Abstract:
Max Scheler seems to present two distinct approaches to philosophy of culture. In the early period of his Formalismus in der Ethik und die materiale Wertethik and “Ordo Amoris,” he describes cultures as being defined by their distinct order of value preferencings. In his later period of his “Probleme einer Soziologie des Wissens,” however, Scheler explains the dynamics of culture in terms of the interaction of what he calls “real” and “ideal sociological factors,” rooted in various drives (Triebe) and spirit (Geist), respectively. These approaches are fully compatible and complementary, the former describing culture’s vertical structure and the latter, its horizontal structure. Together these two approaches offer a comprehensive philosophy of culture, deserving greater attention.
Keywords:
Max Scheler, philosophy of culture, values, axiology, ordo amoris, ethos, sociology of knowledge, real and ideal sociological factors
How to cite:
Stikkers, Kenneth W. “Max Scheler’s Two Approaches to Philosophy of Culture.” Eidos. A Journal for Philosophy of Culture 4, no. 4 (2020): 36-44. https://doi.org/10.14394/eidos.jpc.2020.0039.
Author:
Kenneth W. Stikkers
Department of Philosophy, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Faner Hall, Mail Code 4505, 980 Faner Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4511-7347
kstikker@siu.edu
References:
Frings, Manfred S. The Mind of Max Scheler. Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 1997.
Frings, Manfred S. Philosophy of Prediction and Capitalism. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff, 1987. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3637-9.
Scheler, Max. Formalism in Ethics and Non-Formal Ethics of Value. Translated by Manfred S. Frings and Roger L. Funk. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1973.
Scheler, Max. Formalismus in der Ethik und die materiale Wertethik. Sixth edition. Edited by Maria Scheler. Vol. 2, Gesammelte Werke. Berne: Franke, 1966.
Scheler, Max. “Man in the Era of Adjustment.” In Philosophical Perspectives, 94-128. Translated by Oscar A. Haac. Boston: Beacon, 1958.
Scheler, Max. “Der Mensch im Weltalter des Ausgleichs.” In Spӓte Schriften, 145-70. Edited by Manfred S. Frings. Vol. 9, Gessamelte Werke. Berne: Franke, 1976.
Scheler, Max. “Ordo Amoris.” In Schriften aus dem Nachlass I: Zur Ethik und Erkenntnislehre. Second edition. Edited by Maria Scheler. Vol. 10, Gesammelte Werke. Berne: Franke, 1957.
Scheler, Max. “Ordo Amoris.” In Selected Philosophical Essays, 98-135. Translated David R. Lachterman, Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1973.
Scheler, Max. Problems of a Sociology of Knowledge. Translated by Manfred S. Frings. Edited by Kenneth W. Stikkers. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980.
Scheler, Max. Ressentiment. Edited by Lewis Coser. Translated by William Holdheim. New York: Free Press of Glencoe, 1961.
Scheler, Max. “Das Ressentiment im Aufbau der Moralen” (1915). In Vom Umsturz der Werte: Abhandlumgen und Aufstatze. Fourth edition. Edited by Maria Scheler. Vol. 3, Gesammelte Werke. Berne: Franke 1955.
Scheler, Max. Schriften aus dem Nachlass II: Erkenntnislehre und Metaphysik. Edited by Manfred S. Frings. Vol. 11, Gesammelte Werke. Berne: Franke, 1980.
Scheler, Max. Schriften aus dem Nachlass III: Philosophische Anthropologie. Edited by Manfred S. Frings. Vol. 12, Gesammelte Werke. Berne: Franke, 1987.
Scheler, Max. Die Wissensformen und die Gesellschaft. Third edition. Edited by Manfred S. Frings. Vol 8, Gesammelte Werke. Berne: Franke, 1979.
Stikkers, Kenneth W. “Economies of Scarcity and Acquisition, Economies of Gift and Thanksgiving: Lessons from Cultural Anthropology.” In Value and Values: Economics and Justice in an Age of Global Interdependence. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2015. 214-28. https://doi.org/10.21313/hawaii/9780824839673.003.0011.
Stikkers, Kenneth W. “‘Ethos,’ Its Relationship to Real and Ideal Sociological Factors in Scheler’s Philosophy of Culture.” Listening 21.3 (Fall 1986): 243-53.
Stikkers, Kenneth W. “Persons and Power: Max Scheler and Michel Foucault on the Spiritualization of Power.” The Pluralist 4, no. 1 (Spring 2009): 51-59. https://doi.org/10.1353/plu.0.0000.
Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904-05). Translated by Talcott Parsons. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1958.
Open Access Statement:
This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author, as long as the author and original source are properly cited. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Submitting a text to Eidos. A Journal for Philosophy of Culture means that the author agrees with the general conditions of this license. The author does and will maintain copyrights and publishing rights for his/her article without any restrictions.