Level 40
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Contemporary Philosophy

20th- and 21st-Century Philosophy

A survey of philosophy's most turbulent century, tracing the split between the analytic tradition born from Frege, Russell, and Wittgenstein and the continental tradition of phenomenology, existentialism, and critical theory, through the linguistic, existentialist, and political turns that shaped contemporary thought.

60-Second Review

Express review

A condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.

  1. The Birth of Analytic Philosophy. Frege, Russell, Moore, and the early Wittgenstein founded analytic philosophy through logic and language.
  2. Logical Positivism and the Later Wittgenstein. The Vienna Circle's verificationism gave way to the later Wittgenstein's language games and rule-following.
  3. Phenomenology and Heidegger. Husserl's phenomenology and Heidegger's ontology of Dasein reshaped continental philosophy's core questions.
  4. Existentialism and Phenomenology in France. Sartre, Camus, de Beauvoir, and Merleau-Ponty made freedom, the absurd, and the body central to French thought.
  5. Philosophy of Science and Mind. Popper, Kuhn, and Quine reshaped philosophy of science; functionalism and qualia reshaped philosophy of mind.
  6. Political Philosophy: Rawls, Nozick, and Arendt. Rawls, Nozick, and Arendt debated justice, liberty, and the nature of totalitarian power.
  7. Continental Philosophy: Power, Deconstruction, and Critical Theory. Foucault, Derrida, Lyotard, and critical theory questioned power, meaning, reason, and the metanarrative.
  8. Contemporary Ethics and Feminist Philosophy. Metaethics, bioethics, virtue ethics, and feminist theory transformed late-twentieth-century ethics.
  9. Personal Identity, Free Will, and Contemporary Political Thought. Parfit on identity, the free will debate, and multiculturalism define contemporary philosophical concerns.

This module continues after "Kant's Legacy and the Origins of German Idealism" in the syllabus. If you haven't reviewed it yet, it may help set the context.

Key points

Visual module map

1The Birth of Analytic Philosophy
2Phenomenology and Heidegger
3Philosophy of Science and Mind
4Continental Philosophy: Power, Deconstruction, and Critical Theory
5Personal Identity, Free Will, and Contemporary Political Thought

Alternative visual view: a simplified sequence of some of the module's key points, in their order within the syllabus.

Your module mastery

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Final test

You need to review all key points to unlock the final test.

Optional mini-games

Extra practice, with no penalty, to reinforce the module's content.

Review Flashcards

Review each key point with cards that flip to reveal the summary.

Memory

Match each concept with its definition in as few attempts as possible.

Time Attack

Answer true or false statements before time runs out.

Chronological Order

Put the module's key points back in their original order.

Further reading

Bibliography and cited sources used to create this module.

  • Blackburn, S. (1999). Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Grayling, A. C. (2019). The History of Philosophy. London: Viking.
  • Bakewell, S. (2016). At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails. London: Chatto & Windus.
  • Soames, S. (2003). Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century (2 vols.). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Critchley, S. (2001). Continental Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Kenny, A. (2006). A New History of Western Philosophy, Volume 4: Philosophy in the Modern World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.