The existing variety of modern philosophical doctrines once again confirms that the greater the diversity of human characters, types and forms of activity, the more interesting and less similar philosophical directions that arise. The views of the philosopher directly depend on what he does in worldly life. Pluralism in philosophy is one of the directions that arose due to the diversity of forms of human activity.
The difference between philosophers
The oldest and most fundamental division of philosophers is into materialists and idealists. Materialists view their objects of observation through the “prism” of nature. The main objects of observation of idealists are the highest forms of human spiritual, social life. There are two types of idealism: objective - the basis is the observation of the religious life of society; and subjective - the basis is the spiritual life of an individual. Materialists go from the world to the human mind, and idealists go from man to the world.
If materialists try to explain the higher through the lower, then idealists go from the opposite and explain the lower through the higher.
Since pluralism in philosophy is a vision by scientists of a world in which the diversity of initials is opposite to each other, it is important to be able to recognize other types of worldviews of other groups of philosophers. This is necessary in order to better understand the differences between them. There is another division of philosophers - into irrationalists, rationalists and empiricists.
The term “rationalism” is translated from French as rationalisme, this word comes from the Latin rationalis, which, in turn, is from the Latin ratio. ratio means intelligence. It follows from this that the concept of rationalism preaches the idea of the importance of reason in everyday life. And irrationalism, on the contrary, rejects the high significance of reason in human life.
Rationalists personify order. They are ready to interpret all unknown and unidentified purely with the help of knowledge.
Irrationalists love a chaotic view of life, tend to allow anything, even the most incredible. Such people love paradoxes, riddles and mysticism. The scope of the unknown and ignorance is for them a fundamental idea of life.
Empiricism is an exaggeration, the absolutization of human experience and the ultimate way of thinking. This is an intermediate concept, a bridge between rationalism and irrationalism.
Pluralism in Philosophy
Unfortunately, in philosophy it is not always possible to find answers, because this science also tends to encounter all kinds of contradictions. One of the most difficult questions to which it is difficult for philosophy to give a definite answer is: “How many deep foundations of the world exist?” One or two, or maybe more? In the process of finding the answer to this eternal question, three types of philosophy were formed: monism, dualism, pluralism.
Pluralism in philosophy is a philosophy of recognizing the existence in the world of a large number of interacting principles and factors. The word "pluralism" (from lat. Pluralis - plural) is used to describe areas of spiritual life. Pluralism can be found in everyday life. For example, in one state, the existence of different political views and parties is allowed. The existence of simultaneously mutually exclusive views is also allowed by pluralism. This is what pluralism is. The definition of pluralism is extremely simple, the existence of several ideas, principles and factors is natural for a person and is not something out of the ordinary.
Pluralism in the life of a layman
If you look back, pluralism can be found in simple everyday life. What can I say, he is everywhere. For example, pluralism in the understanding of the state is already familiar to everyone. In almost every country, there is a parliament in which one to several parties can be present. They have different tasks, and governance and reform schemes can radically differ from each other. Such a diversity of political forces and their competition is absolutely legal, and a clash of interests, discussions between supporters of different parties are not unusual. The fact of the existence of different forces in parliament is called a multiparty system. This is pluralism in the understanding of the state.
Dualism
Dualism is a philosophical worldview that sees in the world the manifestation of two opposing principles, the struggle between which creates what we observe around, and it also creates reality. This conflicting beginning has many incarnations: Good and Evil, Yin and Yang, Night and Day, Alpha and Omega, Male and Female, the Lord and the Devil, White and Black, Spirit and Matter, Light and Darkness, Matter and Antimatter, etc. e. Many philosophers and philosophical schools have taken as their basis the worldview of dualism. According to Descartes and Spinoza, dualism has an important place in life. Even with Plato and Hegel, in Marxism (“Labor”, “Capital”) one can meet such a worldview of two opposites. Thus, the concept of pluralism differs slightly from dualism due to obvious differences.
Pluralism in culture
In addition to politics, pluralism can affect many other areas of human life, such as culture. Cultural pluralism allows for the existence of various social institutions and spiritual disciplines. For example, Christianity is divided into Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. This inconstancy of the church confirms the presence of pluralism in the cultural sphere of man. Pluralism assumes that various groups of the population have the right to realize themselves and their cultural needs. As a rule, an individual can freely express himself and defend his value orientations with respect to phenomena significant for him. Ideological pluralism legally confirms that the state recognizes ideological diversity, and there is no single ideology.
