Page:The Limits of Evolution (1904).djvu/162



Germany, the central home of modern thought, there began, about the year 1865, a philosophical movement, or a group of related movements, of a more novel and striking character than any since the time of Kant and his four chief successors, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, and Herbart. It has not yet entirely run its course, for two of its inaugurators are still (1900) living and productive, while the third, though he passed away a quarter of a century ago, left behind him a decided influence. The movement is indicative of the prevailing Zeitgeist, and worth our study as an expression of the tone of current culture. Our chief interest in it, however, will be for its significant drift beyond its own prepossessions, and toward a deeper view, through its own inner dialectical dissolution.