Hans Vaihinger

Originally published: New York: Harcourt, Brace and company; London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & co., ltd., 1925.

A System of the Theoretical, Practical and Religious Fictions of Mankind

The Philosophy of 'as If"

David G. Payne

The Philosophy of "As If": A System of the Theoretical, Practical and Religious Fictions of Mankind

Gerhard Bleick

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfectionssuch as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed worksworldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ Nietzsche Als Philosoph 3 Hans Vaihinger Reuther und Reichard, 1905

eine Einführung in die Philosophie Friedrich Nietzsches

Nietzsche als Philosoph

Commentar zu Kants Kritik der reinen Vernunft

Max Scheler

Bruno Bauch

Paul Menzer

Max Frischeisen-Köhler

Arthur Liebert

Kant-Studien

Hans Vaihinger (1852–1933) was an important and fascinating figure in German philosophy in the early twentieth century, founding the well-known journal Kant-Studien. Yet he was overshadowed by the burgeoning movements of phenomenology and analytical philosophy, as well as hostility towards his work because of his defense of Jewish scholars in a Germany controlled by Nazism. However, it is widely acknowledged today that The Philosophy of ‘As If’ is a philosophical masterwork. Vaihinger argues that in the face of an overwhelmingly complex world, we produce a simpler set of ideas, or idealizations, that help us negotiate it. When cast as fictions, such ideas provide an easier and more useful way to think about certain subjects, from mathematics and physics to law and morality, than would the truth in all its complexity. Even in science, he wrote, we must proceed "as if " a material world exists independently of perceiving subjects; in behaviour, we must act "as if " ethical certainty were possible; in religion, we must believe "as if" there were a God. He also explores the role of fictions in the history of philosophy, going back to the ancient Greeks and the work of Leibniz, Adam Smith and Bentham. The Philosophy of ‘As If’ was a powerful influence on the emerging philosophical movement of pragmatism and was groundbreaking in its anticipation of the central role that model-building and simulation would come to play in the human sciences. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new foreword by Michael A. Rosenthal, which provides a fascinating and important background to Vaihinger’s life and the legacy of The Philosophy of ‘As If’.

The Philosophy of 'As If'

Hans Vaihinger

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