Monism
The basis of this worldview is the idea of the existence of only one beginning. Monism can be materialistic or idealistic. In the narrow sense, pluralism in philosophy is a philosophical concept, the opposite of monism, in which there are many equivalent independent entities that are absolutely not reducible to a certain beginning, one can say, directly opposite to each other, radically different. In the first form, he considers only matter, and in the second unified basis he affirms the idea, feeling, spirit. Monism, on the other hand, is a doctrine of unity, which drastically alienates it from such a concept as “philosophical pluralism”.
Practical philosophy
Practical philosophy pursues good intentions, through thought and communication, prompting people to the right actions and deeds and turning them away from erroneous, negatively colored, wrong actions. In simple words, practical philosophy is capable of using the power of thought to influence the minds of people directly in the process of simple communication.
Features of Pluralism
Interestingly, the term “pluralism” was introduced by H. Wolf in 1712. In the history of philosophy it is not so often possible to meet consistent pluralism, such as, for example, consistent monism. Pluralism in the public sphere is very common, as has already been mentioned many times. Ideological pluralism contributes to the recognition and consolidation of the law, in particular the constitution, the diversity of ideological teachings, of course, if they do not call for violence, do not incite national or other discord. A pronounced state structure confirms the principle of pluralism with its mere existence. Many attribute this spread of worldview to the fact that there are a great many people, like their opinions, and all of them are quite diverse due to cultural, value, and historical differences.
Dogmatists and skeptics
Philosophers are also divided into dogmatists and skeptics. Dogmatic philosophers are good in that they can both develop their ideas and express others, not their thoughts. They uphold and argue about them, as a rule, in the spirit of positive, affirmative, constructive philosophizing. But skeptical philosophers are the exact opposite of dogmatic philosophers. Their philosophy is critical, destructive. They do not generate ideas, but only criticize strangers. Dogmatic philosophers are philosophers, inventors or expositors. Skeptical philosophers are scavengers, cleaners, you will not give them another definition.
Subjectivists, Objectivists, Methodologists
Subjectivists, objectivists, and methodologists deserve special attention. Objectivist philosophers mainly focus on the problems and imperfections of the world and society. Such philosophers include materialists, ontologists, natural philosophers. Subjectivist philosophers are more narrowly focused and focus on the problems of society, society and man in particular. Most philosophers, philosophers of life, existentialists, postmodernists are directly related to such philosophers. Methodological philosophers conceptualize the benefits of the form of the results of human activity. All that he invents, leaves behind and will be left by man, is a field of activity and the basis of discussions of philosophers and methodologists. These include neopositivists, pragmatists, positivists, as well as representatives of linguistic philosophy, philosophy of science.
Classic pluralism
Empedocles is considered a classic pluralist who recognizes two independent principles. In his teachings, the world is clearly marked and formed by four elements - water, earth, air and fire. They are eternal and unchanging, and therefore do not affect each other, and transitions into each other are unusual for them. This theory explains that in the world everything happens through the mixing of the four elements. Basically, philosophical pluralism is the usual disadvantage of a theory, and it is resorted to only if it cannot be explained in the usual logical way.
Pluralism in society
Oddly enough, but pluralism is necessary for society, like air for a person. In order for society to be in a normal state and functioning correctly, it is necessary to have several groups of people in it with completely different views, ideological principles and religion. Equally important is the fact that the possibility of free criticism of dissidents is no less necessary - as they say, truth is born in a dispute. This existence of various groups contributes to the development of progress, philosophy, science and other disciplines throughout the world.
There is another small group of philosophers who are difficult to attribute to any particular direction. They are also called pure philosophers or taxonomists, creators of comprehensive philosophical systems. They are omnivores in the good sense of the word. They have rather well-balanced sympathies-antipathies, and their views and interests are directed in different directions. Among all this motley company, it is they who deserve the title of philosophers - people striving for wisdom, knowledge. To know life, to feel it as it is, and not to miss a moment is their main goal. Neither pluralism nor monism is an axiom for them. They do not want to refute, but to understand everything and everything. They are the so-called philosophical chivalry.
