Alexius Meinong
Alexius Meinong | |
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20th-century philosophy | |
Region | Western philosophy |
School |
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Institutions |
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Academic advisors | nuclear vs. extranuclear (constitutive vs. extra-constitutive) properties (konstitutorische vs. außerkonstitutorische Bestimmungen) of objects,[2][3][4] the existence–subsistence–absistence distinction Wide and narrow negation[5] |
Alexius Meinong
Life
Alexius Meinong's father was officer Anton von Meinong (1799–1870), who was granted the hereditary title of
From 1868 to 1870, Meinong studied at the
In 1882, Meinong became a professor at the
Work
Ontology
Meinong wrote two early essays on
His theory of objects,[13] now known as "Meinongian object theory,"[4] is based around the purported empirical observation that it is possible to think about something, such as a golden mountain, even though that object does not exist. Since we can refer to such things, they must have some sort of being. Meinong thus distinguishes the "being" of a thing, in virtue of which it may be an object of thought, from a thing's "existence", which is the substantive ontological status ascribed to—for example—horses but not to unicorns. Meinong called such nonexistent objects "homeless";[14] others have nicknamed their place of residence "Meinong's jungle" because of their great number and exotic nature.
Historically, Meinong has been treated, especially by
Meinong is also seen to be controversial in the field of philosophy of language for holding the view that "existence" is merely a property of an object, just as color or mass might be a property. Closer readers of his work, however, accept that Meinong held the view that objects are "indifferent to being"[18] and that they stand "beyond being and non-being".[18] On this view Meinong is expressly denying that existence is a property of an object. For Meinong, what an object is, its real essence, depends on the properties of the object.[19] These properties are genuinely possessed whether the object exists or not, and so existence cannot be a mere property of an object.[9]
Types of objects
Meinong holds that objects can be divided into three categories on the basis of their ontological status. Objects may have one of the following three modalities of being and non-being:[20]: 37–52
- Existence (Existenz, verb: existieren), or actual reality (Wirklichkeit), which denotes the material and temporal being of an object
- Subsistence (Bestand, verb: bestehen), which denotes the being of an object in a non-temporal sense.
- Absistence or being-given (Gegebenheit, as in the German use es gibt, i.e. "there are", "it is given"), which denotes being an object but not having being.
Certain objects can exist (mountains, birds, etc.); others cannot in principle ever exist, such as the objects of mathematics (numbers, theorems, etc.): such objects simply subsist. Finally, a third class of objects cannot even subsist, such as impossible objects (e.g. square circle, wooden iron, etc.). Being-given is not a minimal mode of being, because it is not a mode of being at all. Rather, to be "given" is just to be an object. Being-given, termed "absistence" by
Object and subject
Meinong distinguishes four classes of "objects":[23]: 133
- Object (Objekt), which can be real (like horses) or ideal (like the concepts of difference, identity, etc.)
- Objective (Objectiv), e.g. the affirmation of the being (Sein) or non-being (Nichtsein), of a being-such (Sosein), or a being-with (Mitsein), of an object—parallel to existential, categorical and hypothetical judgements. Objectives are close to what contemporary philosophers call states of affairs (where these may be actual—may "obtain"—or not)
- Dignitative, e.g. the true, the good, the beautiful
- Desiderative, e.g. duties, ends, etc.[24]: 209–210
To these four classes of objects correspond four classes of psychological acts:
- (Re)presentation (das Vorstellen), for objects
- Thought (das Denken), for the objectives
- Feeling (das Fühlen), for dignitatives
- Desire (das Begehren), for the desideratives
Bibliography
Books
- Meinong, A. (1885). Über philosophische Wissenschaft und ihre Propädeutik.
- Meinong, A. (1894). Psychologisch-ethische Untersuchungen zur Werttheorie.
- Meinong, A. (1902). Über Annahmen, 1st ed.
- Meinong, A., ed. (1904). Untersuchungen zur Gegenstandstheorie und Psychologie (Investigations in Theory of Objects and Psychology), Leipzig: Barth (contains Alexius Meinong, "Über Gegenstandstheorie", pp. 1–51).
- Meinong, A. (1910). Über Annahmen, 2nd ed.
- Meinong, A. (1915). Über Möglichkeit und Wahrscheinlichkeit.
- Meinong, A. (1917). Über emotionale Präsentation.
Articles
- Meinong, A. (1877). "Hume Studien I. Zur Geschichte und Kritik des modernen Nominalismus", in Sitzungsbereiche der phil.-hist. Classe der kais. Akademie der Wissenschaften, 78:185–260.
