Publisher's Synopsis
This is the first in a series of four volumes. It offers a fundamental critique of the long-lasting, rationalistic belief that theoretical thought is autonomous, supplemented by an extensive analysis of the development of modern humanistic philosophy, showing that it is in the grip of the supra-theoretical basic ground-motive of "nature and freedom" (science ideal versus nature ideal). In addition it investigates the relationship between philosophy and world- and life-view as well as assessing the foundational influence of philosophical conceptions on the various academic disciplines ("special sciences").
