Rudolph Eucken

Rudolph Eucken

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Title: Rudolph Eucken
Author: Abel J. Jones
Release Date: December 15, 2004 [eBook #14357]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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RUDOLF EUCKEN
A Philosophy of Life
by
ABEL J. JONES, M.A., B.Sc., Ph.D.
Formerly Member of the University of Jena, Scholar of Clare College, Cambridge, and Assistant Lecturer at the University College, Cardiff
London: T. C. & E. C. Jack 67 Long Acre, W.C., and Edinburgh New York: Dodge Publishing Co.

[Illustration]

PREFACE
The name of Eucken has become a familiar one in philosophical and religious circles. Until recent years the reading of his books was confined to those possessing a knowledge of German, but of late several have been translated into the English language, and now the students of philosophy and religion are agog with accounts of a new philosopher who is at once a great ethical teacher and an optimistic prophet. There is no doubt that Eucken has a great message, and those who cannot find time to make a thorough study of his works should not fail to know something of the man and his teachings. The aim of this volume is to give a brief and clear account of his philosophical ideas, and to inspire the reader to study for himself Eucken's great works.
Professor Rudolf Eucken was born in 1846, at Aurich in Frisia. He attended school in his native town, and then proceeded to study at the Universities of G?ttingen and Berlin. In 1874 he was invited to the Professorship of Philosophy at the University of Jena, and here he has laboured for thirty-eight years; during this period he has been listened to and admired by many of the more advanced students of philosophy of all countries and continents.
His earliest writings were historical in character, and consisted mainly of learned essays upon the classical and German philosophers.
Following upon these appeared valuable studies in the history of philosophy, which brought out, too, to some extent, Eucken's own philosophical ideas.
His latest works have been more definitely constructive. In _Life's Basis and Life's Ideal_, and The Truth of Religion, he gives respectively a full account of his philosophical system, and of his ideas concerning religion.
Several smaller works contain his ideas in briefer and more popular form.
As a lecturer he is charming and inspiring. He is not always easy to understand; his sentences are often long, florid, and complex. Sometimes, indeed, he is quite beyond the comprehension of his students--but when they do not understand, they admire, and feel they are in the presence of greatness. His writings contain many of the faults of his lectures. They are often laboured and obscure, diffuse and verbose.
But these faults are minor in character, compared with the greatness of his work. There is no doubt that his is one of the noblest attempts ever made to solve the great question of life. Never was a philosophy more imbued with the spirit of battle against the evil and sordid, and with the desire to find in life the highest and greatest that can be found in it.
I have to thank Professor Eucken for the inspiration of his lectures and books, various writers, translators, and friends for suggestions, and especially my wife, whose help in various ways has been invaluable.
Passages are quoted from several of the works mentioned in the Bibliography, especially from Eucken's "The Truth of Religion," with the kind permission of Messrs. Williams & Norgate--the publishers.
ABEL J. JONES.
CARDIFF.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER
I. THE PROBLEM OF LIFE
II. HAS THE PROBLEM BEEN SOLVED?
III. ANOTHER SEARCH FOR TRUTH
IV. THE PAST, PRESENT, AND THE ETERNAL
V. THE "HIGH" AND THE "LOW"
VI. THE ASCENT TO FREEDOM AND PERSONALITY
VII. THE PERSONAL AND THE UNIVERSAL
VIII. RELIGION: HISTORICAL AND ABSOLUTE
IX. CONCLUSION: CRITICISM AND APPRECIATION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX

CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM OF LIFE
Before we proceed to outline Eucken's philosophical position, it will be well if we can first be clear as to the special problem with which he concerns himself. Philosophers have at some time or other considered all the problems of heaven and earth to be within their province, especially the difficult problems for which a simple solution is impossible. Hence it is, perhaps, that philosophy has been in disrepute, especially in English-speaking countries, the study of the subject has been very largely limited to a small class of students, and the philosopher has been regarded as a dreamy, theorising, and unpractical individual.
Many people, when they hear of Eucken, will put him out of mind as an ordinary member of a body of cranks. From Eucken's point of