THE RATIONALE OF PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT. 785 



constructions is carried out : the genesis of the sensuous 

 world within the consciousness of the child on the one 

 side, and on the other side the genesis of the spiritual 

 world within the consciousness of the adult mind, all 

 this is a subject for psychological and historical studies. 

 These studies form the occupation of some of the fore- 

 most minds of the present time. 



But it cannot be my object to enter more fully into 

 this region of philosophic thought, which is now being 

 explored by prominent thinkers on the Continent and 

 with eminent originality by thinkers in this country ; 

 for to do so would be to step beyond the limits which I 

 have assigned to the present section of this History as 

 well as of the period which it comprises. It cannot be 

 denied that the last years of that period, and still more 

 the beginning of the present century, exhibit to the 

 historian of thought as one of its most striking features 

 a revival of philosophical interest, and that this is no- 

 where more living and promising than in the provinces 

 of introspective psychology and of ethical, including 

 religious, philosophy. But we are living in what 

 Niebuhr termed a " preparing " age, in which the abund- 

 ance of original and suggestive work is quite as striking 

 as its controversial character and its inconclusiveness. 

 Great questions, such as that of " Psychologism " in 

 Germany, of " Intellectualism " in this country, and of 

 the foundation of morality in France, are being ap- 

 proached by independent thinkers from various sides; 

 but all these problems with their numerous sub- 

 divisions are still sub judice, and we look in vain for 

 a final and generally acceptable summing-up and 



VOL. iv. 3 D 