- Meinong, A. (1882). "Hume Studien II. Zur Relationstheorie", in Sitzungsbereiche der phil.-hist. Classe der kais. Akademie der Wissenschaften, 101:573–752.
- Meinong, A. (1891). "Zur psychologie der Komplexionen und Relationen", in Zeitschrift für Psychologie und Physiologie der Sinnesorgane, II:245–265.
- Meinong, A. (1899). "Über Gegenstände höherer Ordnung und deren Verhältniss zur inneren Wahrnehmung", in Zeitschrift für Psychologie und Physiologie der Sinnesorgane, 21, pp. 187–272.
Books together with other authors
- Höfler, A., & Meinong, A. (1890). Philosophische Propädeutik. Erster Theil: Logik. F. Tempsky / G. Freytag, Vienna.
Posthumously edited works
- Haller, R., Kindinger, R., and Chisholm, R., editors (1968–78). Gesamtausgabe, 7 vols., Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz.
- Meinong, A. (1965). Philosophenbriefe, ed. Kindinger, R., Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz.
English translations
- On Assumptions (Über Annahmen), trans. James Heanue. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983.
- On Emotional Presentation (Über emotionale Präsentation), trans. M.-L. Schubert Kalsi. Evanston, Ill: Northwestern University Press, 1972.
- "The Theory of Objects" ("Über Gegenstandstheorie"), trans. I. Levi, D. B. Terrell, and R. Chisholm. In Realism and the Background of Phenomenology, ed. Roderick Chisholm. Atascadero, CA: Ridgeview, 1981, pp. 76–117.
See also
- Modal Meinongianism
- On the Content and Object of Presentations by Kazimierz Twardowski
Notes
- ^ Gestalt Theory: Official Journal of the Society for Gestalt Theory and Its Applications (GTA), 22, Steinkopff, 2000, p. 94: "Attention has varied between Continental Phenomenology (late Husserl, Merleau-Ponty) and Austrian Realism (Brentano, Meinong, Benussi, early Husserl)".
- ^ Alexius Meinong, 1915 Über Möglichkeit und Wahrscheinlichkeit, Barth, p. 176. Reprinted in Alexius Meinong, 1972, Über Möglichkeit und Wahrscheinlichkeit, in Rudolf Haller and Rudolf Kindinger (eds.), Alexius Meinong Gesamtausgabe VI, Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt.
- ^ a b Marek, Johann. "Alexius Meinong". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- ^ a b Reicher, Maria. "Nonexistent Objects". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- ^ Marek, Johann, "Alexius Meinong", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2024 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman
- ^ Jacquette, D., Alexius Meinong, The Shepherd of Non-Being (Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer, 2015), pp. 1–3.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7923-3766-9.
- ^ Albertazzi, L., Jacquette, D., & Poli, R., eds., The School of Alexius Meinong (Abingdon-on-Thames, Routledge, 2017), p. 51.
- ^ a b Albertazzi, L., Jacquette, D., & Poli, R., eds., The School of Alexius Meinong (Abingdon-on-Thames, Routledge, 2017), p. 502.
- ^ ISBN 978-90-5183-573-1.
- ISBN 978-90-481-8262-6.
- ^ Haller, R., ed., Meinong and the Theory of Objects (Amsterdam/Atlanta: Editions Rodopi B.V., 1996), p. 8.
- ^ Meinong, "Über Gegenstandstheorie", in Alexius Meinong, ed. (1904). Untersuchungen zur Gegenstandstheorie und Psychologie, Leipzig: Barth, pp. 1–51.
- ^ In Über die Stellung der Gegenstadntheorie im System der Wissenschaften.
- ^ Ryle, G., "Intentionality-Theory and the Nature of Thinking", in R. Haller, ed., Jenseits von Sein und Nichtsein (Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, 1972), pp. 8–9. Ryle here compliments Meinong in two ways, first, rather backhandedly, for showing us what not to do in theorizing about intentional content. But the second compliment echoes Russell's admiration for Meinong's acute observation in pinpointing problems, his habit of tenaciously inferring consequences, and his nose for fine distinctions.
- ^ See Russell's article, "Meinong's Theory of Complexes and Assumptions", reprinted in his collection, Essays in Analysis, ed. Douglas Lackey (New York: George Braziller, 1973) This anthology contains five pieces dealing with Meinong's work, three of them reviews in which Russell expresses a good deal of admiration, in spite of significant misgivings about Meinong's ontology.
- ^ Sierszulska, A., Meinong on Meaning and Truth: A Theory of Knowledge (Heusenstamm: Ontos Verlag, 2005), pp. 159–160.
