The Universal Form of the Singular: The Early Philosophy of Ernst Cassirer (1898–1917)

Gustavo Esparza (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

168 Seiten

2025
Brill (Verlag)
978-90-04-72773-1 (ISBN)

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This study explores Cassirer’s early philosophy (1898-1917), identifying its essential philosophical motives, as well as the foundations on which he bases the idea of ‘function’ and the ‘symbol’.

This book examines the philosophical foundations on which Ernst Cassirer bases the central themes of his thought, namely function and the symbolic, establishing as the core inquiry the way in which knowledge of the singular is made possible. Through an exploration of works published between 1898 and 1917, it is argued that knowledge is constituted as a relationship between unity and a general form that enables the designation of a phenomenon as an object of knowledge. The justification that the universal is the foundation of the singular can be achieved through Cassirer’s philosophy, while also providing a fundamental reason for studying his early philosophical period.

Gustavo Esparza, Ph.D. (2015), Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, México. His research focuses on the thought and impact of Ernst Cassirer. He has co-authored the books: Mito, conocimiento y acción. Continuidad y cambio en los procesos culturales (2017); The Bounds of Myth. The Logical Path from Action to Knowledge (2021) and Ernst Cassirer. La unidad simbólica de la cultura (2024). He is also the author of more than 20 articles on the subject of Cassirer, a member of the S.N.I.I., level I, and a professor in the UP system, level C.

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Introduction

1 The Unity of the Material and Spiritual World

1 Unity and Multiplicity: towards a Definition of Philosophical Tasks

1.1 The Cassirer–Marc-Wogau Debate: Unity and Form of the Symbol

1.2 Reception and New Objections to the Cassirer–Marc-Wogau Debate

2 Location and Grouping of the Singular: Geometric Invariants

3 The Universal Perception of the Singular: Methodological Dilemmas

2 René Descartes: the Glimpse of Function as a Methodological Unit of Knowledge

1 The Geometrical Unity of Substances in the Natural Sciences

2 Methodological Gap and Continuity between the Natural and Human Sciences

3 The Delimitation of Infinity and the Problem of Fundamentals

3 Gottfried Leibniz: Law and Form as the Foundations of the Symbol

1 The Unity of the Multiple: Law and Number

2 Representation as Harmony of the Diverse

4 Logic of Invariant Relations

1 The a Priori Foundation of Knowledge

2 Theories of Invariant Forms: Logical Elements

2.1 Meaning and Intent of Relational Concepts

2.2 Form and Structure of Knowledge: Number and Space

2.3 Ideal Construction of Scientific Concepts

5 Psychology of Invariant Relations

1 Science as a Psychological Model of Knowledge

2 Psychology of Invariant Relations

6 The Universal Form of the Singular: towards the Philosophy of Symbolic Forms

1 The Diversity of Unity: Form and Freedom

2 Philosophy of Symbolic: an Early Draft of a Major Project

Conclusion: The Universal Function of the Singular

Bibliography

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	26.09.2025
Reihe/Serie	New Research in the History of Western Philosophy ; 11
Übersetzer	Andrés Téllez-Parra
Verlagsort	Leiden
Sprache	englisch
Maße	155 x 235 mm
Gewicht	409 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Metaphysik / Ontologie
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Philosophie der Neuzeit
	Sozialwissenschaften
ISBN-10	90-04-72773-6 / 9004727736
ISBN-13	978-90-04-72773-1 / 9789004727731
Zustand	Neuware