Franz Brentano: Critical Assessment. Vol. 3. Metaphysics, Logic, Epistemology (Routledge Critical Assessment of Leading Philosophers)

Franz Brentano (1838–1917) was a leading philosopher and psychologist of the nineteenth century. Indeed, the impact of his scholarship was so great that he became synonymous with a school of thought and a new approach in scientific philosophy. The Brentano School stood against the Idealistic and post-Kantian German tradition and Brentano played a crucial role in the founding of Austrian philosophy. He had an enormous impact on the work of Husserl and Heidegger, as well as on Moore’s Ethics and Stout and Russell’s analysis of mind. In particular, situated between the phenomenology movement and the analytic tradition, the concept of intentionality was redefined by Brentano and has been—and remains—a key concept of twentieth- and twentieth-first century philosophy of mind. But Brentano not only reshaped philosophy of mind; he was also a remarkable and innovative thinker in several other fields of philosophy, and recent debate in metaethics, metaphysics, and the history of analytic philosophy shows a strong resurgence of interest in Brentano’s thought. Published to coincide with the centenary of Brentano’s death, this four-volume collection, a new title from Routledge Major Works, provides an essential intellectual tool for the exegetical evaluation of all aspects of Brentano’s work. Bringing together early reviews and reactions from his contemporaries—many of which have never before been translated into English—as well as the best critical assessments of Brentano’s work, this ‘mini library’ provides Brentano scholars, historians of philosophy and psychology, and phenomenologists, with a rigorous historical appraisal of Brentano’s thought and influence. Brentano’s relationships with Husserl, Heidegger, and the phenomenological tradition are examined in depth, alongside investigations of key themes from his work on Aristotle, medieval and modern philosophy, philosophy of mind, logic, ontology, ethics, aesthetics, philosophy of religion, and the philosophy of history. The articles collected in this first volume focus on the historical sources and impact of Brentano’s thought. The aim of this volume is to provide an exegetical tool for better understanding the historical context of his philosophy, putting under examination some main aspects of its reception, and clarifying its further developments. The volume is divided into four parts: 1) Brentano’s life and work; 2) Brentano and Aristotle; 3) Brentano on medieval and modern philosophy; and 4) Legacy. This third volume consists of several key articles concerning topical themes in Brentano’s theories of cognition and metaphysics. This tome is divided into four parts, 1) Theory of categories; 2) Reism; 3) Logic and language; and 4) Epistemology.