CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

While the focus of western philosophy has primarily been on the analysis and understanding of our most basic concepts, another important theme has been the preparation and education of man to live a more authentic form of life. One way in which to understand the divergence of philosophical thought in the early twentieth century is in terms of this contrast, with the socalled Continental tradition in France and Germany increasingly concerned with authenticity. In part this can be explained by the relative influence of Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) on continental philosophers, as opposed to the influence of Gottlob Frege (1848-1925) on the socalled Analytic tradition. At least as important is the European political and historical context of the twentieth century, which saw the rise of fascism and Nazism and the impact of the devastation of World War II. These prompted a renewed focus on the human condition and the structure of society.