Fragmentation of Philosophy

Its Causes and its Consequences

Abstract

In the last fifty years, academic philosophy has undergone a process of fragmentation in many specialized disciplines and sub-disciplines. Each discipline has developed in a fairly autonomous way and shows little interaction with the others. In this article I intend to make a diagnosis of the present situation of the philosophical practice in its three main domains: analytical philosophy, continental philosophy, and history of philosophy. I conclude that the fragmentation process, which is apparent in the three domains, is both the consequence of the internal dynamics of the philosophical research and the outcome of several survival strategies within an increasingly competitive professional environment.