MAIN CURRENTS OF MODERN THOUGHT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1734, 26 April 1913, Page 9

MAIN CURRENTS OF MODERN THOUGHT.

VIEWS 01? PROFESSOR EUCICEN,

In an article in Everyman Professor! iiuckon, tliol distinguished German philosopher, writes as follows:— In the midst of all tho passionate attacks upon religion tho religious problem is again coming to tho front. Tho denial of religion is becoming more and more popular among (ho masses, but that does , not prevent religion arousing a greatly ! increased amount of thought and mission on tho highest level of. spiritual and intellectual life. It is a fact that, at a givon period; different, movements may out across or opposo one another, and tlio tendency of the surface-movement may ■ be directly contrary to that of tho undercurrent. In order to assure ourselves of the re-ascent of religion wo need only compare our ago with tho German Classical Period, lleligion was then no more than an agreeable adjunct to life; to-day, it stands m the very centro of lie, produces differences of opinion to the point, of tho bitterest conflict,, makes its voice , heard in tho treatment of every circuin-, stance, and exerts an immonse power alike in affirmation and negation: For the modem doiual is not of t'ho kind which calmly shelved religion as something decayed and obsolete; on tho contrary, tho violently passiohato nature of the 1 attack shows clearly enough that religion is still something very real, power--fnl,: and effective. Perhaps oven tho denial itself frequently signifies not. so much, a complete rejection ot religion us a dosire for another and simpler typo of re-', ligion, moro adapted to tho needs of the day. At .any rate, religion, cannot bo ' regarded as <i slowly light. To what are wo to attribute this midden change? It can hardly bo the fruit of apologetic work, for this is •usually V prcachiug to tho converted. It may coii- , firm and consolidate, but it is not in its nature to press forward. In reality, tlio movement is rooted an a reaction on tho parb of modern lifo itself. Just because this life, with its delight in the world, has been nblo to develop itself freely and put forth all its capacity, its limitations —nay, , its helplessness—with regard to ultimate questions has become clear. It is' another cose of that indirect method of proof of which the history of'humanity provides us .with so many examples, iv method according to which, tho indispensability of an assertion is convincingly demonstrated as tho result of a negation, of the unrestricted expansion of tho opposite assertion. Tho direction of lifo towards immodinto oxistenoo has dispelled ■ much illusion and superstition, awakened much othorwiso latent forces, and advanced and doveloped this oxistemco in thq most manifold fashion. But that which has been accomplished in this direction is predominantly of a peripheral nature. It has improved tho conditions of our. life, but has not deepened lifo itself. An' inward emptiness is thus the .final result of all this immeasurable work, and wo cannot but look upon all tho labour and endeavour as inadequate. Tlio rejection of each and ovory invisiblo relationship reduced culture moro and m6ro to a meroly_ human •. culturo. 'This'was <iMo to avoid objection so long as a high^idoal' value was attached to .tlio concept of human boing' itself, and tho latter was viewed in a transfigured form,' This, hew-, ever, took place under tho influenoe of that vory mode of thought •which is now* rejected as-a falsification of reality. Witli its disappearance tho transfiguration must also cooso. ■ Man must appear in his iww tural oondition without wrapping or, adornment, and beoomo the sole standasd of all truth* and goodnoss. Now, modern lifo in, particular, with its liberation Of ovory force, has brought to tlio surflaoa so mucVthat is impuro, miodifyinff, 'oad ; unworthy, and has placed so cloarly boforw' , our eyes tho pettiness and unreality oil a'moroly human culturo, that it becomes/ continually moro and more hopoloss to obtain a satisfying typo of lifo upon thin basis, and to provicio human existonoo with a meaning and a value. It is being increasingly fait that thero iB eomothing in man which this immanent typo of Ufa : does noti bring out, and that this undeveloped eloment is something indispons* able, perhaps tho best of all! Thus thero glows up a dosiro for an inner transformation of man for a liberation from'tho pottiness which fottera nn<3 oppresses ■ him. A now ago is at hand, Tiro trend is again from a merely humanistic culture to a transforming spiritual culture, elevating man's essential being. This necessarily lends to tho demand for a now reality, and honoo towards rcligioß<