fosters divisiveness and conflict instead of unity in love and mutual understanding." In contrast, he looks forward to "an era when the earnest adherents of every religion will freely learn from each other's experience and when the resources of all faiths will be brought together in a single perspective" and "a single conceptual framework," although he does not desire a synthesis of all religions in which the distinctive insights of each would be lost.

In the same spirit, Burtt advocates a synthesis of the true insights of all philosophies after an elimination of the errors and limitations of each of them. The philosopher should leave to scientists, theologians, and others the task of developing the implications of presuppositions prevalent at a given time and should concentrate his effort upon the improvement of these presuppositions in the light of changing experience. "He identifies in mind and heart with the total evolutionary process that goes on in the history of thought, not with any particular framework of ideas now and then deposited by its ceaseless flow." This need not prevent him from committing himself to a presupposition, but he should take it not as an "absolute dogma" but as a "relative guide" for the present time.

An excellent example of Burtt's way of performing the philosophical task is his attempt to reconcile the insights of Eastern and Western philosophy with respect to two major issues: the power and limitations of reason and the nature of freedom. Whereas Western philosophers have trusted reason for the attainment of truth, Eastern thinkers have been convinced that the highest truth is attainable only in an intuitive realization which transcends reason. Whereas Western philosophers have conceived freedom primarily as the absence of external constraint and have regarded knowledge of nature and social change as the best means of making it

317 - In Search Of Philosophic Understanding

effective, Eastern philosophers have been primarily concerned with inner freedom from the passions, impulses, and illusions of the self and have sought to realize it by meditation and other spiritual disciplines. On both issues, the insights of West and East are complementary rather than contradictory and a synthesis of them is not only possible but necessary. Similarly, the conflicting ideologies of democracy and communism are complementary and can be reconciled. For the reverence of Western democracy for the individual person must be maintained against communist totalitarianism, but the communist ideal of "a community united in spirit and feeling" and requiring commitment by the individual to the good of all is also valid.

By synthesizing different religions, philosophies, and ideologies in this manner, Burtt believes that philosophy can and should contribute to the coming of the world community which is necessary if mankind is to escape destruction and to realize the possibilities now open to him. It is a noble and inspiring vision. It is also a vision which is badly needed if the ancient conception of philosophy as a search for wisdom and a guide of life is to be recovered in our time. Because of the author's breadth of interest and sensitivity to values, his book will be welcomed by all who have not lost faith in reason when it is motivated by love in its quest for truth. Perhaps his tendency to emphasize the complementary character of apparently opposed positions sometimes leads him to exaggerate the possibility of reconciling them; and his desire to avoid absolute commitment to any presupposition may at times cause him to stress too much the tentative and relative character of philosophical conclusions. But while the desire for synthesis and universal agreement must not be allowed to compromise the strict demands of truth, we desperately need philosophers Re Professor Burtt who have the magnanimity of mind to open themselves to truth from every quarter and who see that philosophy becomes a mere esoteric game when it is not wedded to love for all mankind.

George F. Thomas
Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey