out as a purely empirical psychological investigation of the empirical self-consciousness (Swedish: själfmedvetandet), and any philosophical investigations are subordinate in relation to psychological investigations.101 Philosophy was only to be included in the investigation when absolutely necessary, which was whenever an indispensable need to describe and determine empirical reality arose, as well as whenever the need to determine the empirical self-consciousness’ own nature on the basis of a given view of the real “self ’s” (Swedish: jagets) attributes (Swedish: karaktär) arose (the latter being the primary object of Hägerström’s investigation).102 According to plan, it was only in these two cases that Hägerström thought it necessary to analyze the philosophical tenability of the views concerning the empirical self-consciousness. In conclusion: The philosophical investigation is subordinate to the primary purpose of analyzing the specific elements of the empirical self-consciousness itself, with the exception of any value-theoretical components connected to the empirical self-consciousness which are to be subjected to a philosophical investigation.103 According to Ernst Logren, the leading principle of Till analysen af det empiriska själfmedvetandet is Hägerström’s empirically based psychological critique of idealism.104 As far as Hägerström saw it, idealism contained two errors: the first, philosophical; the second, psychological.These errors were caused by the fact that the premisses of idealism (the psychological basis) had not been properly analyzed.This was a defect of previous research resulting in the unfortunate circumstance that the mistakes of philosophy were once again visited upon empirical psychology (and vice versa, the causality being bit unclear in this respect).105 Had a ca l l f o r s c i e n t i f i c p u r i t y 201 101 Hägerström, Till analysen af det empiriska själfmedvetandet: En psykologisk och filosofisk undersökning, pp. 1-4. 102 Ibid. 103 Ibid., pp. 3-4. 104 Logren, Huvuddragen, p. 330. 105 Hägerström, Till analysen, pp. 78-79 and 104-106.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjYyNDk=