Draft:Irrationalism

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This about a philosophy and should not be confused with irrationality, which is an act of defying rational behavior and/or thinking.
Thinking hardly
or hardly thinking?

Philosophy
Icon philosophy.svg
Major trains of thought
The good, the bad,
and the brain fart
Come to think of it

Irrationalism is a umbrella term that designates specific philosophical currents that explicitly reject rationality and human reason (Latin ratio), usually in favor of a "non-rational" worldview.[1] The use of the term "irrationalism" is bit contentious as philosophical category, since it can used as a reductive snarl word to disqualify anything as either unreasonable or unscientific.

The generally agreed definition of a irrationalist ideology is one that takes a stance in opposing rationalismWikipedia[note 1] and positivismWikipedia[note 2]. As such irrationalist thinkers propose that rationality and logic are erroneous in both theoretical and practical sense, and instead should be approached with other ways of knowing - such as intuition, will, and/or faith.[1]

As alluded prior, irrationalism is an umbrella term and there is no single definitive school of Irrationalism. But depending on the area in which theses of irrationalism are advocated, one can distinguish between epistemological and ontological (alternatively dubbed metaphysical) positions of irrationalism; with the former arguing for inadequacies of human cognitive capacity, and the latter arguing the irrational structure of reality itself, which make it impossible to comprehend the world by rationalist means.

History[edit]

Early stages[edit]

Historical precedent for “philosophical” irrationalism can be found in classical antiquity, with pre-Socratic philosophers such as Empedocles and Pythagoras, as well as poets like Pindar. Irrationalist elements in ancient Greek Philosophy can also be found in philosophies of Platonism (and Neoplatonism), (philosophical) skepticism and sophism.[1] The philosophical and religious tradition of Taoism is also - if somewhat contentiously - considered an early form of a irrationalist philosophy.

The irrationalist ideologies proper started to formalize in the late 18th century and early 19th century, as a counter-movements to rationalism (or rather classical rationalism) and positivism, that starting gaining prominence during the Age of Enlightenment.[1] These positions were mainly presented by the Sturm und Drang movement[note 3], along with the interconnected ideologies of Jena Romantics[note 4] and German idealists [note 5]. Of German Idealists, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling in particular tends to be identified as one of the definitive irrationalists the ideology has ever had. One of his earliest critics to accuse such was none other than Friedrich Engels, who stated that Schelling and his philosophy was the "first attempt to smuggle belief in authority, emotional mysticism, and gnostic fantasy into the free science of thought."

The mid-19th century brought a new wave of irrationalists, with Soren Kierkegaard and Arthur Schopenhauer regarded as the era's most impactful contributors. Around the same time, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution changed everything, and this too had an impact on irrationalist thinkers, who started to create systems either defying it or using it to justify their own irrationalism.

1890s[edit]

Then came Friedrich Nietzsche, who is considered the one who made "irrationalism cool". Although when his works were first published during the 1870s and 1880s, he did not achieve true fame during that time. Only in the 1890s - after he lost his mental faculties - did his work start getting attention. Indeed, the environment and cultural zeitgeist of 1890s made it ripe for irrationalism to enter mainstream as "vogue" philosophy. This was primarily due to the spirit of the Fin de siècle, during which the counter-culture rebelled against materialism, rationalism, positivism, bourgeois society, and liberal democracy. This counter-culture saw the civilization being in crisis that required a kind of "reset", with ideas of emotionalism, irrationalism, subjectivism, and vitalism being seen as good instead.

Besides Nietzsche, Other major irrationalists ideologies and thinkers also began to surface in the 1890s. In Germany, the most important ones includes Wilhelm Dilthey (Epistemological hermeneutics and Historicism), Georg Simmel (Neo-Kantianism and anti-positivism) and Rudolf Eucken (Practical idealism/Ethical activism). Meanwhile in France, French Spiritualism became the big thing in irrationalism, with it presented by Émile Boutroux, Jules Lachelier and Félix Ravaisson-Mollien. However, these French representatives would all be overshadowed by Henri Bergson. Meanwhile in the USA, the philosophy of pragmatism became the go-to form of philosophical irrationalism and was presented mainly by William James and John Dewey - although the matter if pragmatism qualifies as irrationalism still remains controversial.

