An Interpretation of Rudolf Eucken's Philosophy — W. Tudor Jones
Tudor Jones. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org . If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title : An Interpretation of Rudolf Eucken's Philosophy Author : W. Tudor Jones Release date : October 9, 2005 [eBook #16835] Most recently updated: December 12, 2020 Language : English Other information and formats : www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16835 Credits : Produced by Marc D'Hooghe. *** START OF TUDOR JONES, Ph.D. (Jena) LONDON 1912 Ἄρα οὖν, ἀδελΦοί, ὀΦειλέται ἐσμέν, οὐ τῇ σαρκὶ τοῦ κατὰ σάρκα ζῇν, εἰ γὰρ κατὰ σάρκα ζῆτε μέλλετε ἀποθήσκειν, εἰ δὲ πνεύματι τὰς πράξεις τοῦ σώματοσ θανατοῦτε ζήσεσθε. ὅσοι γὰρ πνεύματι θεοῦ ἄγονται, οὗτοι υἱοὶ θεοῦ εἰσίν. —St. Paul (Romans, viii. 12-14). PREFACE The personality and works of Professor Rudolf Eucken are at the present day exercising such a deep influence the world over that a volume by one of his old pupils, which attempts to interpret his teaching, should prove of assistance. It is hoped that the essentials of Eucken's teaching are presented in this book, in a form which is as simple as the subject-matter allows, and which will not necessitate the reader unlearning anything when he comes to the author's most important works. The whole of the work is expository; and an attempt has been made in the footnotes to point out aspects similar to those of Eucken's in English and German Philosophy. It is encouraging to find at the present day so much interest in religious idealism, and it is proved by Eucken beyond the possibility of doubt that without some form of such idealism no individual or nation can realise its deepest potencies. But with the presence of such idealism as a conviction in the mind and life, history teaches us that the seemingly impossible is partially realised, and that a new depth of life is reached. All this does not mean that the individual is to slacken his interests or to lose his affection for the material aspects of life; but it does mean that the things which appertain to life have different values, and that it is of the utmost importance to judge them all from the highest conceivable standpoint—the standpoint of spiritual life. This is Eucken's distinctive message to-day. The message shows that an actual evolution of spirit is taking place in the life of the individual and of human society; and that this evolution can be guided by means of the concentration of the whole being upon the reality of the norms and standards which present themselves in the lives of individuals and of nations. No one particular science or philosophy is able to grant us this central standpoint for viewing the field of knowledge and the meaning of life. The answer to the complexity of the problem of existence is to be found in something which gathers up under a larger and more significant meaning the results of knowledge and life. This volume will attempt to elucidate this all-important point of view—a point of view which is so needful in our days of specialisation and of material interests. It may be, and Eucken and his followers believe it is, that the destiny of the nations of the world depends in the last resort upon a conception and conviction of the reality of a life deeper than that of sense or intellect, although both these may become tributaries (and not hindrances) to such a spiritual life. I have to thank Professor Eucken himself for allowing me access to material hitherto unpublished, and for encouraging me in the work. I am bold enough to be confident that could I say half of what our revered teacher has meant for me and for hundreds of others of his old pupils, this volume would be the means of helping many who are drifting from their old moorings to find an anchorage in a spiritual world. W. TUDOR JONES. Highbury, London, N., November 1, 1912. CONTENTS Preface 7 1. Introduction 13 2. Religion and Evolution 26 3. Religion and Natural Science 57 4. Religion and History 70 5. Religion and Psychology 87 6. Religion and Society 108 7. Religion and Art 119 8. Universal Religion 128 9. Characteristic Religion 151 10. The Historical Religions 166 11. Christianity 180 12. Present-Day Aspects of Philosophy and Religion 206 13. Eucken's Personality and Influence 227 14. Conclusion 236 List of Eucken's Works 245 Index 249 AN INTERPRETATION OF RUDOLF EUCKEN'S PHILOSOPHY CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Rudolf Eucken was born at Aurich, East Frisia, on the 5th of January 1846. He lost his father when quite a child. His mother, the daughter of a Liberal clergyman, was a woman of deep religious experience and of rich intellectual gifts. When quite a boy he came at school under the influence of the theologian Reuter, a man of wonderful fascination to young men. The questions of religion and the need of religious experience interested Eucken early, and these have never parted from him during the long years which have since passed away. At an early age he entered the University of Göttingen and attended the philosophical classes of Hermann Lotze. Lotze interested him in philosophical problems, but did not satisfy the burning desire for religious experience which was in the young man's soul. Lotze looked at religion and all else from the intellectual point of view. His main business was to discover proofs for the things of the spirit, and the value of his work in this direction cannot be over-estimated. Hermann Lotze's works are with us to-day; and he has probably made more important contributions to philosophy and religion from the scientific side than any other writer of the latter half of the nineteenth century. But he seems to have been a man who was inclined to conceive of reality as something which had value only in so far as it was known , and left very largely out of account the inchoate stirrings and aspirations which are found at a deeper level within th