480 



PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT. 



problem of Knowledge, trying to establish the under- 

 lying identity of mind and nature ; and it finally cul- 

 minated in Hegel, whose speculation is not only based 

 on the conception of the uniting principle in all 

 knowledge and the unity in all that is real, but who 

 also reverted to the antique conception of the unity 

 of knowing and being. This dogmatic assertion of the 

 monistic view was opposed by two quite independent 

 thinkers — by Herbart ^ on the one side, and by 



1 Herbart (1776-1841) is a unique 

 and isolated figure in modern phil- 

 osophy. But though he had a con- 

 siderable influence in various, only 

 slightly connected, directions of 

 thought, it cannot be said that 

 he has left a permanent mark on 

 philosophical thought as a whole 

 or outside of his own country. 

 The great revolution which has 

 come over philosophical thought 

 through Kant is only partially rep- 

 resented in Herbart's writings ; and 

 though he called himself a Kantian, 

 it has been correctly pointed out 

 that he really stands nearer to the 

 philosophy of Wolff, to some of 

 Leibniz's ideas, and to others pecu- 

 liar to ancient Greek philosophy. 

 Nothing strikes one more in Her- 

 bart's writings than the want of 

 reconciliation of different lines of 

 thought which he takes up and 

 follows out independently ; and this 

 is so much the more remarkable, as 

 his fundamental methodical precept 

 was that philosophy consists in 

 removing contradictions met with 

 in the philosophy of common-sense 

 and in the sciences. Not only is 

 his conception of reality pluralistic, 

 but his manner of thought is un- 

 systematic. In religious matters 

 he was conservative, not to say 

 orthodox ; but there is no attempt 

 to give a philosophical interpreta- 

 tion to religious doctrines, as was 



the aim of the idealistic systems, 

 or to deal with religious belief as 

 a psychological phenomenon, as 

 was done in an original manner 

 by Schleiermacher ; nor does he, 

 lastly, deal with the great problem 

 of Evil, Sin, and Redemption, as 

 was done by Schopenhauer. The 

 truly Real and the doctrine of de- 

 grees of Reality are not to be met 

 with, and his metaphysics present, 

 in consequence, no religious or eth- 

 ical interest. Although one heard 

 at one time a good deal about the 

 Herbartian school, this seems to 

 have died out after having, through 

 some of its representatives, pro- 

 duced important works in special 

 limited regions of research ; in one 

 direction, that of anthropology, even 

 pioneer work. Some of his dis- 

 ciples have cultivated such branches 

 of philosophy as were only sketched 

 by Herbart himself — such as iEs- 

 thetics, Ethics, and Philosophy of 

 Religion. In those chapters of this 

 History in which I shall deal with 

 special philosophical problems, we 

 shall meet with Herbartian ideas, 

 as we have already done in the 

 chapter on the " Psychological 

 Problem " ; and notably we shall 

 find in Lotze's philosophy marks 

 of Herbartian influence which led 

 some early critics of Lotze to place 

 him erroneously in the Herbartian 

 school. 



