|
Maynard Adams was a philosopher of value and meaning devoted to understanding and criticizing the philosophical foundations of modern Western culture and developing an intellectual vision that makes sense of the human condition. == Philosophy == Adams wrote, co-wrote or edited 12 books, including ''The Metaphysics of Self and World'', and a book for more popular audiences, ''A Society Fit for Human Beings''. He also published more than 100 scholarly articles and reviews, and he was a well-respected teacher. Adams' basic purpose as a philosopher was to demonstrate that our value and meaning experiences give us knowledge of the world. As Glenn Blackburn describes in his intellectual biography of Adams, Adams rejected the materialistic view of reality that dominates modern societies and the related scientific naturalist worldview that assumes that sensory experience is our only basic source of knowledge and that the sensory realm is the only reality. He explains that such value and meaning nihilism is the reason that many modern people endure chronic anxiety about the lack of meaning in life.〔Glenn Blackburn (2009, Mercer University Press). ''Maynard Adams: Southern Philosopher of Civilization''.〕 Instead, Adams argues that our window onto reality is much larger than the sense-experience window; we also have value experiences and meaning experiences that we learn from. Humans cannot properly conceive of the universe in purely physical terms but rather must include value and meaning in our conception of the universe. We also must think of ourselves as value and meaning beings, as well as physical beings, not solely as material creatures.〔Glenn Blackburn (2009, Mercer University Press).'' Maynard Adams: Southern Philosopher of Civilization''.〕 The philosophy that Adams called "realistic humanism" is unusual in that it comprises a comprehensive systematic philosophy covering all fundamental ways of understanding the world, including a human metaphysics, an epistemology, and philosophies of mind, ethics, religion, nature, and history. Blackburn writes that in the 2500-year history of Western civilization, there have been no more than two to three dozen comprehensive systematic philosophers of this kind.〔Glenn Blackburn (2009, Mercer University Press).'' Maynard Adams: Southern Philosopher of Civilization''.〕 Adams' philosophical work culminated in ''A Society Fit for Human Beings'', in which he lays out a vision of a future that cultivates humanity and corrects the weaknesses of modernity - moral and value relativism, dehumanization resulting from materialistic conceptions of ourselves, and our increasingly severe environmental problems. He shows how to build value and meaning into society, defining a more hopeful vision of what the future can be.〔E.M. Adams (1997, State University of New York Press). ''A Society Fit for Human Beings''.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Maynard Adams」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|