第53章

While earlier than this， moreover， the spirit， distracted by outward things， had to make its influence felt in religion and in the secular life， and came to be known in the popular philosophy so-called， it was only in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that the genuine Philosophy re-appeared， which seeks to grasp the truth as truth because man in thought is infinitely free to comprehend himself and nature， and along with that seeks to understand the present of rationality， reality， universal law itself. For this is ours， since it is subjectivity. The principle of modern philosophy is hence not a free and natural thought， because it has the opposition of thought and nature before it as a fact of which it is conscious. Spirit and nature， thought and Being， are the two infinite sides of the Idea， which can for the first time truly make its appearance when its sides are grasped for themselves in their abstraction and totality. Plato comprehended it as the bond， as limiting and as infinite， as one and many， simple and diverse， but not as thought and Being； when we first thinkingly overcome this opposition it signifies comprehending the unity. This is the standpoint of philosophic consciousness generally； but the way in which this unity must be thinkingly developed is a double one. Philosophy， hence falls into the two main forms in which the opposition is resolved， into a realistic and an idealistic system of philosophy， i.e.， into one which makes objectivity and the content of thought to arise from the perceptions， and one which proceeds to truth from the independence of thought.

a. Experience constitutes the first of these methods， viz. Realism. Philosophy now signified， or had as its main attribute， self-thought and the acceptance of the present as that in which truth lay， and which was thereby knowable. All that is speculative is pared and smoothed down in order to bring it under experience. This present is the existent external nature， and spiritual activity as the political world and as subjective activity. The way to truth was to begin from this hypothesis， but not to remain with it in its external self-isolating actuality， but to lead it to the universal.

i. The activities of that first method operate， to begin with， on physical nature， from the observation of which men derive universal laws， and on this basis their knowledge is founded； the science of nature， however， only reaches to the stage of reflection. This kind of experimental physics was once called， and is still called philosophy， as Newton's Principia philosophi？ naturalis (Vol. I. p. 59) show. This work is one in which the methods of the finite sciences through observation and deduction are alone present - those sciences which the French still call the sciences exactes. To this， the understanding of the individual， piety was opposed， and hence in this respect philosophy was termed worldly wisdom (Vol. I. p.

60). Here the Idea in its infinitude is not itself the object of knowledge； but a determinate content is raised into the universal， or this last in its determinateness for the understanding is derived from observation， just as is， for instance， done in Keppler's Laws. In Scholastic philosophy， on the other hand， man's power of observation was set aside， and disputations respecting nature at that time proceeded from abstruse hypotheses.

ii. In the second place， the spiritual was observed as in its realization it constitutes the spiritual world of states， in order thus to investigate from experience the rights of individuals as regards one another， and as regards rulers， and the rights of states against states. Before this popes anointed kings， just as was done in Old Testament times to those appointed by God； it was in the Old Testament that the tithe was commanded； the forbidden degrees of relationship in marriage were also adopted from the Mosaic laws. What was right and permissible for kings was demonstrated from Saul's and David's histories， the rights of priesthood from Samuel - in short， the Old Testament was the source of all the principles of public law， and it is in this way even now that all papal bulls have their deliverances confirmed. It may easily be conceived how much nonsense was in this manner concocted.

Now， however， right was sought for in man himself， and in history， and what had been accounted right both in peace and in war was explained. In this way books were composed which even now are constantly quoted in the Parliament of England. Men further observed the desires which could be satisfied in the state and the manner in which satisfaction could be given to them， in order thus from man himself， from man of the past as well as of the present， to learn what is right.

b. The second method， that of Idealism， proceeds from what is inward； according to it everything is in thought， mind itself is all content. Here the Idea itself is made the object； that signifies the thinking it and from it proceeding to the determinate. What Realism draws from experience is now derived from thought à priori； or the determinate is also comprehended but not led back to the universal merely， but to the Idea.

The two methods overlap one another， however， because experience on its side desires to derive universal laws from observations， while， on the other side， thought proceeding from abstract universality must still give itself a determinate content； thus a priori and a posteriori methods are mingled. In France abstract universality was the more predominant； from England experience took its rise， and even now it is there held in the greatest respect； Germany proceeded from the concrete Idea， from the inwardness of mind and spirit.