PHILOSOPHYIII。
CLASSIFICATION。
APRIORISMPhilosophy,accordingtoHerrDühring,isthedevelopmentofthehighestformofconsciousnessoftheworldandoflife{D。Ph。2},andinawidersenseembracestheprinciplesofallknowledgeandvolition。Whereveraseriesofcognitionsorstimulioragroupofformsofbeingcometobeexaminedbyhumanconsciousness,theprinciplesunderlyingthesemanifestationsofnecessitybecomeanobjectofphilosophy。Theseprinciplesarethesimple,oruntilnowassumedtobesimple,constituentsofmanifoldknowledgeandvolition{8}。
Likethechemicalcompositionofbodies,thegeneralconstitutionofthingscanbereducedtobasicformsandbasicelements。Theseultimateconstituentsorprinciples,oncetheyhavebeendiscovered,arevalidnotonlyforwhatisimmediatelyknownandaccessible,butalsofortheworldwhichisunknownandinaccessibletous。Philosophicalprinciplesconsequentlyprovidethefinalsupplementrequiredbythesciencesinordertobecomeauniformsystembywhichnatureandhumanlifecanbeexplained{9}。Apartfromthefundamentalformsofallexistence,philosophyhasonlytwospecificsubjectsofinvestigation——natureandtheworldofman{14}。Accordingly,ourmaterialarrangesitselfquitenaturallyintothreegroups,namely,thegeneralschemeoftheuniverse,thescienceoftheprinciplesofnature,andfinallythescienceofmankind。Thissuccessionatthesametimecontainsaninnerlogicalsequence,fortheformalprincipleswhicharevalidforallbeingtakeprecedence,andtherealmsoftheobjectstowhichtheyaretobeappliedthenfollowinthedegreeoftheirsubordination{15}。
SofarHerrDühring,andalmostentirelywordforword。
Whatheisdealingwitharethereforeprinciples,formaltenetsderivedfromthoughtandnotfromtheexternalworld,whicharetobeappliedtonatureandtherealmofman,andtowhichthereforenatureandmanhavetoconform。Butwhencedoesthoughtobtaintheseprinciples?
Fromitself?No,forHerrDühringhimselfsays:therealmofpurethoughtislimitedtologicalschemataandmathematicalforms{42}thelatter,moreover,asweshallsee,iswrong。Logicalschematacanonlyrelatetoformsofthought;butwhatwearedealingwithhereissolelyformsofbeing,oftheexternalworld,andtheseformscanneverbecreatedandderivedbythoughtoutofitself,butonlyfromtheexternalworld。Butwiththisthewholerelationshipisinverted:theprinciplesarenotthestarting-pointoftheinvestigation,butitsfinalresult;
theyarenotappliedtonatureandhumanhistory,butabstractedfromthem,itisnotnatureandtherealmofmanwhichconformtotheseprinciples,buttheprinciplesareonlyvalidinsofarastheyareinconformitywithnatureandhistory。Thatistheonlymaterialistconceptionofthematter,andHerrDühring’scontraryconceptionisidealistic,makesthingsstandcompletelyontheirheads,andfashionstherealworldoutofideas,outofschemata,schemesorcategoriesexistingsomewherebeforetheworld,frometernity——justlikeaHegel。
Infact,letuscompareHegel’sEncyclopaedia[30]andallitsdeliriousfantasieswithHerrDühring’sfinalandultimatetruths。WithHerrDühringwehaveinthefirstplacegeneralworldschematism,whichHegelcallsLogic。Thenwithbothofthemwehavetheapplicationoftheseschemataorlogicalcategoriestonature:thephilosophyofnature;andfinallytheirapplicationtotherealmofman,whichHegelcallsthephilosophyofmind。The“innerlogicalsequence“
oftheDühringsuccessionthereforeleadsus“quitenaturally“{D。
Ph。15}backtoHegel’sEncyclopaedia,fromwhichithasbeentakenwithaloyaltywhichwouldmovethatwanderingJewoftheHegelianschool,ProfessorMicheletofBerlin,totears。[31]
Thatiswhatcomesofaccepting“consciousness“,“thought“,quitenaturalistically,assomethinggiven,somethingopposedfromtheoutsettobeing,tonature。Ifthatwereso,itmustseemextremelystrangethatconsciousnessandnature,thinkingandbeing,thelawsofthoughtandthelawsofnature,shouldcorrespondsoclosely。Butifthefurtherquestionisraisedwhatthoughtandconsciousnessreallyareandwheretheycomefrom,itbecomesapparentthattheyareproductsofthehumanbrainandthatmanhimselfisaproductofnature,whichhasdevelopedinandalongwithitsenvironment;henceitisself-evidentthattheproductsofthehumanbrain,beinginthelastanalysisalsoproductsofnature,donotcontradicttherestofnature’sinterconnectionsbutareincorrespondencewiththem。[32]
ButHerrDühringcannotpermithimselfsuchasimpletreatmentofthesubject。Hethinksnotonlyinthenameofhumanity——initselfnosmallachievement——butinthenameoftheconsciousandreasoningbeingsonallcelestialbodies。
Indeed,itwouldbe“adegradationofthebasicformsofconsciousnessandknowledgetoattempttoruleoutoreventoputundersuspiciontheirsovereignvalidityandtheirunconditionalclaimtotruth,byapplyingtheepithet’human’tothem“{2}。
Hence,inorderthatnosuspicionmayarisethatonsomecelestialbodyorothertwicetwomakesfive{30-31},HerrDühringdarenotdesignatethoughtasbeinghuman,andsohehastoseveritfromtheonlyrealfoundationonwhichwefindit,namely,manandnature;andwiththathetumbleshopelesslyintoanideology[33]whichrevealshimastheepigoneofthe“epigone“Hegel{197}。Bytheway,weshalloftenmeetHerrDühringagainonothercelestialbodies。
Itgoeswithoutsayingthatnomaterialistdoctrinecanbefoundedonsuchanideologicalbasis。LateronweshallseethatHerrDühringisforcedmorethanoncetoendownaturesurreptitiouslywithconsciousactivity,withwhatinplainlanguageiscalledGod。
However,ourphilosopherofrealityhadalsoothermotivesforshiftingthebasisofallrealityfromtherealworldtotheworldofthought。
Thescienceofthisgeneralworldschematism,oftheseformalprinciplesofbeing,ispreciselythefoundationofHerrDühring’sphilosophy。
Ifwededuceworldschematismnotfromourminds,butonlythroughourmindsfromtherealworld,ifwededuceprinciplesofbeingfromwhatis,weneednophilosophyforthispurpose,butpositiveknowledgeoftheworldandofwhathappensinit;andwhatthisyieldsisalsonotphilosophy,butpositivescience。Inthatcase,however,HerrDühring’swholevolumewouldbenothingbutlove’slabourlost。
Further:ifnophilosophyassuchisanylongerrequired,thenalsothereisnomoreneedofanysystem,notevenofanynaturalsystemofphilosophy。Theperceptionthatalltheprocessesofnaturearesystematicallyconnecteddrivesscienceontoprovethissystematicconnectionthroughout,bothingeneralandinparticular。Butanadequate,exhaustivescientificexpositionofthisinterconnection,theformationofanexactmentalimageoftheworldsysteminwhichwelive,isimpossibleforus,andwillalwaysremainimpossible。Ifatanytimeinthedevelopmentofmankindsuchafinal,conclusivesystemoftheinterconnectionswithintheworld——physicalaswellasmentalandhistorical——werebroughtabout,thiswouldmeanthathumanknowledgehadreacheditslimit,and,fromthemomentwhensocietyhadbeenbroughtintoaccordwiththatsystem,furtherhistoricaldevelopmentwouldbecutshort——whichwouldbeanabsurdidea,sheernonsense。Mankindthereforefindsitselffacedwithacontradiction:ontheonehand,ithastogainanexhaustiveknowledgeoftheworldsysteminallitsinterrelations;
andontheotherhand,becauseofthenaturebothofmenandoftheworldsystem,thistaskcanneverbecompletelyfulfilled。Butthiscontradictionliesnotonlyinthenatureofthetwofactors——theworld,andman——
itisalsothemainleverofallintellectualadvance,andfindsitssolutioncontinuously,daybyday,intheendlessprogressivedevelopmentofhumanity,justasforexamplemathematicalproblemsfindtheirsolutioninaninfiniteseriesorcontinuedfractions。Eachmentalimageoftheworldsystemisandremainsinactualfactlimited,objectivelybythehistoricalconditionsandsubjectivelybythephysicalandmentalconstitutionofitsoriginator。
ButHerrDühringexplainsinadvancethathismodeofreasoningissuchthatitexcludesanytendencytoasubjectivelylimitedconceptionoftheworld。Wesawabovethathewasomnipresent——onallpossiblecelestialbodies。Wenowseethatheisalsoomniscient。Hehassolvedtheultimateproblemsofscienceandthusnailedboardsacrossthefutureofallscience。
Aswiththebasicformsofbeing,soalsowiththewholeofpuremathematics:HerrDühringthinksthathecanproduceitapriorithatis,withoutmakinguseoftheexperienceofferedusbytheexternalworld,canconstructitinhishead。
Inpuremathematicstheminddeals“withitsownfreecreationsandimaginations“{D。Ph。43};theconceptsofnumberandfigureare“theadequateobjectofthatpuresciencewhichitcancreateofitself“{42},andhenceithasa“validitywhichisindependentofparticularexperienceandoftherealcontentoftheworld“{43}。
