Page:A Brief History of Modern Philosophy.djvu/275

272 und Therapie als mechanische Naturwissenschaften, 1842; Allgemeine Physiologie, 1851). He had even previous to this given expression to his philosophical ideas (Metaphysik, 1840) which were more fully elaborated later on (Medicinische Psychologie, 1852, and Mikrokosmus, 1864—1868), and brought to their conclusion in the Drei Bücher der Logik (1874) and the Drei Bücher der Metaphysik (1879).

Lotze's reflections have a twofold starting-point, the mechanical view of modern science, the application of which to organic life he insisted on, and the fundamental principles of romantic idealism. The resulting problem for him therefore was to show how to reconcile these two points of view. He was firmly convinced that being cannot consist of a mere mechanism, and just as firmly that the highest ideas cannot be realized except by the method of causal, mechanical processes. He then seeks to show, by the analysis of the conception of mechanism developed by the modern sciences, how we are led to presuppositions which may readily be reconciled with idealistic principles.

The mechanical theory of nature regards all phenomena as determined by the interactions of atoms. This conception follows as the inevitable presupposition of the scientific explanation of natural phenomena. But it does not follow from this that mechanism should be the last word of reflective thought. There are two points at which it transcends itself.

The atoms of natural science are extended, even though their extension may be regarded as infinitely small. But whatever is extended must consists of parts and cannot therefore be regarded as absolutely simple. And extension is an attribute, a quality, which, like all other