I

A topic by nature controversial. The first objection: Is the philosophical question answered at all? Second: the problem inherent in philosophy's subject matter: What does it mean to ``encounter something''? Can we discuss the incomprehensible? Third: the sciences and reality as such. Fourth: What good is anything ``not serving a purpose''?

II

The ``philosophical'' aspect. Philosophy is not an ordinary activity. Catharsis through the experience of death and Eros. Philosophy and praxis are incommensurable. The attempt to eliminate the discrepancy makes sense. Brentano's consoling observation

III

Art and religion are philosophy's neighbors. Illusions and deceptions; religion and magic; art and ``entertainment''. Why ``party'' activists are harmless, sophists dangerous. The ``interest of the day'' and the ``vanity of opinions'' (Hegel)

IV

The totalitarianism of the ``world of production''; rejected. The meaning of ``philosophy alone is free'' (Aristotle). Freedom and knowledge as such. Freedom and the search for truth. In what sense is philosophy uniquely ``theory''? The scientist does not keep silence but asks questions. The ``gold'' of philosophical silence contained in the ``silver'' of the scientific discourse. The ``simplicity'' of philosophy is more demanding than scientific ``objectivity''. To be ``critical'' in a philosophical way. ``To use'' and ``to enjoy'' (Augustine). Philosophy, meditation, loving contemplation

V

What does ``meaningful in itself'' mean? ``Good for something'' in the context of personal existence. Difficulties with the arguments. What cognition achieves in the context of existence: satiated by being. ``To see or to perish'' (Teilhard de Chardin). ``What do those not see...'' Philosophical theoria and the visio beatifica. Reality as such and the nature of the spirit. Existence face-to-face with all that is. ``What is this: something real?'' (Aristotle). ``To conceive a complete fact'' (Whitehead)

VI

``None of the gods philosophizes'' (Plato). Philosophy as ``non-wisdom''. Philosophy's object cannot be known. Knowledge and understanding. ``The reality of a thing is also its inner light'' (Thomas Aquinas). Reality as lucidity can be known. Differences with regard to Marxism. The world can be known, and yet remains unfathomable: both because it is creation. Rejection of agnostic resignation and rationalistic arrogance

VII

Philosophy as ``embarrassment for all'' (Jaspers). ``Scientific philosophy''. A list of complaints. The infinite journey of philosophy and of existence itself. Can we achieve complete understanding? ``Completeness is a phantom'' (Whitehead). ``Insight and wisdom seem equally dispensable.'' (Eliot). Science as discovery, philosophy as remembrance. The convergence of the scientific and the philosophical guest

VIII

Facing the Challenge. The language of philosophy and the ``clarity'' of expression. Misuse of language on the part of certain philosophers. Philosophy and poetry. Clarity and precision. Language and terminology. To wonder at reality as expressed in ``protocol sentences''. Relationship to experience. Legitimacy based on empirical roots. Leaving aside nothing

IX

To include super-rational notions. Not one philosophy, rather philosophizing individuals. Revelation, tradition, faith, theology. The problem with a philosophy ``devoid of any presupposition''. Sartre's ``faith''. Academic sophistry is irrelevant. Can a Christian philosopher disregard the tenets of his faith? Two voices: a believer cannot be a philosopher (Heidegger); the philosopher cannot have faith (Jaspers). Philosophy as absolute questioning, philosophy as absolute freedom: both in contrast to the traditional notion from Plato to Kant. The correlation between what is known and what is believed in philosophy defies precise description. Polyphone chords as analogy. Seeing and hearing. Conflicts to be expected. The decisive point: a conscious openness to the totality of all that is

Index