Thatpuremathematicshasavaliditywhichisindependentoftheparticularexperienceofeachindividualis,forthatmatter,correct,andthisistrueofallestablishedfactsineveryscience,andindeedofallfactswhatsoever。Themagneticpoles,thefactthatwateriscomposedofhydrogenandoxygen,thefactthatHegelisdeadandHerrDühringalive,holdgoodindependentlyofmyownexperienceorthatofanyotherindividual,andevenindependentlyofHerrDühring’sexperience,whenhebeginstosleepthesleepofthejust。Butitisnotatalltruethatinpuremathematicstheminddealsonlywithitsowncreationsandimaginations。
Theconceptsofnumberandfigurehavenotbeenderivedfromanysourceotherthantheworldofreality。Thetenfingersonwhichmenlearnttocount,thatis,toperformthefirstarithmeticaloperation,areanythingbutafreecreationofthemind。Countingrequiresnotonlyobjectsthatcanbecounted,butalsotheabilitytoexcludeallpropertiesoftheobjectsconsideredexcepttheirnumber——andthisabilityistheproductofalonghistoricaldevelopmentbasedonexperience。Liketheideaofnumber,sotheideaoffigureisborrowedexclusivelyfromtheexternalworld,anddoesnotariseinthemindoutofpurethought。Theremusthavebeenthingswhichhadshapeandwhoseshapeswerecomparedbeforeanyonecouldarriveattheideaoffigure。Puremathematicsdealswiththespaceformsandquantityrelationsoftherealworld——thatis,withmaterialwhichisveryrealindeed。Thefactthatthismaterialappearsinanextremelyabstractformcanonlysuperficiallyconcealitsoriginfromtheexternalworld。Butinordertomakeitpossibletoinvestigatetheseformsandrelationsintheirpurestate,itisnecessarytoseparatethementirelyfromtheircontent,toputthecontentasideasirrelevant;thuswegetpointswithoutdimensions,lineswithoutbreadthandthickness,aandbandxandy,constantsandvariables;andonlyattheveryenddowereachthefreecreationsandimaginationsoftheminditself,thatistosay,imaginarymagnitudes。Eventheapparentderivationofmathematicalmagnitudesfromeachotherdoesnotprovetheiraprioriorigin,butonlytheirrationalconnection。Beforeonecameupontheideaofdeducingtheformofacylinderfromtherotationofarectangleaboutoneofitssides,anumberofrealrectanglesandcylinders,howeverimperfectinform,musthavebeenexamined。Likeallothersciences,mathematicsaroseoutoftheneedsofmen:fromthemeasurementoflandandthecontentofvessels,fromthecomputationoftimeandfrommechanics。
But,asineverydepartmentofthought,atacertainstageofdevelopmentthelaws,whichwereabstractedfromtherealworld,becomedivorcedfromtherealworld,andaresetupagainstitassomethingindependent,as-lawscomingfromoutside,towhichtheworldhastoconform。Thatishowthingshappenedinsocietyandinthestate,andinthisway,andnototherwise,puremathematicswassubsequentlyappliedtotheworld,althoughitisborrowedfromthissameworldandrepresentsonlyonepartofitsformsofinterconnection——anditisonlyjustbecauseofthisthatitcanbeappliedatall。
ButjustasHerrDühringimaginesthat,outoftheaxiomsofmathematics,“whichalsoinaccordancewithpurelogicneitherrequirenorarecapableofsubstantiation“{34},hecandeducethewholeofpuremathematicswithoutanykindofempiricaladmixture,andthenapplyittotheworld,sohelikewiseimaginesthathecan,inthefirstplace,produceoutofhisheadthebasicformsofbeing,thesimpleelementsofallknowledge,theaxiomsofphilosophy,deducefromthesethewholeofphilosophyorworldschematism,andthen,bysovereigndecree,imposethisconstitutionofhisonnatureandhumanity。
Unfortunatelynatureisnotatall,andhumanityonlytoaninfinitesimaldegree,composedoftheMantenffelitePrussiansof1850。[34]
Mathematicalaxiomsareexpressionsofthescantiestthought-content,whichmathematicsisobligedtoborrowfromlogic。Theycanbereducedtotwo:
1Thewholeisgreaterthanitspart。Thisstatementispuretautology,asthequantitativelyconceivedidea“part“isfromtheoutsetdefinitelyrelatedtotheidea“whole“,andinfactinsuchawaythat“part“simplymeansthatthequantitative“whole“consistsofseveralquantitative“parts“。Instatingthisexplicitly,theso-calledaxiomdoesnottakeusastepfurther。Thistautologycaneveninawaybeprovedbysaying:awholeisthatwhichconsistsofseveralparts;apartisthatofwhichseveralmakeawhole;hencethepartislessthanthewhole——
inwhichtheinanityofrepetitionbringsoutevenmoreclearlytheinanityofcontent。
2Iftwoquantitiesareequaltoathird,theyareequaltoeachother。Thisstatement,asHegelhasalreadyshown,isaconclusion,thecorrectnessofwhichisvouchedforbylogic,andwhichisthereforeproved,althoughoutsideofpuremathematics。Theremainingaxiomsrelatingtoequalityandinequalityaremerelylogicalextensionsofthisconclusion。
