Reconstruction in Philosophy

This series of lectures argues that philosophy must shift from metaphysical absolutes toward a socially oriented, scientifically informed inquiry. It traces historical forces and the impact of modern science on notions of nature, experience, and reason; reconceives experience as active, organized, and socially inventive; treats ideals as methods rather than immutable goals; and reframes logic as a normative but empirical tool. It applies these reconstructions to ethics—emphasizing particularity, growth, and discovery over fixed rules—and to social thought, advocating pluralist associations, democratic freedom, and international humanism.