Introduction
As a thinking matter, man is becoming more and more aware of himself as an active factor of the social and natural environment surrounding him, of the whole being on the scale of the universe. This defines the idea of man as a conscious participant in world evolution. In the development of philosophy, man’s problem in the surrounding world has always been the leading one, and now it plays a decisive role in understanding the modern world. Holbach, James, and Sartre are fundamental philosophers in understanding the world.
Main body
Nature, according to Holbach, is nothing but a combination of various driving forces of matter. Against the Cartesian concept that God introduces motion, Holbach argues that motion is inherent in matter because nothing exists except moving matter. The concept of universality of movement is also connected with the understanding of determinism. Holbach proves that only causes and effects can be necessary. They can be used to explain any process and human behavior (Lebuffe and Gourdon 32). The difference between individual phenomena is natural, and every movement that arises is also subject to and controlled by constant laws. Since movement proceeds naturally and is universal, nature or the world as a whole is subject to universal laws, which manifest themselves through causal deviations with specific necessities.
The basis of Sartre’s philosophy is the problem of understanding human existence as a conscious, free activity. According to Sartre’s ideas, the subjectivity of an individual consciousness acquires significance for others, and it becomes a being for others when the existence of a person falls into the field of perception of another consciousness (Wilson 50). At the same time, the attitude toward the other is a struggle to recognize personal freedom on the part of another person.
The motives of William James’ philosophy, as he understood them, were mainly ethical. In other words, he sought to find a universe in which ideals could be concretely realized through human efforts, and he treated with irresistible disgust the Hegelian idea of an already perfect universe. For James, the absolute was the center of all evil and did not have the slightest attraction; it was empty, boring, and everywhere. In addition, at least in part, the absolute was a pile of garbage. Since it contained everything, there was a lot of useless nonsense. According to James, we call true those our ideas and theories that, guiding our actions, lead to the desired results (Misak 23). Everything that turns out to be good in the field of beliefs is called true, and besides, it is good due to certain visual reasons. For all its universality, the sensory experience itself cannot provide an answer to moral questions. The problems of the meaning of life, freedom, and moral values are insoluble with the help of theory, so they require a pragmatic choice.
Conclusion
By way of conclusion, ideas learned from experience become truths when they demonstrate their operational ability to simplify and save our efforts, and their practical consequences correspond to our expectations. Sartre designated the starting point of existentialism – subjectivity. He argued that subjectivity, comprehended as truth, is not strictly individual subjectivity; the individual comprehends through other people. In the theory of knowledge, Holbach proceeds from a materialistic solution to the basic question of philosophy. He believes that objects of knowledge can only be objects and phenomena of the real world.
Work Cited
Lebuffe, Michael, and Emilie Gourdon. “Holbach.” A Companion to Atheism and Philosophy (2019): 28-42.
Misak, Cheryl. “James and British Philosophy.” The Oxford Handbook of William James. 2018.
Wilson, Colin. Introduction to the New Existentialism: Freedom, Subjectivity and Society. Routledge, 2019.