THE GERMAN CLEARING UP.
Under the influence of the philosophy of Leibnitz and Wolff, though
without any immediate connection with it, there arose in Germany during
the latter half of the eighteenth century, an eclectic popular
philosophy, whose different phases may be embraced under the name of the
German clearing up. It has but little significance for the history of
philosophy, though not without importance in other respects. Its great
aim was to secure a higher culture, and hence a cultivated and polished
style of reasoning is the form in which it philosophized. It is the
_German_ counterpart of the _French_ clearing up. As the latter closed
the realistic period of development by drawing the ultimate consequence
of materialism, so the former closed the idealistic series by its
tendency to an extreme subjectivism. To the men of this direction, the
empirical, individual Ego becomes the absolute; they forget every thing
else for it, or rather every thing else has a value in their eyes only
in proportion as it refers and ministers to the subject by contributing
to its demands and satisfying its inner cravings. Hence the question of
immortality becomes now the great problem of philosophy (in which
respect we may mention _Mendelssohn_, 1727-1786, the most important man
in this direction); the eternal duration of the individual soul is the
chief point of interest; objective ideas or truths of faith, _e. g._ the
personality of God, though not denied, cease to have an interest; it is
held as a standing article of belief that we can know nothing of God. In
another current of this direction, it is moral philosophy and esthetics
(_Garvey_, 1742-1798; _Engel_, 1741-1802; _Abbt_, 1738-1766; _Sulzer_,
1720-1779) which find a scientific treatment, because both these
preserve a subjective interest. In general, every thing is viewed in its
useful relations; the useful becomes the peculiar criterion of truth;
that which is not useful to the subject, or which does not minister to
his subjective ends, is set aside. In connection with this turn of mind
stands the prevailing teleological direction which the investigations of
nature assumed (_Reimarus_, 1694-1765), and the utilitarian character
given to ethics. The happiness of the individual was considered as the
highest principle and the supreme end (_Basedow_, 1723-1790). Even
religion is contemplated from this point of view. Reimarus wrote a
treatise upon the “_advantages_” of religion, in which he attempted to
prove that religion was not subversive of earthly pleasure, but rather
increased it; and _Steinbart_ (1738-1809) elaborated, in a number of
treatises, the theme that all wisdom consists alone in attaining
happiness, _i. e._ enduring satisfaction, and that the Christian
religion, instead of forbidding this, was rather itself the true
doctrine of happiness. In other particulars Christianity received only a
temperate respect; wherever it laid claim to any authority disagreeable
to the subject (as in individual doctrines like that of future
punishment), it was opposed, and in general the effort was made to
counteract, as far as possible, the positive dogma by natural religion.
Reimarus, for example, the most zealous defender of theism and of the
teleological investigation of nature, is at the same time the author of
the Wolfenbüttel fragments. By criticizing the Gospel history, and every
thing positive and transmitted, and by rationalizing the supernatural in
religion, the subject displayed its new-found independence. In fine, the
subjective standpoint of this period exhibits itself in the numerous
autobiographies and self-confessions then so prevalent; the isolated
self is the object of admiring contemplation (_Rousseau_, 1712-1778, and
his confessions); it beholds itself mirrored in its particular
conditions, sensations, and views—a sort of flirtation with itself,
which often rises to sickly sentimentality. According to all this, it is
seen to be the extreme consequence of subjective idealism which
constitutes the character of the German clearing up period, which thus
closes the series of an idealistic development.