Philosophy is always evolving, with new thinkers drawing on the
works of the past. Continental philosophies are the schools of modern philosophical
thought which developed on the continent of Europe, primarily France and
Germany. Analytic philosophy, often associated with “deconstruction” and
linear approaches, is associated with the United Kingdom and the United
States. The two major approaches to philosophy diverged with the rise of
phenomenology, founded in Germany by Edmund Husserl. Phenomenology attempts to describe the structures of consciousness in the constitution of reality.
Continental schools of philosophy tend to move beyond the natural sciences.
Modern continental thinkers moved into metaphysical studies and theories
of experience. Phenomenology led to the existentialism of Jean-Paul
Sartre and Martin Heidegger. Other continental thinkers were influenced by linguistics and the post-structuralism of Derrida. Continental philosophy is central to the very issues of language, communication, meaning, and reference, which currently dominate analytic philosophy, ironically.
Continental Movements
Analytical Movements
Objectivism
Because of this emphasis on radical individualism, existentialism
is sometimes compared to Ayn Rand’s objectivism or political libertarianism.
Like existentialists, Rand and her followers used the arts to further a
philosophy. However, objectivism claims there are basic, universal truths
of human nature and experience. Rand’s works and objectivism embody a neo-liberal
philosophy of personal self-interest and, by some, of greed. Most of the
existential thinkers of the twentieth century are associated with left-leaning
democratic socialism and even communism. Yes, this is also contradictory
on its face, reflecting the complexity of any attempt to unravel existentialism.