Discussions about the truth, popular in the twentieth century, gave rise to new antinomies along with problems. The discovery of psychoanalysis made it possible to turn it from a treatment technique into a philosophical and psychological doctrine on the relationship between conscious and unconscious in a person.
The approach of pragmatism broke the traditional understanding of truth, since it believed that the truth of any theory lies in its “ability to work,” that is, how good it is in personal experience. But the most popular was the
philosophy of science and technology, which put at the forefront the global problems generated by the scientific and technological revolution.
The stumbling block between different schools of thought was the humanities.
Analytical philosophy has taken a categorical rationalist-scientistic position. She stated that scientific knowledge is the only possible. Logical positivism in the person of Russell, Karnap, representatives of the Vienna Circle used the apparatus of mathematical logic to create a special language. He had to operate exclusively with verified concepts. From them one can construct consistent logical constructions that can be tolerated as theories. It is clear that traditional humanitarian science with this approach turned out to be overboard. But that is not all. The theory of "language games" of Wittgenstein and his followers also justified the incompatibility of natural and mathematical disciplines with the "sciences of the spirit."
Most clearly, this trend was expressed in the concept of Karl Popper. He considered the humanities exclusively applied and actually denied them the right to theory. The author of the "open society" proceeded from two reasons. Firstly, any systematization in the humanitarian sphere is too subjective, and secondly, these sciences are infected with “holism”, which forces them not to describe facts, but to search for some non-existent integrity. In addition, they are irrational. Therefore, Popper attacked first of all the specifics of this area of human knowledge. The humanities, the philosopher accused, are intellectually irresponsible. It is based on irrational feelings and passions that blind, disconnect and interfere with discussions.
However, all these processes did not prevent the popularity of the opposite attitude to the humanities. This approach has shaped the face of the twentieth century as much as Popper. We are talking about the founder of philosophical hermeneutics, Hans-Georg Gadamer. Agreeing that all natural and human sciences fundamentally differ in the way they are interpreted, the philosopher considered this not a negative, but a positive phenomenon. In mathematics, physics, biology, a theory is created according to methodology.
And the latter appears as a result of knowledge of patterns and casual (causal) relationships. But the role of the humanities is that their truth is closer to real life, to people and their feelings. For the theory of natural disciplines, the main thing is compliance with the facts. And for the humanities, for example, history, evidence becomes paramount when the essence of the event itself removes its cover.
Gadamer was one of the first to return to the positive connotation of the concept of "authority." This is what makes the “science of the spirit” what it is. In this area, we cannot know anything without the help of our predecessors, and therefore tradition plays a very important role for us. Our rationality only helps us to choose the authority that we trust. And also the tradition that we follow. And in this unity of the present and the past is the role of the humanities.