1900s-1945s[edit]

The early 1900s was when irrationalism starting to birth fascist thinkers. Before World War I, writers like Georges Sorel (Marxist reformism and Nietzschean vitalism) and Gabriele D'Annunzio (D'Annunzio movement; individualism, existentialism and decadence) had a decisive role in shaping what would become known as Italian Fascism. Then, the World War I and it's aftermath in particular lead to a very consequential explosion of irrationalist thinkers, many who would lay down the groundwork for the interwar period fascism. In Germany, the political Conservative Revolution and the philosophical co-current of “bastard” Lebensphilosophie movement - presented by Spengler, Heidegger, Klages - would serve as one of the key parts in shaping Nazism. Per Georg Lukács; the Baeumler-Krieck-Rosenberg triumvirate of Nazi ideologues would have been impossible without the Lebensphilosophie (or prior irrationalist) thinkers.

Following World War II to present[edit]

TBA

Forms of Irrationalism[edit]

Ancient Greek progenitors[edit]

Philosophical Skepticism - while not inherently irrational - can be interpreted as such, particularly when it is used to justify extreme doubt, denial of knowledge or even pseudoskepticism.

Sophistry is considered as an irrational philosophy, as its main goal is not the pursuit of truth, but winning arguments by persuasion and manipulation. By using fallacious arguments and rhetoric to deceive and mislead - including making it sound like their argument is rational - they thus prioritized the skill of "winning" over the validity of the argument. As such sophistry is inherently irrational.[2]:531

Late 18th/early 19th Romanticism and German Idealism[edit]

Sturm und Drang[edit]

Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress) was a German artistic movement from mid-to-late 18th century. Although its followers/representatives used the term "Geniezeit" (Age of the Genius), when the movement was at its most influential, it would retrospectively be named "Sturm und Drang" in the 1820s, being named after Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger's 1776 play "Sturm und Drang".

The movement was spearheaded by Johann Gottfried Herder, with other noted non-German influences being Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Edward Young and Thomas Percy. The movement was one of the early strains of counter-enlightenment, emerging to rebel against the prevailing literary rationalist convention and instead emphasized the vigorous portrayal of individuals' emotional lives. The movement desired for return to nature, for originality, for national and folk identity, the longing for greatness and truth, the lust for action and social criticism, and ruthless subjectivity characterized the emergent young generation.

Its most noted representatives were Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller and Johann Georg Hamann, with other notable names being Lenz, von Klinger, Bürger, von Gerstenberg and Heinse.

Jena Romanticism[edit]

Jena Romanticism (Jenaer Romantik) was a significant intellectual and artistic movement in Germany during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, centered in Jena, that emphasized imagination, emotion, intuition, and the individual's subjective experience, often in contrast to Enlightenment rationalism.

Key philosophical ideas included the integration of various fields of knowledge, a concept of "magical idealism" (primarily spearheaded by Novalis) where inner and outer realities were seen as interconnected, and a focus on "romanticizing" the world through art and poetry to achieve higher consciousness.

It's leading figures included Friedrich Schlegel, August Wilhelm Schlegel, Novalis (alias Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg), and Friedrich Schelling, with Caroline Schlegel often acting as a central figure and host of their gatherings.

Naturphilosophie[edit]

Naturphilosophie (nature-philosophy) - aka Romantische Naturphilosophie (romantic nature-philosophy) - is a philosophical approach to the study of nature, that was characterized by an organic, vitalist and holistic vision, which seeks to overcome the mechanical philosophy and reductionism of contemporary sciences. It is a form of German Idealism and was primarily systematized by Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, inspired mainly by Kant's Critique of Judgement and Fichte's idealism. Besides Schelling, its other exponents include Johann Gottfried Herder, Lorenz Oken, GWF Hegel, Johann Wilhelm Ritter and Carl Gustav Carus; as well as poets and authors like J.W. von Goethe, Friedrich Schlegel and Novalis.[3]

The "nature philosophers" (Naturphilosophen) exalted the use of intuition and the search for a symbolic meaning of phenomena, which they placed in relation to ideal principles. Thusly proposing to find a synthesis between opposite polarities, such as human being and world, empirical and metaphysical knowledge, subjectivity and objectivity, spirit and matter.

