The publishers and editors of _The Monist_ are not Roman Catholics and
we suppose that the majority of our readers are not either. But all the
more it appears to us necessary to state as a matter of justice that the
Roman Catholic publications (i. e. those which avowedly and confessedly
represent Roman Catholic thought) are far superior to their analogous
Protestant contemporaries. The latter are debating their particular
sectarianisms and do not seem to be interested in the progress of their
times. They do not heed the discoveries of science or the views of
philosophers, they live in a world of their own. It is different with
Roman Catholics. The present magazine proves that they have thinkers
among them who keep abreast of the time. It is true that there is more
discipline in the camp of Roman Catholics which shuts their champions
out from free enquiry in a certain direction concerning some fundamental
tenets, but with all this discipline goes along a broad-mindedness in
attacking the different problems of modern science and philosophy and
bringing them into harmony with the Roman Catholic faith.
The _Philosophisches Jahrbuch_ is published by the _Görres-Gesellschaft_
and edited by Dr. Const. Gutberlet. Jacob Joseph Görres is the well-known
champion of the Catholic Church (1776-1848)—a restless spirit who began
his public career as an enthusiastic defender of the French Revolution
for the propagation of which he published a fanatical journal _Das rothe
Blatt_. With the rise of Napoleon he despaired of the cause of liberty,
but he took courage again in the war of independence (1813-1815). In his
journal _Der Rheinische Merkur_ he denounced bitterly those Germans who
still held to the French; he recommended his countrymen to have more love
for their language, customs, and traditions and exhorted the princes to
stand united against the common foe and re-institute the empire. The
war over he was persecuted by the Prussian government on account of his
renewed interests in revolutionary affairs (he had published in 1820 a
pamphlet “Germany and the Revolution”) and showing a decided inclination
to mysticism (“Emanuel Schwedenborg, his Visions and his Relation to
the Church,” 1827) he joined the Ultramontane party in the conviction
that his ideals could be realised in the Roman Catholic Church. The rest
of his life he remained faithful to Rome and was the most active, the
most vigorous, and also the ablest defender of Roman Catholic views and
interests. The present magazine is a Quarterly conducted with scholarship
and tact, although as a matter of course not without that prejudice
which necessarily results from the principle of giving all thoughts into
captivity under a special and foredetermined faith. The last volume (vol.
iii) is rich in interesting articles. Prof. Dr. Hayd, strange enough,
defends the liberty of investigating the authority of faith, which the
editor, however, without rejecting the idea off-hand considers as bold
(_gewagt_). There are articles on the freedom of will, on the infinite
number of possibilities, mongolian cosmology, Pascal’s position toward
scepticism, analogies between cognition of God and cognition of nature
with special reference to Kant’s criticism of the evidences of the
existence of God. The present number of vol. iv contains an article on
the chemico-physical theory of atoms. The question is proposed whether or
not this theory contains contradictions. The author starts from Dalton’s
Definition, whom he regards together with Wallaston as the founder of
modern atomism. The four weightiest objections are considered, but
the author arrives at the conclusion that all of them are based upon
misconceptions. He sums up: “Chemists and Physicists do not repudiate
eyes and senses when proposing and defending the atomistic theory. On
the contrary they use for their view and build it upon an exceedingly
richer material of observation than is employed by their antagonists....
This denial of the validity of the most important objections, however,
does not imply that the atomistic theory is without difficulties, gaps,
unexplained details, etc. It is not as yet so certain a fact as for
instance the heliocentric world-conception. It is an hypothesis still and
will have to remain such for quite a long time. Yet we can confidently
assert that the difficulties are by far less than those offered to
the acceptance of the Copernican hypothesis at the time of the first
condemnation of Galileo (1616) which were solved afterward by Galileo in
the year 1632. We have further to state that the atomistic theory has
been developed more and more since Dalton, the number and the importance
of the explanations offered in it have constantly increased.”
Dr. Frye of Jena discusses Preyer’s latest view of “The Self-Gubernation
of Life—_Die Selbststeuerung des Lebens_” which appeared in a recent
number of the _Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift_ (Berlin). Preyer
considers his newly discovered law as a corollary to the conservation
of matter and energy and maintains that the total amount of life in the
world is as much constant as are matter and energy. Living mass (_Mz_)
plus inanimate mass (_Mn_) are constant (_C_); _Mz_ + _Mn_ = _C_. So
far scientists will agree, but Preyer adds that each separate item is
constant for itself. He declares that “the total amount of protoplasm
in the world remains unchanged in quantity.” It is hardly probable that
Preyer’s view will be adopted by science.
Dr. Grupp discusses the logical paths of thought, and the editor,
Professor Dr. Gutberlet explains and criticises Wundt’s System of
Philosophy.
One of the most valuable features for Catholic readers must be considered
the book reviews. Here the thoughts of the most advanced thinkers are as
it were digested for the Catholic world. The material is carefully sifted
but the exposition of heretic opinions is not evaded. The criticisms
from the pen of Dr. Gutberlet are often trenchant and should not be left
unheeded by the adversaries of the Church. (Fulda: Verlag der Fuldaer
Aktien-Druckerei.)
κρς.
RIVISTA ITALIANA DI FILOSOFIA. July and August, 1891.