Thesemeagreprinciplesdonotcutmuchice,eitherinmathematicsoranywhereelse。Inordertogetanyfurther,weareobligedtobringinrealrelations,relationsandspaceformswhicharetakenfromrealbodies。Theideasoflines,planes,angles,polygons,cubes,spheres,etc。,arealltakenfromreality,anditrequiresaprettygoodportionofnaiveideologytobelievethemathematiciansthatthefirstlinecameintoexistencethroughthemovementofapointinspace,thefirstplanethroughthemovementofaline,thefirstsolidthroughthemovementofaplane,andsoon。
Evenlanguagerebelsagainstsuchaconception。Amathematicalfigureofthreedimensionsiscalledasolidbody,corpussolidum,hence,inLatin,evenatangibleobject;itthereforehasanamederivedfromsturdyrealityandbynomeansfromthefreeimaginationofthemind。
Butwhyallthisprolixity?AfterHerrDühring,onpages42and43,[35]hasenthusiasticallysungtheindependenceofpuremathematicsfromtheworldofexperience,itsapriority,itspreoccupationwiththemind’sownfreecreationsandimaginations,hesaysonpage63:
“Itis,ofcourse,easilyoverlookedthatthosemathematicalelementsnumber,magnitude,time,spaceandgeometricmotionareidealonlyintheirform,……absolutemagnitudesarethereforesomethingcompletelyempirical,nomattertowhatspeciestheybelong“,……
but“mathematicalschemataarecapableofcharacterisationwhichisadequateeventhoughdivorcedfromexperience。”
Thelaststatementismoreorlesstrueofeveryabstraction,butdoesnotbyanymeansprovethatitisnotabstractedfromreality。Inworldschematismpuremathematicsaroseoutofpurethought——inthephilosophyofnatureitissomethingcompletelyempirical,takenfromtheexternalworldandthendivorcedfromit。Whicharewetobelieve?
IV。
WORLDSCHEMATISM“All-embracingbeingisone。Initsself-sufficiencyithasnothingalongsideitoroverit。Toassociateasecondbeingwithitwouldbetomakeitsomethingthatitisnot,namely,apartorconstituentofamorecomprehensivewhole。Duetothefactthatweextendourunifiedthoughtlikeaframework,nothingthatshouldbecomprisedinthisthought-unitycanretainadualitywithinitself。Nor,again,cananythingescapethisthought-unity……Theessenceofallthoughtconsistsinbringingtogethertheelementsofconsciousnessintoaunity{D。Ph。16}……Itisthepointofunityofthesynthesiswheretheindivisibleideaoftheworldcameintobeingandtheuniverse,asthenameitselfimplies,isapprehendedassomethinginwhicheverythingisunitedintounity“{17}。
ThusfarHerrDühring。Thisisthefirstapplicationofthemathematicalmethod:
“Everyquestionistobedecidedaxiomaticallyinaccordancewithsimplebasicforms,asifweweredealingwiththesimple……principlesofmathematics“{224}。
“All-embracingbeingisone。”Iftautology,thesimplerepetitioninthepredicateofwhatisalreadyexpressedinthesubject——ifthatmakesanaxiom,thenwehavehereoneofthepurestwater。HerrDühringtellsusinthesubjectthatbeingembraceseverything,andinthepredicateheintrepidlydeclaresthatinthatcasethereisnothingoutsideit。Whatcolossal“system-creatingthought“{525}!
Thisisindeedsystem-creating!WithinthespaceofthenextsixlinesHerrDühringhastransformedtheonenessofbeing,bymeansofourunifiedthought,intoitsunit。Astheessenceofallthoughtconsistsinbringingthingstogetherintoaunity,sobeing,assoonasitisconceived,isconceivedasunified,andtheideaoftheworldasindivisible;andbecauseconceivedbeing,theideaoftheworld,isunified,thereforerealbeing,therealworld,isalsoanindivisibleunity。Andwiththat“thereisnolongeranyroomforthingsbeyond,oncethemindhaslearnttoconceivebeinginitshomogeneousuniversality“{D。Ph。523}。
ThatisacampaignwhichputsAusterlitzandJena,KöniggrätzandSedancompletelyintheshade。[36]Inafewsentences,hardlyapageafterwehavemobilisedthefirstaxiom,wehavealreadydoneawaywith,castoverboard,destroyed,everythingbeyondtheworld——Godandtheheavenlyhosts,heaven,hellandpurgatory,alongwiththeimmortalityofthesoul。
Howdowegetfromtheonenessofbeingtoitsunity?Bytheveryfactofconceivingit。Insofaraswespreadourunifiedthoughtaroundbeinglikeaframe,itsonenessbecomesaunityinthought,athought-unity;
fortheessenceofallthoughtconsistsinbringingtogethertheelementsofconsciousnessintoaunity。
Thislaststatementissimplyuntrue。Inthefirstplace,thoughtconsistsjustasmuchinthetakingapartofobjectsofconsciousnessintotheirelementsasintheputtingtogetherofrelatedelementsintoaunity。