- ^ a b Meinong, A. "The Theory of Objects" in Realism and the Background of Phenomenology, ed. Roderick Chisholm (Glencoe, Ill: Free Press, 1960). p. 86.
- Findlay, J. N., Meinong's Theory of Objects. Oxford University Press, 1933, p. 49.
- Rodopi, 1982), pp. 37–52.
- ^ Though Meinong speaks of it loosely as a "third order of being" in his "The Theory of Objects" in Realism and the Background of Phenomenology, ed. Roderick Chisholm (Glencoe, Ill: Free Press, 1960), p. 84.
- ^ A version of the argument is given in "The Theory of Objects", Realism and the Background of Phenomenology, ed. Roderick Chisholm (Glencoe, Ill: Free Press, 1960), p. 85.
- ^ Albertazzi, L., ed., The Dawn of Cognitive Science: Early European Contributors (Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer, 2001), p. 133.
- ^ Lapointe, S., ed., Philosophy of Mind in the Nineteenth Century: The History of the Philosophy of Mind, Vol. 5 (Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, 2019), pp. 209–210.
Further reading
Books
- Albertazzi, L., Jacquette, D., and Poli, R., editors (2001). The School of Alexius Meinong. Aldershot: Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-84014-374-4
- Bergmann, G. Realism: A Critique of Brentano and Meinong. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1967.
- Chisholm, R. Brentano and Meinong Studies. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1982.
- Dölling, E. Wahrheit Suchen und Wahrheit Bekennen. Alexius Meinong: Skizze seines Lebens. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1999. ISBN 978-90-420-0774-1
- Findlay, J. N. Meinong's Theory of Objects and Values, 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963.
- Grossman, R. Meinong. London and Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1974. ISBN 978-0-7100-7831-5
- Haller, R., editor. Jenseits von Sein und Nichtsein. Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, 1972.
- Lindenfeld, D. F. The Transformation of Positivism: Alexius Meinong and European Thought, 1880–1920. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980. ISBN 978-0-520-03994-0
- Rollinger, R. D. Meinong and Husserl on Abstraction and Universals. Number XX in Studien zur Österreichischen Philosophie. Amsterdam and Atlanta: Rodopi, 1993. ISBN 978-90-5183-573-1
- Rollinger, Robin D. Austrian Phenomenology: Brentano, Husserl, Meinong, and Others on Mind and Object. Frankfurt am Main: Ontos, 2008. ISBN 978-3-86838-005-7
- Routley, R. (1982). Exploring Meinong's Jungle and Beyond. Ridgeview Pub Co. ISBN 978-0-685-05636-3. (Also published by the Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, 1979.)
- Schubert Kalsi, Marie-Luise. Alexius Meinong: On Objects of Higher Order and Husserl's Phenomenology. Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands. ISBN 978-90-247-2033-0
- Smith, Barry. Austrian Philosophy: The Legacy of Franz Brentano. Chicago: Open Court, 1996. ISBN 978-0-8126-9307-2
Articles
- Chrudzimski, A. (2005). "Abstraktion und Relationen beim jungen Meinong" in [Schramm, 2005], pages 7–62.
- Dölling, E. (2005). "Eine semiotische Sicht auf Meinongs Annahmenlehre" in [Schramm, 2005], pages 129–158.
- Kenneth, B. (1970). "Meinong’s Hume Studies. Part I: Meinong’s Nominalism" in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 30:550–567.
- Kenneth, B. (1971). "Meinong’s Hume Studies. Part II: Meinong’s Analysis of Relations" in PPR, 31:564–584.
- Rollinger, R. D. (2005). "Meinong and Brentano". In [Schramm, 2005], pages 159–197.
- Routley, R. and Valerie Routley. "Rehabilitating Meinong's Theory of Objects". Review Internationale de Philosophie 104–105 (1973).
- Russell, Bertrand. "Meinong's Theory of Complexes and Assumptions" in Essays in Analysis, ed. Douglas Lackey. New York: George Braziller, 1973.
- Ryle, Gilbert. "Intentionality-Theory and the Nature of Thinking." Review Internationale de Philosophie 104–105 (1973).
- Schermann, H. (1972). "Husserls II. Logische Untersuchung und Meinongs Hume-Studien I" in [Haller, 1972], pages 103–116.
- Vendrell-Ferran, I. (2009): "Meinongs Philosophie der Gefühle und ihr Einfluss auf die Grazer Schule" in Meinong Studien III Graz
Journals
- Schramm, A., editor. Meinong Studies – Meinong Studien, Volume 1 (2005). Ontos Verlag.
Podcasts
- The philosopher A. C. Grayling discusses Meinong in a podcast about Bertrand Russell's theory of descriptions on Philosophy Bites.