Page:Philosophical Review Volume 11.djvu/333

No. 3.] was one of deduction, after the analogy of mathematics, from clear and distinct notions. Of this apotheosis of abstract reflection Spinoza is the classical example. To him logical consistency is the same thing as causal efficacy; the system of the cosmos is reasoned out as if it were a geometrical problem. Modern empiricism starts from Locke, and is carried out to its logical conclusions in Hume. Kant is a good example of the third method, which depreciates both the thought factor and the sense factor in experience. Illustrations of these three philosophical methods are found also in the sphere of theology. The distinctive method of theology conforms largely to the a priori deductive type. The hostility of theology to science suggests the question as to what relation ought to subsist between the scientific investigation of the world and theological dogma. The answer is, that the relation ought to be one of friendliness, and not antagonism. Science is differentiated from theology in its sphere, and in the nature of its inquiries. Science deals with the orderly connection of phenomena. It establishes those constant relations which we call laws of nature. But, in its proper conception, it does not concern itself with the question of the origin and meaning of the world with which it deals. Even if, e.g., science succeeded in tracing an uninterrupted sequence from primordial atoms to the moral personality of man, the question of origin and meaning would still remain untouched. The Aristotelian principle is a perfectly sound one, that the nature of a thing is what that thing is when fully developed. Theology furnishes an example of the empirical method in the view that Christianity is a "fact revelation," the truths of which are only corrupted by attempted formulation and systematization. But those who thus oppose a theoretic statement of Christianity, forget that "a fact is not something which exists as an independent entity, apart from the mind apprehending it." On the contrary, "the mind factor is the larger part of my perceptive experience," and, in so far as one is able to state a fact which he accepts, he states a doctrine. The third philosophical method is illustrated in the point of view that "Christianity may be apprehended, not as a system of truths or as a body of facts, but as preeminently an interior experience." This method appears in Mr. Spencer, Clifford, and Matthew Arnold. Its weakness is that it leaves out of view the constituent elements of religion. It fails to interpret its ideals definitely, and to bring them into practical accord with reality.

Philosophy and Life.. Int. J. E., XII, 2, pp. 137-151. Philosophy stands in a more vital relation to life than any other science. This relation is twofold: As a conscious working out of life's problems, it is an active relation; as an involuntary symbolizing of unconscious tendencies and dispositions, it is a passive relation. Both are valuable, and both are present in great works of philosophy. During the last century