Life's Basis and Life's Ideal: the Fundamentals of a New Philosophy of Life

Part 1

LIFE'S BASIS AND LIFE'S IDEAL

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

THE MEANING AND VALUE OF LIFE

Translated by W. R. BOYCE GIBSON Crown 8vo, cloth, price 3s. 6d. net.

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And by W. R. BOYCE GIBSON

RUDOLF EUCKEN'S PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE

Second Edition, crown 8vo, cloth, price 3s. 6d. net.

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LIFE'S BASIS AND LIFE'S IDEAL

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE

RUDOLF EUCKEN PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF JENA

TRANSLATED, WITH INTRODUCTORY NOTE

ALBAN G. WIDGERY FORMERLY SCHOLAR OF ST. CATHARINE'S COLLEGE, AND BURNEY STUDENT, CAMBRIDGE, AND MEMBER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF JENA

LONDON ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK 1912

First published December 1911 Second and Revised Edition, February 1912

CONTENTS

PAGE TRANSLATOR'S INTRODUCTORY NOTE vii

AUTHOR'S PREFACE xxi

I. INTRODUCTORY: THE PHILOSOPHIES OF LIFE IN THE PRESENT DAY 1

PRELIMINARY REMARKS 3

I. STATEMENT AND CRITICISM OF INDIVIDUAL SYSTEMS OF LIFE 6 (a) The Older Systems 6 1. The Religious System 6 2. The System of Immanent Idealism 15 (b) The Newer Systems 22 1. The Naturalistic System 24 2. The Socialistic System 41 3. The System of Æsthetic Individualism 61

Part 2

II. Consideration of the Situation as a Whole, and Preliminaries for Further Investigation 81 (a) The Nature of the New as a Whole and its Relation to the Old 81 (b) The Condition of the Present 86 (c) The Form of the Problem 92

II. THE OUTLINE OF A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE 99 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS AND CONSIDERATIONS 101

I. THE MAIN THESIS 110 (a) The Ascent to the Main Thesis 110 1. Man as a Being of Nature 110 2. The Growth of Man beyond Nature 113 3. The Inner Contradiction of the New Life 134 (b) The Development of the Main Thesis 144 1. The Main Thesis and the Possibility of a New System of Life 144 (a) The Development of the Spiritual Life to Independence 144 (b) The Demands of a New System of Life 150 (c) The Spiritual Basis of the System of Life 152 (d) Human Existence 161 (e) Results and Prospects 166 2. The Transformation and the Elevation of Human Life 168 (a) Aims and Ways 168 (b) The Nature of Freedom 174 (c) The Beginnings of the Independent Spiritual Life 183 (d) The Transcending of Division 187 i. The Spiritual Conception of History 188 ii. The Spiritual Conception of Society 196 (e) The Elevation of Life above Division 201

II. THE MORE DETAILED FORM OF OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE 216 (a) The Problem of Truth and Reality 216 (b) Man and the World 226 (c) The Movement of the Spiritual Life in Man 233 (d) The Emergence of a New Type of Life 240 1. Life's Attainment of Greatness 240 2. The Increase of Movement 247 3. The Gain of Stability 251 (e) Activism, a Profession of Faith 255

III. THE SPIRITUAL LIFE IN MAN IN CONFLICT AND IN VICTORY 262 (a) Doubt and Prostration 262 (b) Consideration and Demand 267 (c) The Victory 273

III. APPLICATION TO THE PRESENT: CONSEQUENCES AND REQUIREMENTS 287

Introductory Considerations 289 I. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FORM OF LIFE AS A WHOLE 298 (a) The Character of Culture 298 (b) The Organisation of the Work of Culture 315

II. THE FORM OF THE INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS 322 Preliminary Remarks 322 (a) Religion, Morality, Education 324 1. Religion 324 2. Morality 335 3. Education and Instruction 343 (b) Science and Philosophy 345 (c) Art and Literature 354 (d) Social and Political Life 358 (e) The Life of the Individual 369

CONCLUSION 373

INDEX 375

TRANSLATOR'S INTRODUCTORY NOTE

With the consent of the author the title "Life's Basis and Life's Ideal" has been adopted for this translation of "Die Grundlinien einer neuen Lebensanschauung," with the hope that thereby the purpose of the work will be more directly indicated than by a literal translation of the German title. It is hoped, further, that the title adopted will make an appeal to the general reading public. To make such an appeal is not the desire of every writer on philosophical subjects: but in the present instance it is the case. The author feels that he has a message for the present time, and one that is vital to the true interests of all. It has been remarked, and the present writer would be among the first to acknowledge the truth of the statement, that the voice is that of a prophet in the sense of an ethical teacher, rather than that of a philosopher in the more technical sense. Nevertheless, the use of a philosophical terminology, and the constant implicit reference to the results of philosophical endeavour in the past and present, combined with the peculiarities of the author's own views, make it difficult to understand his message. To non-philosophical readers who are not already acquainted with the more popular works which have been translated under the titles of "Christianity and the New Idealism," "The Life of the Spirit," and "The Meaning and Value of Life," the present work will appear of considerable difficulty. Difficulty in such a work is, however, by no means necessarily an evil, for it may compel more careful reading and thought. The present work is the latest and best general statement, by the author, of his philosophical position. By some reference here to certain ideas, principles, and aims of the philosophy, the attention of the reader may be drawn to those aspects which, in personal contact with the author, one comes to feel are regarded by him as of most importance. It is not invariably so, but in this case to know the man is to gain immensely in the power to understand and appreciate the message. He inspires us with his confidence and enthusiasm, even when we have doubts as to the adequacy of his philosophical creed. His philosophy is, indeed, the outcome of an attitude of life. To know the man is to understand more fully than from all his written works what he means when he speaks of the development of personality and spiritual individuality. Whatever may be the value of what is written about Professor Eucken's position, no substitute can be found for reading his own words in as many of his different expositions as possible.

Should anyone seek in this work for a systematic discussion of philosophical problems on the lines of traditional Rationalism, which, though often assumed to be dead, still asserts a strong influence upon us, he will not only look in vain but will also lose much that is of value in that which is offered. The aim of the philosophy is not to discuss the basis and ideal of thought, but to probe to the depth of life in all its complexity, and to advance to an all-inclusive ideal. The starting-point for us all is life as we experience it, not an apparent ultimate, such as the cogito ergo sum of Descartes, the I ought of Kant, or the pure being of Hegel. At the outset, therefore, it is necessary to note the nature of the relation between philosophy and life. Philosophy arises within life as an expression of its nature and general import. Life may assume various forms, may be, that is, of different types; with different individuals and societies it is organised in divers ways. Life so organised, having certain definite tendencies, is called by Professor Eucken a system of life. In the philosophies of life which arise in these types or systems of life, life becomes more explicitly conscious of its own nature. Further, a philosophy of life is also a means of justification and defence of one system of life in opposition to other systems. Life as experienced, as organised in some way, is prior to any definite intellectual or conceptual expression of it. On the other hand a type of life may be influenced and modified by changes in the accepted philosophy of life, or by the adoption of a new philosophy. A philosophy, therefore, is to be judged by the system of life it represents and by its spiritual fruitfulness. As the roots of the differences between philosophies are in the systems of life from which the philosophies arise, the conflict is primarily not between theories, but between systems of life. The ground of the author's general appeal thus becomes apparent. The problem is a vital one; in one form or another, at one time or another, everyone is faced with it: how shall I mould my life? And it is here that we must insist upon the importance of Professor Eucken's contention that we have to make our decision for one system of life as a whole, and thus for one philosophy of life as a whole, as against other systems and other philosophies taken as wholes.

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