The Philosophy of Franz Brentano

The main goal of this project is a book presenting the philosophy of Franz Brentano (1838-1917) in its entirety. One can distinguish in his thought three big periods: (1) The young Brentano (1862-1874) writes mainly about Aristotle, stands under influence of medieval concepualists, and tries to develop a comprehensive metaphysics after the scholastic manner. (2) The "middle" Brentano (1874-1904), after publication of his Psychology from an Empirical Point of View (1874), turns to the discipline that we could call "philosophical psychology" and develops a rich ontology of mind. (3) The late Brentano (1904-1917) concentrates once again on the general ontology and develops a very radical position known under the label of "Brentano`s late reism". I would like to show the development of Brentano`s thought in its continuity (e.g. the rich ontology developed in the middle period can be regarded as a reaction on some shortcomings of his early position, and his late reism is in many respects a kind of return to his early conceptualist views in a refined form) and present his achievements in the major philosophical disciplines: ontology, epistemology, ethic and aesthetic, as well as his interesting ideas concerning philosophy of religion and history of philosophy. Furthermore I want clearly separate (A) Brentano`s "official" views, as put forward in his published works, and (B) "unofficial" theories developed in his manuscripts. At some points there are formidable differences between (A) and (B). It seems therefore that such a separation (that we miss in the contemporary literature on Brentano) can be very fruitful for the proper understanding of the development of Brentano-school. I believe to be in a position to write such a book. The philosophy of Franz Brentano was in the centre of my interest since the completion of my Ph.D. in 1997. I am the author of some 70 scientific publications, including 5 authored books, concerning mainly Brentano and the Brentanian tradition. Since 2007 I am (together with Thomas Binder, University of Graz) co-editor of a new edition of Franz Brentano`s works: Franz Brentano, Sämtliche veröffentlichte Schriften (Frankfurt a.M.: Ontos-Verlag). This edition is particularly important to my project. It forces me to review once more all Brentano`s published works and rethink anew the relation of his official doctrine to the unpublished material.

The main goal of this project is a book presenting the philosophy of Franz Brentano (1838-1917) in its entirety. One can distinguish in his thought three big periods: 1. The young Brentano (1862-1874) writes mainly about Aristotle, stands under influence of medieval concepualists, and tries to develop a comprehensive metaphysics after the scholastic manner. 2. The "middle" Brentano (1874-1904), after publication of his Psychology from an Empirical Point of View (1874), turns to the discipline that we could call "philosophical psychology" and develops a rich ontology of mind. 3. The late Brentano (1904-1917) concentrates once again on the general ontology and develops a very radical position known under the label of "Brentano`s late reism". I would like to show the development of Brentano`s thought in its continuity (e.g. the rich ontology developed in the middle period can be regarded as a reaction on some shortcomings of his early position, and his late reism is in many respects a kind of return to his early conceptualist views in a refined form) and present his achievements in the major philosophical disciplines: ontology, epistemology, ethic and aesthetic, as well as his interesting ideas concerning philosophy of religion and history of philosophy. Furthermore I want clearly separate (A) Brentano`s "official" views, as put forward in his published works, and (B) "unofficial" theories developed in his manuscripts. At some points there are formidable differences between (A) and (B). It seems therefore that such a separation (that we miss in the contemporary literature on Brentano) can be very fruitful for the proper understanding of the development of Brentano-school. I believe to be in a position to write such a book. The philosophy of Franz Brentano was in the centre of my interest since the completion of my Ph.D. in 1997. I am the author of some 70 scientific publications, including 5 authored books, concerning mainly Brentano and the Brentanian tradition. Since 2007 I am (together with Thomas Binder, University of Graz) co-editor of a new edition of Franz Brentano`s works: Franz Brentano, Sämtliche veröffentlichte Schriften (Frankfurt a.M.: Ontos-Verlag). This edition is particularly important to my project. It forces me to review once more all Brentano`s published works and rethink anew the relation of his official doctrine to the unpublished material.