The Analysis of Wonder: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Nicolai Hartmann

185 Pages·2014·8.224 MB·English

by  Predrag Cicovacki

The Analysis of Wonder

The Analysis of Wonder

An Introduction to the Philosophy of
Nicolai Hartmann
Predrag Cicovacki
NEW YORK • LONDON • NEW DELHI • SYDNEY
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First published 2014
© Predrag Cicovacki, 2014
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cicovacki, Predrag.
The analysis of wonder : an introduction to the philosophy of
Nicolai Hartmann / Predrag Cicovacki.
pages cm
Summary: “A concise introduction into the philosophy of
Nicolai Hartmann (1882–1950), written in a way to stimulate further
study and development of his thought”– Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-6235-6790-3 (hardback)
1. Hartmann, Nicolai, 1882–1950. I. Title.
B3279.H24C53 2014
193–dc23
2013045333
eISBN: 978-1-6235-6100-0
Typeset by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India
For Heidi:
Keep Shining
“A man does not learn to understand anything unless he loves it.”
Goethe
Contents

Chronological Table ix
Introduction: Does Hartmann Matter? 1
Part I Being
I.1 Philosophical Method 9
I.2 Being as Being 17
I.3 Modifications of Being 23
I.4 Strata of Real Being 29
I.5 Categories of Real Being 35
I.6 Categories of Being and Categories of Cognition 41
I.7 Ontology of Cognition 47
I.8 Critique of Intellectualism 53
Part II Values
II.1 Nature of Values 65
II.2 Moral Values in General 75
II.3 Four Fundamental Moral Values 83
II.4 Four Forms of Love 89
II.5 Aesthetic Object and Aesthetic Act 95
II.6 Aesthetic Values 101
II.7 Truth in Art 105
II.8 Sublime 111
II.9 Critique of Moralism 117
Part III Personality
III.1 The Realm of Real Being and the Realm of Values 125
III.2 Personality as a Value 131
viii Contents
III.3 Pseudo, Spurious, and Genuine Personality 137
III.4 Fulfillment of Personality 145
Conclusion: Hartmann’s New Ways of Philosophy 153
Bibliography of Hartmann’s Works 163
Index 165
Chronological Table1

1882 Nicolai Hartmann was born on February 20, in Riga, son of
Carl August Hartmann and his wife Helene, who were Baltic
Germans. Nicolai was one of their four children.
1897 Attends a German-speaking gymnasium in Saint Petersburg.
1902–03 Studies Medicine in Dorpat.
1903–05 Studies philosophy and classical languages in Saint Petersburg.
1905–07 Continuation of studies in Marburg.
1907 Defends PhD thesis: “Über das Seinsproblem in der griechischen
Philosophie vor Plato” [On the Problem of Being in Greek
Philosophy before Plato].
1907–08 Returns to Saint Petersburg to teach Greek and Latin in a
gymnasium.
1909 Defends the Habilitation: “Des Proklus Diadochus
philosophische Anfangsgründe der Mathematik” [The
Philosophical Foundations of Mathematics of Proclus
Diadochus].
Publication of Platos Logik des Seins [Plato’s Logic of Being].
1911 Marries Alice Stephanitz.
1912 Publication of Die philosophischen Grundfragen der Biologie
[The Fundamental Philosophical Questions of Biology].
Birth of daughter Dagmar.
1914–18 Service in German Military in World War I.
1919–25 University Professor of Philosophy in Marburg.
1 The chronological table is mostly based on Martin Morgenstern, Nicolai Hartmann
zur Einführung (Hamburg: Junius Verlag, 1997), 14–28 and 191–2. Also used are
Robert Heiss, “Nicolai Hartmann: A Personal Sketch,” Personalist 42:1961, 469–86;
Nicolai Hartmann und Heinz Heimsoeth im Briefwechsel, ed. Frida Hartmann and
Renate Heimsoeth (Bonn: Bouvier Verlag Herbert Grundmann, 1978); Hans-Georg
Gadamer, Philosophical Apprenticeships, trans. R. R. Sullivan (Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press, 1985); and Wolfgang Harich: Nicolai Hartmann—Leben, Werk, Wirkung, ed.
Martin Morgenstern (Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 2000).