Marburg neo-Kantianism: The Evolution of Rationality and Genealogical Critique (original) (raw)

2024, Cambridge Handbook of Continental Philosophy (Forthcoming)

Book chapter for the Handbook of Continental Philosophy (CUP), edited by Karen NG and Sacha Golob' despite their reservations towards Kantian rational idealism, were intrigued by the neo-Kantian tradition. Genealogy is a philosophical method aimed at uncovering the historical origins of normative beliefs that reinforce or stabilize problematic power relations. This method proceeds descriptively but is not value-neutral: With its intended aim of making the reader reassess their values, it seeks to correct the readers' belief or value system. 'Classical genealogists'-henceforth referring to Marx, Nietzsche, and Foucault-rest on four pivotal assumptions. 1 Firstly, agents are considered to take contingent beliefs as objectively true, unwittingly bolstering practices that uphold prevailing power dynamics. The goal of the genealogical method is to challenge and erode these power structures by unveiling the historical origins of these beliefs. Secondly, at the heart of their critique lies a radical rejection of idealism, encompassing notions like "universality," "objectivity," "absolutism," or "apriority." While these notions are taken as logical and ahistorical terms in Kant and post-Kantian traditions, genealogists harbor skepticism about their potential ideological role. Thirdly, classical genealogists abstain from devising normative principles. Their intent is to foster an awareness of the contingency of morals. Lastly, classical genealogists typically align themselves with a form of materialism. By focusing on the material manifestation of norms, they uncover ideological components rooted in contingent factors that reinforce and contribute to problematic power relations. Prima facie, Kantian transcendental idealism appears incompatible with the philosophical method of genealogical critique. Nonetheless, Nietzsche and Foucault both held an appreciation for the neo-Kantians. Nietzsche read Lange's main book, The History of Materialism, which he described as "a real treasure-house," shortly after its publication in 1865, during the early stages of his career. In a letter to Hermann Mushacke, he writes: The most meaningful philosophical work that has appeared in the past ten years is undoubtedly Lange's History of Materialism, about which I could write a ream of panegyrics. Kant, Schopenahuer, and this book of Lange's-I do not need anything else. (Cited after Hill 2003, 6-7) Nietzsche's enthusiasm for Lange is also reflected in the Genealogy of the Morals and Beyond Good and Evil in which he advocates a philosophy as "psychophysiology"-a thought clearly tracing back to Lange as we will see further below. However, Nietzsche was not the sole genealogist to engage with the works of the Marburg neo-Kantians. In the article "Une histoire restée muette," published in 1966 in La Quinzaine littéraire, Foucault conducted a review of Cassirer's Philosophy of the Symbolic Forms. Despite Foucault's programmatic inclination to critique modern practices established in the name of rationality,