An Interpretation of Rudolf Eucken's Philosophy by W. Tudor (William Tudor) Jones
page 9 of 186 (04%)
page 9 of 186 (04%)
|
questions concerning life and death. A great deal of Eucken's
personality may be discovered in his writings. Opening any page of his books, one sees something unique, passionate, and somehow always deeper than what may be confined within the limits of the understanding, and something which has to be lived in order to be understood. And to know the man is to realise this in a fuller measure than his writings can ever show. He has to be seen and heard before the real significance of his message becomes clear. His personality attracts men and women of all schools of thought, from all parts of the world, and they all feel that his message of a reality which is beyond knowledge--though knowledge forms an integral part of it--is a new revelation of the meaning of life and existence. Professor Windelband, in his _History of Philosophy_ and elsewhere, describes Eucken as the creator of a new Metaphysic--a metaphysic not of the Schools but of Life. This aspect will be discussed at fuller length in later pages, so that it may be passed over for the present. Eucken believes in the reality and necessity of his message. He is aware that that message is contrary to the current terminology and meaning of the philosophy of our day. Some of his great constructive books were written as far back as 1888, and have remained, almost until our own day, in a large measure unnoticed. [p.19] The _Einheit des Geisteslebens in Bewusstsein und Tat der Menschheit_ is a case in point. It is one of his greatest books, and its value was not seen until the last few years. But the philosophy of the present day in Germany is tending more and more in the direction of Eucken's. Writers such as the late Class and Dilthey, Siebeck, Windelband, Münsterberg, Rickert, Volkelt, Troeltsch --naming but a small number of the idealistic thinkers of the present --are tending in the direction of the new Metaphysic presented by Eucken in the book already referred to as well as in the _Kampf um einen |
|