An Interpretation of Rudolf Eucken's Philosophy Part 8

FOOTNOTES:

[1] It is not only in Germany, but also in England, that natural scientists forget this important fact. The Presidential Address of Professor Schafer at the British a.s.sociation (September 1912) is an instance of attempting to explain life in terms of its history and of its lowest common denominator. And huge a.s.sumptions have to be made in order to explain as little as this.

[2] A fuller treatment of this subject will be found in my forthcoming volume, _Pathways to Religion_. It is incorrect to state with Professor Sorley (_Recent Tendencies in Ethics_, p. 30) that "her [Germany's] philosophy betrays the dominance of material interests."

[3] An important article on this book appeared in _Mind_ during 1896, and, as far as I can trace, this seems to be the first serious attention which was given to Eucken's writings in England.

A translation of the volume will appear shortly by Messrs Williams & Norgate.

[4] Cf. _Main Currents of Modern Thought_, translated by Dr M.

Booth (1912).

[5] _Main Currents of Modern Thought_, p. 259.

[6] _The Truth of Religion_, p. 6l.

[7] _Ibid._, p. 62.

[8] W. James's _Text-Book of Psychology_, p. 145.

[9] William Wallace's _Lectures and Essays on Natural Theology and Ethics_, p. 210.

[10] Edward Caird's Introduction to William Wallace's Gifford Lectures, pp. x.x.x, x.x.xi.

[11] On this conception of the spiritual as _More, cf._ Bosanquet's _Psychology of the Moral Self_.

[12] _Cf._ Wicksteed's _The Religion of Time and the Religion of Eternity_, in Carpenter and Wicksteed's _Studies in Theology_.

[13] Eucken's best account of this subject is found in Parts I., II., and V. of his _Truth of Religion_ and in _Beitrage zur Weiterentwickelung der Religion_, pp. 240-281. This latter is a volume of ten essays by well-known German religious teachers.

[14] The President of the British a.s.sociation (1912) states in his address that it is not within his province to touch the question concerning the nature of the soul. I take the report of his address from _Nature_, 5th September. Dr Haldane goes much further in the direction of Vitalism (discussion at British a.s.sociation on the subject).

[15] _Cf._ Driesch: _Philosophy of the Organism_; _Vitalismus als Geschichte und Lehre_; his article in _Lebensanschauung_ (a collection of essays by twenty German thinkers, 1911); Reinke's _Philosophie der Botanik_; McDougall's _Body and Mind_; Thomson's _Heredity, Evolution_, and _Introduction to Science_ (the two latter in the Home University Library). Bergson's _Creative Evolution_ deals with the subject, but the value of this book is greater in other directions. T.H. Morgan's _Regeneration_ is a weighty contribution to the subject.

[16] A revival of the study of Kant's first _Critique_ would be of great value to our natural scientists. Green, in his _Prolegomena to Ethics_, has interpreted this aspect in a manner that ought not to be forgotten. _Cf._ further Edward Caird's _Evolution of Religion_, vol. i.

[17] Ward's _Naturalism and Agnosticism_, vol. i., is a reply to this important question.

[18] _Cf._ Munsterberg's _Psychology and Education_, and his _Eternal Values_; also Royce's _The World and the Individual_.

[19] This trans-subjective aspect has been worked out in an original way by Volkelt in his _Quellen der menschlichen Gewisskeit_.

[20] The works of Munsterberg and Rickert deal with great clearness on this difference of subject-matter in science and history.

[21] The main weakness of Bergson's philosophy seems to be in not recognising this problem. Bosanquet, in his _Principle of Individuality and Value_, has very clearly recognised and interpreted it upon similar lines to Eucken.

[22] In this respect Eucken and Bergson seem to agree, although it is difficult to reconcile this aspect of Bergson's with his statements concerning the grasping of reality in the perceptions of the moment.

[23] "Hegel To-day," _The Monist_, April 1897.

[24] _Truth of Religion_, p. 328.

[25] Green has dealt with this aspect in the first part of his _Prolegomena to Ethics_ in practically the same way as Eucken.

_Cf._ also Nettles.h.i.+p's _Life of Green_ and his (Nettles.h.i.+p's) _Philosophical Remains_.

[26] This need of differentiation has been presented by Munsterberg in a powerful manner in his _Psychology and Life, Eternal Values_, and _Science and Idealism_.

[27] Munsterberg's _Science and Idealism_, p. 10; _cf._ also his _Grundsuge der Psychologie_, Bd. i., 1900.

[28] Wundt's _Grundriss der Psychologie_ and the article "Psychologie" in _Philosophie im beginn des Zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts (Festschrift fur Kuno Fischer_, art. 1).

[29] _The Truth of Religion_, pp. 178 _f_.

[30] It is a great merit of Bergson, too, to have perceived this fundamental difference. The difference between intellect and intuition, in his larger volumes, is more illuminating on the side of intellect. The relation of both is expressed by him more clearly in his short _Introduction to Metaphysics_ (soon to appear in English).

[31] Troeltsch, in his _Psychologie und Erkenntnistheorie_, has perceived the difference very clearly, but in a manner quite different from Bergson. Troeltsch has dealt with the presence of the content of the over-empirical as something which is higher than any psychology of the soul, and which is at the farthest remove from the percept.

[32] Richard Kade, in his new book, _Rudolf Euckens noologische Methode_, points out very clearly Eucken's contributions on this point from 1885 downwards. Kade further deals with the later developments of Windelband, Rickert, Troeltsch, and Wobbermin in the same direction.

[33] _Historical Studies in Philosophy_,1912, p. 176.

[34] _Cf._ the two remarkable volumes of Baron von Hugel, _The Mystical Elements of Religion_,1908, and especially vol. ii. These books are a mine of rich things, but I have not observed that many in our country have as yet realised this fact.

[35] _The Truth of Religion_, p. 456.

[36] _Main Currents of Modern Thought_, p. 353.

[37] _The Truth of Religion_, p. 59.

[38] _Cf. Decadence_, Henry Sidgwick Memorial Lecture, by the Rt.

Hon. Arthur James Balfour, M.P., 1908. Mr Balfour has perceived the problem in a more optimistic manner than Professor Eucken; but he, too, is conscious that much is required of the people. "Some kind of widespread exhilaration or excitement is required in order to enable any community to extract the best results from the raw material transmitted to it by natural inheritance" (p. 62).

[39] _Main Currents of Modern Thought_, p. 398.

[40] This aspect has been developed in modern times by Schopenhauer, Ed. von Hartmann, and others. Bergson seems to me to be greatly indebted to Schopenhauer. Schopenhauer's Will and Bergson's _elan vital_ are practically the same (_cf_.

Schopenhauer's _uber den Willen in der Natur,_ and Bergson's _Creative Evolution_). Edward Carpenter, in his _Art of Creation_, has worked out a similar point of view independently of Bergson.

[41] _Der Kampf um einen geistigen Lebensinhalt_, Zweite Auflage, 1907, S. 331.

[42] Sonderdruck, 1905.

[43] George Meredith, _The Sage Enamoured and the Honest Lady_.