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SCIENCE 



[N. 8. Vol. XXXVIII. No. 982 



to form a school, to apply itself to various 

 arts and sciences, to publish in journals 

 special researches — in brief, to assume the 

 outward seeming of a progressive and hu- 

 mane science. Ere long it had represen- 

 tatives, exemplifying various grades of dis- 

 cipleship, in academic chairs in Germany. 

 To the young men who fell under its influ- 

 ence it sometimes meant, no doubt, a chance 

 simply to spare themselves serious effort in 

 their study of natural science. A young 

 medical man might learn phrases instead of 

 making laborious observations. On the 

 other hand, one can not accuse most of the 

 prominent Naturphilosophen of laziness. 

 They were for the most part very industri- 

 ous writers and thinkers and some of them 

 did a great deal of empirical investigation. 

 Their enthusiasm was due to their belief 

 that they had found a general way of inter- 

 preting the results of natural science so far 

 as these were known to them. As the age 

 was one when, in Germany, the teaching of 

 the natural sciences had been for some time 

 at a low ebb in the German universities, 

 there is something to say for the view that 

 the whole movement of the Naturphilos- 

 ophie was the first crude and eager begin- 

 ning of a new era of scientific activity in 

 that land, rather than a hindrance to an al- 

 ready developed scientific movement. For 

 the rest, the fact that results of natural 

 science, obtained for the most part outside 

 of Germany, had suggested to that period 

 new and attractive ideas, which seemed to 

 promise surprising generalizations — this 

 fact, I say, serves in some measure to excuse 

 the enthusiasm of the Naturphilosophen. 

 The discovery of galvanism, the general 

 progress of the knowledge of electricity, the 

 beginnings of chemistry, the various begin- 

 nings of discovery in the biological sciences 

 — all these things constituted fascinating 

 temptations to overhasty generalization. 

 To these temptations the Naturphilosophen 



fell a prey. As to the precise extent to 

 which the Naturphilosophie directly affected 

 the scientific thought of Germany, mere 

 statistics may show something. Three only 

 of the philosophers who were especially 

 identified with the movement are now re- 

 membered as of note in the history of 

 philosophy. These are Schelling himself; 

 the Norwegian Steffens, who mostly lived 

 and wrote in Germany, and was professor 

 in Halle and Berlin; and Oken, the one 

 amongst the Naturphilosophen who had the 

 most serious and varied training in natural 

 science, and the most direct influence upon 

 important scientific activities outside of 

 philosophy. Oken instituted, for instance, 

 the yearly gatherings of the German Natur- 

 forscher and Aertzte. In addition to these 

 men, Ueberweg, in his "History of Philos- 

 ophy," finds it worth while to mention, 

 amongst the followers and allies of Schel- 

 ling, ten different men who may be said to 

 have been in the main Naturphilosophen. 

 None of these are of great historical impor- 

 tance from the point of view of later 

 thought, although they are men of decidedly 

 various degrees of power and service in 

 their time. Some philosophers of the first 

 rank, such as Hegel, who also belong to that 

 age, and contributed to some form of the 

 Naturphilosophie, are nevertheless not to 

 be reckoned among the Naturphilosophen 

 proper, because their main work and influ- 

 ence lay elsewhere. Hegel's Naturphilos- 

 ophie was only a small part of that 

 thinker's encyclopedic system, and that part 

 of his system contributed little to his his- 

 torical influence. 



If one turns to the directer influence of 

 the Naturphilosophie upon the more special 

 sciences, I find that Siegmund Giinther in 

 his "Geschichte der anorganischen Natur- 

 wissenschaften im 19ten Jahrhundert, " 

 mentions only five or six names as those of 

 men sufficiently important on the side of 



