Paul Janet is not one of the philosophers who are often quoted a lot. However, this adherent of spiritualism expressed many valuable ideas regarding the nature of the human mind. Most of the views and works of the French thinker were aimed at combating the traditions of materialism.
From the biography of Paul Janet
The future philosopher was born on April 30, 1823 in the capital of France. Paul Janet is considered a student of V. Cousin. The scientist received a solid education. After graduating from school, he was trained at the Higher Normal School in Paris. After that, Janet taught philosophy at the Sorbonne.
In 1864, Janet became a member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences. The scientist and teacher created many works in the field of philosophy. Here are just a few of the works he wrote:
- "The history of political science in its relations with morality";
- "The experience of the dialectic of Plato and Hegel";
- "Morality";
- "Final reasons";
- “Victor Cousin and his work”;
- "Principles of metaphysics and psychology";
- "Fundamentals of Philosophy";
- “History of philosophy. Problems and schools. ”
The philosopher worked hard to create his own philosophical system. It reflected the traditions of Aristotle and Descartes, Leibniz and Kant, Cousin and Jouffroy. Janet assimilated the views of his predecessors and often attracted their works to substantiate certain aspects of his philosophical concept. However, the views of representatives of spiritualism were crucial in the formation of the scientific views of the French philosopher. This direction was developed in the first half of the XIX century.
The views of Paul Janet
Janet is known for his irreconcilable attitude towards materialism. He struggled with this direction of philosophical thought throughout his scientific career. Paul Janet's system aims to find the foundations of metaphysics. His position is characterized by a desire for evidence, generalizations, and broad scientific synthesis. According to Janet, philosophy should turn into a “science of sciences”, which, however, may be limited to facts known in a particular era. Therefore, any scientific system will be far from complete.
Janet not only acknowledged the existence of progress, but also insisted on this statement. He sought to consider philosophy in the context of the history of society. The general pathos of the system of the French philosopher consisted in summarizing the knowledge accumulated by mankind, using methods free of contradictions for this.
Janet believed that philosophy is the same science as many other disciplines. He saw the significance of the questions raised by philosophy in the very nature of such problems. Philosophy is useful because it leads a person to self-knowledge and comprehension of the truth, accustoms the mind to the analysis of abstract questions.
Janet considered the private sciences to be the likeness of a product of living human thought. And philosophy, he assigned the place of science about the fundamental laws of the universe.
Janet pointed to the duality of the object of philosophy, separately considering man and God. This led to the division of philosophy into two sections. The first is the philosophy of the human mind. The second is the “first” philosophy. Jane considered God the embodiment of the highest principle of being, the limit and the last word of science. Without the idea of God, man remains an incomplete being.
The two main parts of philosophy are inextricably linked with one another. They are a single science. In philosophical studies, the scientist must move from the lesser known to the more famous. In this way the spirit of modern science is manifested.
As the starting point of his philosophical doctrine, Janet chose the doctrine of the mind. What was he guided by this? The fact that one’s own mind is better known to man than the general causes and principles of being.
Janet divided the philosophy of the human mind into several branches of knowledge. These sections are:
- logics;
- psychology;
- morality;
- aesthetics.
Psychology occupies a special place in this category. It is intended to help in the study of "empirical laws." The remaining sections of the science of the mind reflect the ideal goals to which the human mind should be directed.