Withoutanalysis,nosynthesis。Secondly,withoutmakingblundersthoughtcanbringtogetherintoaunityonlythoseelementsofconsciousnessinwhichorinwhoserealprototypesthisunityalreadyexistedbefore。IfIincludeashoe-brushintheunitymammals,thisdoesnothelpittogetmammaryglands。Theunityofbeing,orrather,thequestionwhetheritsconceptionasaunityisjustified,isthereforepreciselywhatwastobeproved;andwhenHerrDühringassuresusthatheconceivesbeingasaunityandnotastwofold,hetellsusnothingmorethanhisownunauthoritativeopinion。
Ifwetrytostatehisprocessofthoughtinunalloyedform,wegetthefollowing:Ibeginwithbeing。Ithereforethinkwhatbeingis。
Thethoughtofbeingisaunifiedthought。Butthinkingandbeingmustbeinagreement,theyareinconformitywitheachother,they“coincide“。
Thereforebeingisaunityalsoinreality。Thereforetherecannotbeanything“beyond“。IfHerrDühringhadspokenwithoutdisguiseinthisway,insteadoftreatingustotheaboveoracularpassages,hisideologywouldhavebeenclearlyvisible。Toattempttoprovetherealityofanyproductofthoughtbytheidentityofthinkingandbeingwasindeedoneofthemostabsurddeliriousfantasiesof——aHegel。
Evenifhiswholemethodofproofhadbeencorrect,HerrDühringwouldstillnothavewonaninchofgroundfromthespiritualists。Thelatterwouldreplybriefly:tous,too,theuniverseissimple;thedivisionintothisworldandtheworldbeyondexistsonlyforourspecificallyearthly,original-sinstandpoint;inandforitself,thatis,inGod,allbeingisaunity。AndtheywouldaccompanyHerrDühringtohisotherbelovedcelestialbodiesandshowhimoneorseveralonwhichtherehadbeennooriginalsin,wherethereforenooppositionexistsbetweenthisworldandthebeyond,andwheretheunityoftheuniverseisadogmaoffaith。
ThemostcomicalpartofthebusinessisthatHerrDühring,inordertoprovethenon-existenceofGodfromtheideaofbeing,usestheontologicalprooffortheexistenceofGod。Thisruns:whenwethinkofGod,weconceivehimasthesumtotalofallperfections。Butthesumtotalofallperfectionsincludesaboveallexistence,since。anon-existentbeingisnecessarilyimperfect。WemustthereforeincludeexistenceamongtheperfectionsofGod。HenceGodmustexist。HerrDühringreasonsinexactlythesameway:whenwethinkofbeing,weconceiveitasoneidea。Whateveriscomprisedinoneideaisaunity。
Beingwouldnotcorrespondtotheideaofbeingifitwerenotaunity。
Consequentlyitmustbeaunity。ConsequentlythereisnoGod,andsoon。
Whenwespeakofbeing,andpurelyofbeing,unitycanonlyconsistinthatalltheobjectstowhichwearereferring——are,exist。Theyarecomprisedintheunityofthisbeing,andinnootherunity,andthegeneraldictumthattheyallarenotonlycannotgivethemanyadditionalqualities,whethercommonornot,butprovisionallyexcludesallsuchqualitiesfromconsideration。Forassoonaswedepartevenamillimetrefromthesimplebasicfactthatbeingiscommontoallthesethings,thedifferencesbetweenthesethingsbegintoemerge——
andwhetherthesedifferencesconsistinthecircumstancethatsomearewhiteandothersblack,thatsomeareanimateandothersinanimate,thatsomemaybeofthisworldandothersoftheworldbeyond,cannotbedecidedbyusfromthefactthatmereexistenceisinequalmannerascribedtothemall。
Theunityoftheworlddoesnotconsistinitsbeing,althoughitsbeingisapreconditionofitsunity,asitmustcertainlyfirstbebeforeitcanbeone。Being,indeed,isalwaysanopenquestionbeyondthepointwhereoursphereofobservationends。Therealunityoftheworldconsistsinitsmateriality,andthisisprovednotbyafewjuggledphrases,butbyalongandwearisomedevelopmentofphilosophyandnaturalscience。
Toreturntothetext。ThebeingwhichHerrDühringistellingusaboutis“notthatpure,self-equalbeingwhichlacksallspecialdeterminants,andinfactrepresentsonlythecounterpartoftheideaofnothingoroftheabsenceofidea“{D。Ph。22}。
ButweshallseeverysoonthatHerrDühring’suniversereallystartswithabeingwhichlacksallinnerdifferentiation,allmotionandchange,andisthereforeinfactonlyacounterpartoftheideaofnothing,andthereforereallynothing。Onlyoutofthisbeing-nothingdevelopsthepresentdifferentiated,changingstateoftheuniverse,whichrepresentsadevelopment,abecoming;anditisonlyafterwehavegraspedthisthatweareable,evenwithinthisperpetualchange,to“maintaintheconceptionofuniversalbeinginaself-equalstate“
{D。Ph。23}。