On plus side, the Naturphilosophie thinkers have been credited in forming theoretical formulations that allowed further developments in the field of natural sciences, such as homology, evolutionary progress, the study of physical and biological phenomena such as magnetism, electricity, the living cell. However, in Naturphilosophie, intuition had high priority as a method and accordingly "only the active use of intuition leads to the real determination of the original unity of matter and to the understanding of its ideal foundations." Even though Naturphilosophie would serve as influence on the philosophy of Schopenhauer and Bergson, it would fell out of favor and instead become popular with woo-peddling cranks. In particular, it found re-emergence in the esoteric movements of theosophy and anthroposophy, in which the correspondence between the thinking spirit and organic nature takes on a cosmic value.

Existentialism[edit]

Existentialism is often considered a form of irrationalism because it emphasizes subjectivity, individual experience, and personal choice over reason and objective truth, and it often critiques rationalist philosophies for their perceived inability to grasp the full spectrum of human existence. Existentialist thinkers often criticize rationalism, which posits that reason is the primary source of knowledge and meaning, for failing to account for the complexities of human existence, such as anxiety, dread, and the search for meaning in an apparently absurd world.

The core tenet of "existence precedes essence" means that individuals create their own essence through their actions and choices, rather than having a fixed, rational nature. This inherent freedom and responsibility are often seen as transcending purely rational explanations.

Søren Kierkegaard - best known as the "Father of Existentialism" - is often considered an anti-rationalist or irrationalist. Sometimes this assessment goes bit overboard - in that he is misinterpreted as a purely irrationalist thinker - as Kierkegaard did engage with reason and logic in a sophisticated way, even while critiquing the limitations of pure rationalism. He explored how subjective experiences and personal choices shape our understanding of reality, moving beyond a purely objective, rational framework. Thusly arguing that reason has its limitations when it comes to understanding subjective experience, faith, and the nature of truth, particularly in religious matters.

Schopenhauerism[edit]

Schopenhauer is considered a key figure in 19th-century irrationalism. His philosophy, particularly his concept of the "Will to Live," emphasizes a blind, irrational force driving existence and human suffering.

Late 19th century[edit]

Nietzscheism[edit]

Nietzsche's philosophy challenged the Enlightenment's emphasis on reason and logic, highlighting the role of instincts, emotions, and will in shaping human experience. He criticized the idea of reason as the ultimate authority, arguing that human behavior is driven by deeper, irrational forces.

One of the clearest signs of Nietzsche's celebration of irrationalism comes in his concept of the "Apollonian and Dionysian dichotomy"[note 6], in which he championed the "Dionysian man"[note 7] as the basis for his idea of Übermensch - an individual able to transcend and rise above rationalist and religious morality and instead formulate and impose his own values.

Dilthey's Hermeneutics[edit]

TBA

French Spiritualism[edit]

TBA

Bergsonism[edit]

TBA

Personalism[edit]

Personalism is not inherently irrationalist, but it emerged as a reaction to perceived rationalist and deterministic philosophies of the 19th century and, in some of its strains, emphasizes aspects that can be seen as distinct from pure rationalism.

While personalism places the person as the central principle of reality and emphasizes aspects like freedom, dignity, and relationality, it does so through a philosophical framework that values the individual and their unique experience, which can sometimes be contrasted with purely rationalist approaches that prioritize abstract reason.

Early to mid-20th century[edit]

Sorelianism[edit]

TBA

D'Annunzio movement[edit]

TBA

Lebensphilosophie[edit]

Lebensphilosophie (German for Philosophy of Life or Life Philosophy) or alternatively German Vitalism, Vitalist-Irrationalism or Bastard Lebensphilosophie is a philosophical movement that gained prominence during the interwar period, particularly in Germany. On paper, Lebensphilosophie is an ideology that is meant to emphasize the "meaning, value and purpose of life" as its primary focus and was not supposed to be anything malicious by intent. Yet in practice, it ended up being used as a excuse to enable all the worst human impulses, as its most famous proponents and followers ended up being some of the most life hating cranks there are.

Originally, the term was essentially just another word for “life philosophy”, “way of life” or "lifestyle". But the doctrine for bastard Lebensphilosphie/vitalist-irrationalism began to be formalized by its earliest thinkers - Schopenhauer and Nietzsche - with additional influence from Historicism and Bergsonism. Then, sometime during World War I - and particularly after Germany's loss and the 1918 revolutions - the true “bastard Lebensphilosophie” started to really take form, that lead to the term being hijacked by this emerging ideology.

