OF NATURE. 545 



the region of things natural, of things mental, and of 

 things spiritual, a preliminary study of facts is required 

 before the great problems themselves can be attacked. 

 Thus Cosmology, or the Theory of Nature and the 

 Universe as a whole, has been superseded by the study 

 of nature in detail; Eational Psychology has been 

 superseded by Empirical Psychology ; and Eational 

 Theology has either been altogether abandoned or it 

 has been placed at the very end of a detailed study of 

 spiritual phenomena in individual and social life. 



There seems to be no doubt that the modern age has 2. 



Superseded 



been more largely occupied with empirical studies in all 

 the three departments, and that the discussion of the 

 ultimate problems has been either postponed or pushed 

 into the background. Nevertheless, at the end of the 

 period with which I am dealing, the necessity of arriving 

 at a philosophical or reasoned Creed has, as I have 

 stated before, made itself more and more felt, and with 

 it a renewed interest has arisen in the everlasting 

 metaphysical x problems of Nature, Mind, and Spirit, 



1 During the third quarter of historical interest which idealistic 

 the century lectures on Metaphysics , and romantic philosophy had helped 

 had almost disappeared at the Ger- to stimulate quite as much 



man universities, and, still more so, 

 lectures on philosophy of Nature. 

 This was owing to two distinct 



the diffusion of the critical spirit. 

 During that period, however, 

 philosophical thought cultivated 



causes, both equally important. I other departments which had pre- 



The first was purely negative : a | viously been somewhat neglected, 



widespread aversion to premature These were notably psychology, 



speculations, such as were contained logic (in a wider sense of the 



in the systems of Schelling and term), and philosophy of religion. 



Hegel, and which, notably in the In the period there was only one 



regions of the empirical sciences j prominent teacher of philosophy 



and for the purpose of the acquisi- who did as much to preserve the 



tion of natural knowledge, were continuity of philosophical thought 



considered to have exerted a bane- ( and the valuable traditions of the 



ful influence. The second was a past as he did to infuse a new spirit 



positive cause : the growth of the i into the treatment of the three 



VOL. III. 2 M 



