The Eternal Values

Hugo Münsterberg

Jan 1909 · Houghton Mifflin

About this ebook

"Philosophy is a movement of thought which demands the thoroughness of the expert, and which can be followed only with concentrated attention. Everything depends upon inner consistency, and only a closely knit system can secure it. In all times only such systems have marked the great periods of philosophical insight. This must not be misunderstood. First it does not mean that the philosophical understanding of the world should lead us away from the reality of life and should rely on metaphysical speculations. On the contrary, this world of our real life is the material of our philosophical effort. In the following volume the last chapter alone faces metaphysical problems. The discussion on truth and beauty, on happiness and love, on science and art, on development and progress, on industry and law, on morality and religion, fills the bulk of the book and is not at all metaphysical. It aims to grasp our real experience in its original fullness and in its true significance. Every line of those chapters might be accepted even by those who see other ways of solving the metaphysical problem. Yet while the formulae of philosophical calculation ought not even to tempt the reader who simply wants to sip the wisdom of the world, no philosophy will really lead forward which is not after all the expression of the deepest striving of its time. The sincere conviction that this holds true for the idealistic philosophy of "The eternal values," from the start gave the real aim and meaning to this work. Throughout our life a new wave is rising, a new seeking and a new longing, a new feeling and a new certainty: may this book now help in the New World too to bring these young and yet so old ideals to clear self-consciousness and through it to inner strength and power!"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)