Page:Philosophical Review Volume 5.djvu/447

431 who values it as highly. There is no central superior standard of conduct or morality; there is only greater inclination—and superior force.

Admitting evolution as a fact, the question yet remains whether the changes which have occurred have been a gain or a loss to the race. Is there persistence, not only of energy, but of value, in the domain of thought? Modern psychology has shown the possibility of the persistence, under new forms, of the energy manifested in the earlier stages of mental life, but there is no certainty that the value of the new form is equal to that of the old. The time when instinct and authority give way to clear thinking marks an important period in mental development; and the question arises whether the energy at work under the old order will persist with equal value under the new. Rousseau, Lessing, and Kant recognized the problem. While mercilessly criticising the old forms they did not attempt to live on criticism alone. They expected, each in his own way, a "third kingdom" that should unite the old spirit of authority with the new spirit of criticism. This was Kant's greatest work. The schools of Romanticism and Positivism are both Kantian in spirit. Fichte, Saint-Simon, Hegel, Comte, and Carlyle, all look toward the establishment of the "third kingdom," thus indicating their belief in continuous evolution. It would seem, however, that there are some who do not desire this, e.g., those who blindly support old church creeds, or those who rejoice at the dissolution which criticism is working. But even here there is more change going on than can be recognized by one in the midst of it. As to the special nature of the new era, there is of course a wide difference of opinion. Only its general features may be indicated, viz., the union of concentrated force and wide diversity, of firm faith and free criticism, of social organization and individual liberty. The solution of our problem may be suggested by the fact, that whatever has filled an essential place in mental life cannot drop out without compensation. The power and nature of personality are not well understood, but it is through marked individual variations that each successive "third kingdom" is to be discovered and established. The philosopher has to examine the value of both the old and the new, and out of both to construct a new thought-life.