Wehavenow,therefore,theideaofbeingonahigherplane,whereitincludeswithinitselfbothinertnessandchange,beingandbecoming。Havingreachedthispoint,wefindthat“genusandspecies,orthegeneralandtheparticular,arethesimplestmeansofdifferentiation,withoutwhichtheconstitutionofthingscannotbeunderstood“{24}。
Butthesearemeansofdifferentiationofqualities;andafterthesehavebeendealtwith,weproceed:
“inoppositiontogenusstandstheconceptofmagnitude,asofahomogeneityinwhichnofurtherdifferencesofspeciesexist“{26};
andsofromqualitywepasstoquantity,andthisisalways“measurable“{26}。
Letusnowcomparethis“sharpdivisionofthegeneraleffect-schemata“
{D。C。6}andits“reallycriticalstandpoint“{D。Ph。404}withthecrudities,wildravingsanddeliriousfantasiesofaHegel。WefindthatHegel’slogicstartsfrombeing——aswithHerrDühring;thatbeingturnsouttobenothing,justaswithHerrDühring;thatfromthisbeing-nothingthereisatransitiontobecomingtheresultofwhichisdeterminatebeing[Dasein],i。e。,ahigher,fullerformofbeing[Sein]——
justthesameaswithHerrDühring。Determinatebeingleadsontoquality,andqualityontoquantity——justthesameaswithHerrDühring。Andsothatnoessentialfeaturemaybemissing,HerrDühringtellsusonanotheroccasion:
“Fromtherealmofnon-sensationatransitionismadetothatofsensation,inspiteofallquantitativegradations,onlythroughaqualitativeleap,ofwhichwecansaythatitisinfinitelydifferentfromthemeregradationofoneandthesameproperty“{142}。
ThisispreciselytheHegeliannodaldineofmeasurerelations,inwhich,atcertaindefinitenodalpoints,thepurelyquantitativeincreaseordecreasegivesrisetoaqualitativeleap;forexample,inthecaseofheatedorcooledwater,whereboiling-pointandfreezing-pointarethenodesatwhich——undernormalpressure——theleaptoanewstateofaggregationtakesplace,andwhereconsequentlyquantityistransformedintoquality。
Ourinvestigationhaslikewisetriedtoreachdowntotheroots,anditfindstherootsofthedeep-rootedbasicschemataofHerrDühringtobe——the“deliriousfantasies“ofaHegel,thecategoriesofHegelianLogic,PartI,theDoctrineofBeing,instrictlyold-Hegelian“succession“
andwithhardlyanyattempttocloaktheplagiarism!
Andnotcontentwithpilferingfromhisworst-slanderedpredecessorthelatter’swholeschemeofbeing,HerrDühring,afterhimselfgivingtheabove-quotedexampleoftheleaplikechangefromquantityintoquality,saysofMarxwithouttheslightestperturbation:
“Howridiculous,forexample,isthereference“madebyMarx“totheHegelianconfused,hazynotionthatquantityistransformedintoquality!“{D。K。G。498}。
Confused,hazynotion!Whohasbeentransformedhere?Andwhoisridiculoushere,HerrDühring?
Alltheseprettylittlethingsarethereforenotonlynot“axiomaticallydecided“,asprescribed,butaremerelyimportedfromoutside,thatistosay,fromHegel’sLogic。AndinfactinsuchaformthatinthewholechapterthereisnoteventhesemblanceofanyinternalcoherenceunlessborrowedfromHegel,andthewholequestionfinallytricklesoutinameaninglesssubtilisingaboutspaceandtime,inertnessandchange。
FrombeingHegelpassestoessence,todialectics。Herehedealswiththedeterminationsofreflection,theirinternalantagonismsandcontradictions,asforexample,positiveandnegative;hethencomestocausalityortherelationofcauseandeffectandendswithnecessity。NototherwiseHerrDühring。WhatHegelcallsthedoctrineofessenceHerrDühringtranslatesinto“logicalpropertiesofbeing“{D。Ph。
29}。These,however,consistaboveallinthe“antagonismofforces“{31},inopposites。Contradiction,however,HerrDühringabsolutelydenies;wewillreturntothispointlater。Thenhepassesovertocausality,andfromthistonecessity。Sothatwhen-HerrDühringsaysofhimself:
“We,whodonotphilosophiseoutofacage“{41},heapparentlymeansthathephilosophisesinacage,namely,thecageoftheHegelianschematismofcategories。
V。
PHILOSOPHYOFNATURE。
TIMEANDSPACEWenowcometophilosophyofnature。HereagainHerrDühringhaseverycausefordissatisfactionwithhispredecessors。
Naturalphilosophy“sanksolowthatitbecameanarid,spuriousdoggerelfoundedonignorance“,and“felltotheprostitutedphilosophisticsofaSchellingandhislike,riggingthemselvesoutinthepriesthoodoftheAbsoluteandhoodwinkingthepublic“。Fatiguehassavedusfromthese“deformities“;
