Philosophy is always evolving, with new thinkers drawing on the works of the past. Continental philosophies are the schools of modern philosophical thought that developed on the continent of Europe, primarily in France and Germany. Analytic philosophy, often associated with “deconstruction” and linear approaches, is associated with the United Kingdom and the United States. The two major approaches to philosophy diverged with the rise of phenomenology, founded in Germany by Edmund Husserl. Phenomenology attempts to describe the structures of consciousness in the constitution of reality.
Continental schools of philosophy tend to move beyond the natural sciences. Modern continental thinkers moved into metaphysical studies and theories of experience. Phenomenology led to the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre and Martin Heidegger. Other continental thinkers were influenced by linguistics and the post-structuralism of Derrida. Continental philosophy is central to the very issues of language, communication, meaning, and reference, which currently dominate analytic philosophy, ironically.
Continental Movements
Analytical Movements
Objectivism
Because of this emphasis on radical individualism, existentialism is sometimes compared to Ayn Rand’s objectivism or political libertarianism. Like existentialists, Rand and her followers used the arts to further a philosophy. However, objectivism claims there are basic, universal truths of human nature and experience. Rand’s works and objectivism embody a neo-liberal philosophy of personal self-interest and, by some, of greed. Most of the existential thinkers of the twentieth century are associated with left-leaning democratic socialism and even communism. Yes, this is also contradictory on its face, reflecting the complexity of any attempt to unravel existentialism.