Polymath crank Oswald Spengler is generally agreed to be the first popular purveyor of the “bastard Lebensphilosophie”. Influenced primarily by prior irrationalist heavyweights Goethe and Nietzsche, Spengler's work is marked by a "Romantic Realism" and embraces elements of 19th-century German Romanticism, which often contrasted with rationalist approaches to philosophy. Spengler argued that the rise of rationality, intellect, and scientific thinking in a culture leads to its decline and the loss of its "soul" or creative impulses, as seen in his distinction between "culture" and "civilization". Indeed, his breakthrough work - Decline of the West - offered a morphological-philosophical view of historical developments, while rejecting rationalist principles. This work found a audience in the disenchanted German public - in offering an "alternative" anti-rationalist explanation on why Germany lost the war - and fueled irrationalist sentiment in Germany.[4]:237[5]:158[6]

Another noted popularizer was Martin Heidegger, although he would better become known as an existentialist philosopher down the lane.

In Germany, Spengler and Heidegger would be followed by the likes of Ludwig Klages, Hans Driesch, and Hermann Graf Keyserling, who are considered the main representatives of Lebensphilosophie. Of the three, Klages is arguably the most definitive representative of Lebensphilosophie. However, unlike his predecessors/early rivals - Spengler (who is kept alive by crank magnetism) and Heidegger (who contributed something worth a damn) - Klages remains quite obscure, as his reputation got buried down with Nazi Germany's defeat - despite never actually fully collaborating with the Nazis.

Post-WWII to present[edit]

Dark Enlightenment[edit]

See the main article on this topic: Neoreactionary movement

TBA

Trumpism[edit]

Although on surface this might be in the realm of "no shit Sherlock", but research has been conducted between Trumpism and philosophical irrationalism.[7][8]

Contested[edit]

The following are ideologies that have been identified as irrationalist ideologies, but remain contentious as there is no widespread agreement regarding the applicability.

Platonism[edit]

Figure who is somewhat controversially considered a irrationalist influence is Plato. As while Plato primarily championed rationality and the pursuit of knowledge, he would occasionally touch upon irrationalism. According to him, the "human soul" exhibits fundamentally irrational aspects - such as emotions and desires - which influences human behavior. While Plato valued reason and rationalism, he didn't entirely dismiss the existence of the irrational side of the human, believing it can be "harmonized" by reason to achieve a more virtuous and fulfilling existence. The future irrationalists philosophers would either latch on to "human soul" being irrational argument, and/or to defy the proposition to harmonize human irrationality with reason.

Likewise, Neo-Platonism sought to integrate reason and mystical experience, rather than rejecting one in favor of the other. While they acknowledged the limits of human reason in understanding the ultimate reality, they did not abandon it as a tool for understanding the world and seeking union with the divine.

Pythagoreanism[edit]

Although Pythagoras is regarded as a vital figure in the development of mathematics, and natural sciences, his religious-philosophical movement of Pythagoreanism is seen as a early form of irrationalism. However, the total assessment of this is flawed, in that surviving materials regarding Pythagoras are very incomplete, with most of the accounts of the movement coming from authors who were either Aristotelians or Neoplatonists.

Taoism[edit]

While Taoism is not inherently irrationalist, it does emphasize aspects that may be seen as beyond the scope of purely rational thought. As while it values intuition and experience alongside reason, it does not reject reason entirely. Taoism encourages a holistic understanding of the world that includes the mystical and transcendent, but this does not necessarily equate to irrationality.

Of course, this hasn't stopped more ignorant followers of Taoism to justify irrationalist behavior.

Hegelianism[edit]

Thought of GWF Hegel is contentiously considered a form of irrationalism, with this view primarily advocated by the likes of Karl Popper. Its not helped that Hegel is a representative of absolute idealism and proponent of naturphilosophie like FWJ Schelling is, latter considered a notable pioneer of irrationalism. But then on the other hand, Hegel and his philosophy has been criticized by noted irrationalist thinkers like Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, indicating incompatibility of his philosophy with mainstream irrationalism.

