THE WONDERS OF LIFE 



bers have all a right to scientific respect and discussion, 

 the monistic minority no less than the dualistic major- 

 ity. We have to inquire, then, how far monism has 

 succeeded in gaining firm foothold in the various fields 

 of science, and we may begin with a distinction between 

 pure (theoretical) and applied (practical) science. 



Pure philosophy aims at a knowledge of the truth by 

 means of pure reason, as I explained in the first chapter. 

 However, this theoretical philosophy finds itself in most 

 of the sciences in direct and frequently important rela- 

 tions to practical life, and so in the form of applied philos- 

 ophy becomes a weighty factor in civilization. In this 

 the real claims of practical life are often in contradiction 

 to the ideal tenets of the scientifically grounded theory. 

 In such cases, in my opinion, the pure pursuit of the 

 truth must take precedence of applied philosophy. I 

 thus dissent entirely from the view of Kant, who ex- 

 pressly gives precedence to practical reason, and sub- 

 ordinates theoretical reason to it. Kant's error was 

 fated to have a terrible influence, because the dominant 

 authorities in Church and state eagerly embraced it 

 to insure everywhere the supremacy of the dogmas of 

 practical reason over the attainments of pure critical 

 reason. 



From the point of view of natural monism we may 

 take physics in the wider sense as the fundamental 

 science. The term physis (the Greek equivalent of the 

 Latin "nature"), in its original meaning, comprises the 

 whole knowable world — Kant's mundus sensihilis. His 

 supersensual or "intelligible" world is, on his own 

 definition, the object of faith, not knowledge. It is very 

 remarkable to find a thinker like Kant contradicting 

 himself already in his fundamental distinction of the 

 two worlds. How can the supersensual world, with its 

 three central mysteries (God, freedom, and immortal- 

 ity), be described as intelligible (i.e., knowable) when 



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