ALEXANDER Samuel

ALEXANDER, Samuel (Alexander, Samuel) (1859-1938), British philosopher, was born in Sydney (Australia) January 6, 1859. He was educated at Wesley College in Melbourne, and then the University of Melbourne, in 1877 received a scholarship Balliol College, Oxford University. From 1882 to 1893 Member of the Board of Lincoln College, Oxford University, since 1893 professor of philosophy at Owens College in Manchester (later the Victoria University in Manchester, or Manchester University). In 1890-1891 trained in Germany by H. Munsterberg. In the 1916-1918 cycle read 'giffordovskih' lectures at the University of Glasgow. He retired in 1924. Alexander died in Manchester (England) September 13, 1938.

The main work of Alexander - "Space, Time and Deity" (Space, Time and Deity, 1920), one of the most original and abstract systems in the history of British philosophy, 20 in. In the analysis of cognition, Alexander held the position of realism, as a naturalist, he argued that consciousness, values and deity come from the world of space-time events and wholly owned by him. Alexander criticized the views of Henri Bergson, who, from his point of view, underestimated the role of space. The universe is an evolutionary process, . starting with a blank space-time, . 'matrix' (or matrices) of all things and events, . but also the 'pure movement', . and passing through successive ascending levels of matter, . life and mind to even higher quality stages of existence (synthesis),
. This evolution Alexander called the 'emergent' (jump): at each new stage of formation of both emerging empirical quality - as a result of achieving a certain degree of complexity to the previous level of existence of space-time, . or movement,
. So, . mental activity has a unique character, . have a unique quality of 'awareness'; organism, . which develops awareness of how emergent quality, . is ultimately a pure space-time special, . and in any case not the last, . stage of evolutionary development,
. Cognitive attitude, . idealists who believed inexplicable in terms of naturalism, . is a special way of 'sharing' (not necessarily simultaneously), the host of things in space-time, . when one of them is a living organism, . has special qualities - 'knowledge', this being 'happy' feel its presence among other things and events and its own mental act,
. Knowledge is a 'rush', 'conation', the answer to the existence of the object, rather than actual cognitive act, which is characterized by a split between subject and object. The content of the mental act act properties of the mental act as a process - its intensity and direction. Human values - beauty, goodness and truth - are derived, 'tertiary' qualities (in contrast to the primary, like the size and shape, and secondary, like the color and odor), ie. qualities that things are only found when they are in communication with intelligent beings or entities of consciousness of any kind, having in mind certain social purposes, pleasure or ideas. These values appear as real properties of the universe, but they would not exist if consciousness is not mixed ( 'amalgamate') himself in such a way with their objects.

A special place in the Alexander takes the concept of 'god'. From his point of view, there is no reason to believe that it will be the crown of evolution, as can be expected even higher quality on the ascending evolutionary ladder. Moreover, 'deity is the next higher quality relative to the highest of the known', so that consciousness is a deity to the lower level - life, etc.. Deity - the quality of future levels of existence, man feels 'rush' (nisus) to its emergence as a special emerdzhentsii. A more fundamental object of religious 'answer' should be regarded as the universe itself, the whole space-time continuum, consistently producing each new arising being (emerdzhentsiyu) and moving on to new levels of creation

. Among the works of Alexander - "moral world order and progress: an analysis of ethical concepts" (Moral Order and Progress: An Analysis of Ethical Conceptions, . 1889), . "Art and beauty in the material world" (Art and Material Beauty, . 1925) and "Beautiful and other forms of value" (Beauty and Other Forms of Value, . 1933).,