While Hegel recognized the limitations of purely rational approaches and acknowledges the presence of the irrational, he never outright advocated for irrationalism (like Nietzsche would). His goal is to understand the world, including the irrational, through reason and to show how reason ultimately prevails. Indeed, Hegel's famous dictum, "the rational is real and the real is rational," highlights his belief in the fundamental rationality of the universe and its capacity for comprehension through philosophical inquiry.

However, Hegel's concept of "Geist" (translated "spirit" and/or "mind") is contentious in regards to whatever its spiritual and/or woo concept or not. Hegel's concept of Geist is more complex and interwoven with his dialectical and historical philosophy and while "spirit" implies a supernatural entity, Geist is not supposed to be some separate, transcendent being. Rather its a kind of an immanent force, that could be considered the collective self-awareness of humanity.

However, Marxist thinkers - like Georg Lukács - instead see Neo-Hegelianism (and post-Marxist German philosophy in general) as an philosophy that advocates irrationalism. Lukács believed that after World War I, many philosophical schools, including parts of Neo-Hegelianism and Husserl's school, became increasingly influenced by irrationalist thought and vitalism/Lebensphilosophie, which he saw as a departure from a rational, materialist critique of society. Neo-Hegelianism's emphasis on the development of "second nature" through socialization and the internalization of cultural norms can be seen as a process that, for some, could potentially limit individual agency or transcend established social contexts in ways that might be perceived as non-rational or intuitive rather than purely logical.

Egoism[edit]

Its debated about whatever Egoism - particularly in its normative forms like rational egoism - is rational or not. As philosophical stance, one can assume its actions are rational if and only if they maximize one's self-interest, which can be seen as a form of rational behavior by its proponents, with the critics arguing it is inherently irrational due to its incompatibility with psychological health or its dismissal of human freedom and other considerations beyond self-interest.

Still, the fact remains that many of its pioneering figures were opposed to Enlightenment ideals like reason and positivism, as well as egoism being considered a influence on later irrationalist thinkers like Nietzsche.

Max Stirner - widely recognized as a founder of egoism - was known to be a counter-enlightenment thinker who offered a radical critique of Enlightenment ideals like universal reason, humanism, and abstract notions of freedom and morality. Stirner challenged the idea of progress and the notion that modern individuals were more free than their predecessors, arguing instead that moderns were often enslaved by ideological forces such as Christianity and nationalism.

Stirner's philosophy, particularly in his work "The Ego and Its Own", can be understood as a radical rejection of Kantian ideals, especially Kant's emphasis on universal moral laws and reason as guiding principles for human action. Stirner argued that such universalisms (including Kant's categorical imperative, which requires moral laws to be applicable to all rational beings) are "spooks" or illusions that ultimately serve to alienate and control individuals by imposing external authorities and ideals.

Pragmatism[edit]

TBA

Philosophical Deconstruction[edit]

TBA

Notes[edit]

  1. As outlined in the works and studies of the likes of René Descartes, Gottfried Leibniz, Baruch Spinoza and Immanuel Kant
  2. See Auguste Comte
  3. Presented by Johann Georg Hamann, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Karl Philipp Moritz.
  4. Presented by Novalis, Friedrich Hölderlin, Friedrich Schlegel, August Ludwig Hülsen
  5. Presented by Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, F.W.J. Schelling, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, G.W.F. Hegel.
  6. Although this/similar concepts had been presented before Nietzsche.
  7. Dionysus being a Greek God of wine, dance and pleasure, representing passion, emotions and instincts -- as well as of irrationality and chaos.

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Encyclopedia Britannica: Irrationalism, philosophy. Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica (retrieved March 24, 2025)
  2. Miller, H. (1947). An Historical Introduction to Modern Philosophy. Macmillan Company.
  3. Beiser, Frederick C. (2008). "4. Problems, Methods and Concepts of Naturphilosophie". German Idealism. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674020702.
  4. Vrahimis, A. (2022). Bergsonism and the History of Analytic Philosophy. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 9783030807559
  5. Ashman, K., Barringer, P. (2005). After the Science Wars: Science and the Study of Science. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781134616176
  6. Protevi, John (2006). A Dictionary of Continental Philosophy. Yale University Press. p. 355. ISBN 9780300116052.
  7. Why Irrational Politics Appeals: Understanding the Allure of Trump. (2017). ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781440855153
  8. Zafirovski, M. (2023). It Did Happen Here: The Rise of Fascism in Contemporary Society. Brill. ISBN 9789004538573