butuptonowithasonlygivenplaceto“instability“;“andasfarasthepublicatlargeisconcerned,itiswellknownthatthedisappearanceofagreatcharlatanisoftenonlytheopportunityforalesserbutcommerciallymoreexperiencedsuccessortoputoutagain,underanothersignboard;theproductsofhispredecessor“。Naturalscientiststhemselvesfeellittle“inclinationtomakeexcursionsintotherealmofworld-encompassingideas“,andconsequentlyjumpto“wildandhastyconclusions“inthetheoreticalsphere{D。Ph。56-57}。
Theneedfordeliveranceisthereforeurgent,andbyastrokeofgoodluckHerrDühringisathand。
Inorderproperlytoappreciatetherevelationswhichnowfollowonthedevelopmentoftheworldintimeanditslimitationsinspace,wemustturnbackagaintocertainpassagesin“worldschematism“{15}。
Infinity——whichHegelcallsbadinfinity——isattributedtobeingalsoinaccordancewithHegelEncyclopaedia,§93,andthenthisinfinityisinvestigated。
“Theclearestformofaninfinitywhichcanbeconceivedwithoutcontradictionistheunlimitedaccumulationofnumbersinanumericalseries{18}……Aswecanaddyetanotherunittoanynumber,withouteverexhaustingthepossibilityoffurthernumbers,soalsotoeverystateofbeingafurtherstatesucceeds,andinfinityconsistsintheunlimitedbegettingofthesestates。Thisexactlyconceivedinfinityhasconsequentlyonlyonesinglebasicformwithonesingledirection。Foralthoughitisimmaterialtoourthoughtwhetherornotitconceivesanoppositedirectionintheaccumulationofstates,thisretrogressinginfinityisneverthelessonlyarashlyconstructedthought-image。indeed,sincethisinfinitywouldhavetobetraversedinrealityinthereversedirection,itwouldineachofitsstateshaveaninfinitesuccessionofnumbersbehinditself。
Butthiswouldinvolvetheimpermissiblecontradictionofacountedinfinitenumericalseries,andsoitiscontrarytoreasontopostulateanyseconddirectionininfinity“{19}。
Thefirstconclusiondrawnfromthisconceptionofinfinityisthatthechainofcausesandeffectsintheworldmustatsometimehavehadabeginning:
“aninfinitenumberofcauseswhichassumedlyalreadyhavelinedupnexttooneanotherisinconceivable,justbecauseitpresupposesthattheuncountablehasbeencounted“{37}。
Andthusafinalcauseisproved。
Thesecondconclusionis“thelawofdefinitenumber:theaccumulationofidentitiesofanyactualspeciesofindependentthingsisonlyconceivableasformingadefinitenumber“。Notonlymustthenumberofcelestialbodiesexistingatanypointoftimebeinitselfdefinite,butsomustalsothetotalnumberofall,eventhetiniestindependentparticlesofmatterexistingintheworld。
Thislatterrequisiteistherealreasonwhynocompositioncanbeconceivedwithoutatoms。Allactualdivisionhasalwaysadefinitelimit,andmusthaveitifthecontradictionofthecounteduncountableistobeavoided。
Forthesamereason,notonlymustthenumberoftheearth’srevolutionsroundthesunuptothepresenttimebeadefinitenumber,eventhoughitcannotbestated,butallperiodicalprocessesofnaturemusthavehadsomebeginning,andalldifferentiation,allthemultifariousnessofnaturewhichappearsinsuccessionmusthaveitsrootsinoneself-equalstate。Thisstatemay,withoutinvolvingacontradiction,haveexistedfrometernity;
buteventhisideawouldbeexcludediftimeinitselfwerecomposedofrealpartsandwerenot,onthecontrary,merelyarbitrarilydividedupbyourmindsowingtothevarietyofconceivablepossibilities。Thecaseisquitedifferentwiththereal,andinitselfdistinguishedcontentoftime;thisrealfillingoftimewithdistinguishablefactsandtheformsofbeingofthisspherebelong,preciselybecauseoftheirdistinguishability,totherealmofthecountable{64-65}。Ifweimagineastateinwhichnochangeoccursandwhichinitsself-equalityprovidesnodifferencesofsuccessionwhatever,themorespecialisedideaoftimetransformsitselfintothemoregeneralideaofbeing。Whattheaccumulationofemptydurationwouldmeanisquiteunimaginable{70}。
ThusfarHerrDühring,andheisnotalittleedifiedbythesignificanceoftheserevelations。Atfirsthehopesthattheywill“atleastnotberegardedaspaltrytruths“{64};butlaterwefind:
“Recalltoyourmindtheextremelysimplemethodsbywhichwehelpedforwardtheconceptsofinfinityandtheircritiquetoahithertounknownimport……theelementsoftheuniversalconceptionofspaceandtime,whichhavebeengivensuchsimpleformbythesharpeninganddeepeningnoweffected“{427-28}。
Wehelpedforward!Thedeepeningandsharpeningnoweffected!Whoare“we“,andwhenisthis“now“?Whoisdeepeningandsharpening?
