|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 15
So far, then, we have seen how Eucken proves the inadequacy of the
realistic conceptions of life, and how they really depend for their
acceptance upon the assumption of a Universal Spiritual Life. We have
still to see how he attempts to prove that basing human life upon an
eternal spiritual life satisfies the conditions he himself has laid down
for a satisfactory solution of the problem. He has to show that the
theory gives a satisfactory explanation of human life, that it gives a
firm basis for life, that it releases man from being governed by low
motives, and admits of the possibility of human personality, freedom,
and creation. We shall see in the chapters that follow that he makes a
convincing case for accepting the belief in the Universal Spiritual Life
as the basis of human life and endeavour.
CHAPTER V
THE "HIGH" AND THE "LOW"
Eucken makes the recognition of the existence of a Universal Spiritual
Life the starting-point of his constructive work. He takes up a position
which he calls the n�ological position. Many theories take up a
materialistic position; they assert the reality of the material world,
and endeavour to explain the world of matter as something independent of
the human mind. Other theories assert the superiority of mind over
matter, and endeavour to examine the mind as though it were independent
of the material world. These two types of theories have been in
continual conflict; the one has attempted to prove that thought is
entirely conditioned by sense impressions received from the material
world, the other regards the phenomena of nature as really nothing other
than processes of the mind.
Eucken finds reality existing in the spiritual life, which while neither
material nor merely mental, is superior to both, admits the existence
(in a certain sense) of both, and does away with the opposition between
the rival types of theories. Eucken does not minimise or ignore the
existence of the natural world. The question for him is not the
independent existence of the worlds of nature and mind--this he admits;
he is concerned rather with the superiority of the spiritual life over
the merely material and mental.
The natural life of man has been variously viewed in different ages. The
writer of the Pentateuch described man as made in the image of God, and
the natural man was exalted on this account. Some of the old Greek
philosophers, too, found much in nature that was divine. Christianity
took a different view of the matter--it exalted the spirit, and
emphasised the baseness of the material. The growth of the sciences made
man again a mere tool of laws and methods, but it considered matter as
superior to mind, mind being entirely dependent upon impressions
received from matter. The question continually recurs--which is the
high, which is the low? Shall nature triumph over spirit, or spirit over
nature?
Pantheism replies to the question by denying that there is anything high
as distinguished from the low. There is but one; and that one--the whole
universe--is God. There is no evil in the world, says pantheism,
everything is good--if we could understand things as they really are we
should find no oppositions in the universe, and no contradictions in the
nature of things. The world as it is, is the best of all possible
worlds--there is perfect harmony, though we fail to appreciate it. Other
optimistic theories, too, deny the existence of evil and pain, and try
to explain our ideas of sin to be mere "points of view." If we could see
the whole, they tell us, we should see how the parts harmonise, but now
we only see some of the parts and fail to appreciate the harmony. In
this way they try to explain away as unreal the phenomena of evil and
pain.
But Eucken has no patience with such theories. For him the oppositions
and contradictions of life are too real and persistent. The antagonisms
"stir us with disgust and indignation." Evil cannot be considered
trivial, and must not be glossed over; it is in the world, and the more
deeply we appreciate the fact the better it will be for the human soul.
Man in his lower stages of development is just a child of nature, and
his standards of life are those of the lower world. He seeks those
things that satisfy the senses, he attempts the satiation of the lower
cravings. In the realm of morals his standard is utility--that is good
which helps him to obtain more pleasure and to avoid pain. In social
life his conduct is dictated by custom--this is the highest appeal. The
development of man along the lines of nature ends at this point--and if
nothing more is to happen, then he must remain at a low level of
development. Matter and mind cannot take him beyond--the mind as such
only helps towards the further satisfaction of the lower demands of man.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|