As the world thrust forward with the advent of modernism and civilization in the late 9th century and early 20th century, so did the human thought. Several thinkers and theorists put fourth their minds questioning the way things were done by the elite and therefore wanted a change in how governments, scientists and people in general reasoned out issues that affected man at the time (Askay & Farquhar 66). Some of these philosophers include Karl Marx, Darwin, Sigmund Freud, Nietzsche and even Dostoevsky. Most of these philosophers went against what was culturally considered the norm and argued against some of the principles that were held by society.
On his part, Nietzsche was not comfortable with conventional opinions that existed during his time. He lacked faith in social reform and hated the parliamentary form of government and human suffrage. In the same breadth, he condemned Christian morality. These are some of the things that mock liberalism that had been embraced by society (Deleuze 3). His was an argument that society was not supposed to be governed by rational principles that were manmade. This he termed as injustice, cruelty and absurdity. These were some of the issues that he sought to fight against because in his eyes, they were meant to benefit the nobility and make many people suffer in the hands of a few people.
Sigmund Freud on the other hand acknowledged science the sure way to knowledge. Due to his expertise in the medical field, he acknowledged the fact that disorder kind of thinking was as a result of fears experienced in childhood. He therefore upheld the notion that the environment and the cultural background of a person contributed greatly to the way a person reasoned or did things. Freud also acknowledged the fact that man’s actions were in no way rational but rather scientific.
One other philosopher whose thinking and reasoning was influenced by the happenings of his time is Karl Marx. According to him, people thought that they were thinking freely whereas everything happened as it did because of the influence of the ruling class. At the time, the nobles had a say in almost everything such that their ideas run the society (Plamenatz 18). This kept Marx thinking and urged the people to start thinking freely.
It is evident that it is the way people lived that made these philosophers thinks outside the box in trying to analyze the reason for some of the happenings during those times. Society changes as time goes by and all of these philosophers realized some questionable trends which they sought to question and offer solutions. Their major problem was that of fighting the fundamental problems that faced the 19th and 20th centuries. These philosophers sought to address the moral decadence in society thereby wanting to liberate European intellectuals from their mental bondage (Plamenatz 46).
It is therefore clear that their interests were geared towards the questioning the ways of society. Through that they intended to enlighten people and show them how wrong some of their practices were. Just like Fyodor Dostoevsky who sought to fight the way in which society had been fashioned by abstract principles which defined human happiness as put forth by rationalists, positivists and humanists. Their main concern was that of changing the way the general society viewed life and gave the said society a different angle of looking at things (Weinert 13).
Works Cited
Askay, Richard & Farquhar, Jensen. Of Philosophers and Madmen: A Disclosure of Martin Heidegger, Medard Boss and Sigmund Freud. New York: Rodopi. 2011.
Deleuze, Gilles. Nietzsche and Philosophy. London: Continuum. (2005).
Plamenatz, John. Karl Marx’s Philosophy of Man. Carlifonia: University of Carlifonia. 1975.
Weinert, Friedel. Copernicus, Darwin and Freud: Revolutions in the History and Philosophy of Science. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 2009.