“Thesis:Theworldhasabeginningintime,andwithregardtospaceisalsolimited——Proof:Forifitisassumedthattheworldhasnobeginningintime,thenaneternitymusthaveelapseduptoeverygivenpointoftime,andconsequentlyaninfiniteseriesofsuccessivestatesofthingsmusthavepassedawayintheworld。Theinfinityofaseries,however,consistspreciselyinthis,thatitcanneverbecompletedbymeansofasuccessivesynthesis。Henceaninfiniteelapsedseriesofworldsisimpossible,andconsequentlyabeginningoftheworldisanecessaryconditionofitsexistence。Andthiswasthefirstthingtobeproved——Withregardtothesecond,iftheoppositeisagainassumed,thentheworldmustbeaninfinitegiventotalofco-existentthings。Nowwecannotconceivethedimensionsofaquantum,whichisnotgivenwithincertainlimitsofanintuition,inanyotherwaythanbymeansofthesynthesisofitsparts,andcanconceivethetotalofsuchaquantumonlybymeansofacompletedsynthesis,orbytherepeatedadditionofaunittoitself。Accordingly,toconceivetheworld,whichfillsallspaces,asawhole,thesuccessivesynthesisofthepartsofaninfiniteworldwouldhavetobelookeduponascompleted;thatis,aninfinitetimewouldhavetoberegardedaselapsedintheenumerationofallco-existingthings。Thisisimpossible。Forthisreasonaninfiniteaggregateofactualthingscannotberegardedasagivenwholenor,therefore,asgivenatthesametime。Henceitfollowsthattheworldisnotinfinite,asregardsextensioninspace,butenclosedinlimits。Andthiswasthesecondthing“tobeproved。
Thesesentencesarecopiedwordforwordfromawell-knownbookwhichfirstappearedin1781andiscalled:KritikderreinenVernunftbyImmanuelKant,whereallandsundrycanreadthem,inthefirstpart,SecondDivision,BookII,ChapterII,SectionII:TheFirstAntinomyofPureReason。
SothatHerrDühring’sfamerestssolelyonhishavingtackedonthename——LawofDefiniteNumber——toanideaexpressedbyKant,andonhavingmadethediscoverythattherewasonceatimewhenasyettherewasnotime,thoughtherewasaworld。Asregardsalltherest,thatis,anythinginHerrDühring’sexegesiswhichhassomemeaning,“We“——
isImmanuelKant,andthe“now“isonlyninety-fiveyearsago。Certainly“extremelysimple“!Remarkable“hithertounknownimport“!
Kant,however,doesnotatallclaimthattheabovepropositionsareestablishedbyhisproof。Onthecontrary;ontheoppositepagehestatesandprovesthereverse:thattheworldhasnobeginningintimeandnoendinspace;anditispreciselyinthisthathefindstheantinomy,theinsolublecontradiction,thattheoneisjustasdemonstrableastheother。Peopleofsmallercalibremightperhapsfuelalittledoubthereonaccountof“aKant“havingfoundaninsolubledifficulty。Butnotsoourvaliantfabricatorof“fromthegrounduporiginalconclusionsandviews“{D。Ph。525};heindefatigablycopiesdownasmuchofKant’santinomyassuitshispurpose,andthrowstherestaside。
Theproblemitselfhasaverysimplesolution。Eternityintime,infinityinspace,signifyfromthestart,andinthesimplemeaningofthewords,thatthereisnoendinanydirectionneitherforwardsnorbackwards,upwardsordownwards,totherightortotheleft。Thisinfinityissomethingquitedifferentfromthatofaninfiniteseries,forthelatteralwaysstartsfromone,withafirstterm。Theinapplicabilityofthisideaofseriestoourobjectbecomescleardirectlyweapplyittospace。Theinfiniteseries,transferredtothesphereofspace,isalinedrawnfromadefinitepointinadefinitedirectiontoinfinity。Istheinfinityofspaceexpressedinthisevenintheremotestway?Onthecontrary,theideaofspatialdimensionsinvolvessixlinesdrawnfromthisonepointinthreeoppositedirections,andconsequentlywewouldhavesixofthesedimensions。Kantsawthissoclearlythathetransferredhisnumericalseriesonlyindirectly,inaroundaboutway,tothespacerelationsoftheworld。HerrDühring,ontheotherhand,compelsustoacceptsixdimensionsinspace,andimmediatelyafterwardscanfindnowordstoexpresshisindignationatthemathematicalmysticismofGauss,whowouldnotrestcontentwiththeusualthreedimensionsofspace[37]{SeeD。Ph。67-68}。
Asappliedtotime,thelineorseriesofunitsinfiniteinbothdirectionshasacertainfigurativemeaning。Butifwethinkoftimeasaseriescountedfromoneforward,orasalinestartingfromadefinitepoint,weimplyinadvancethattimehasabeginning:weputforwardasapremisepreciselywhatwearetoprove。Wegivetheinfinityoftimeaone-sided,halvedcharacter;butaone-sided,halvedinfinityisalsoacontradictioninitself,theexactoppositeofan“infinityconceivedwithoutcontradiction“。Wecanonlygetpastthiscontradictionifweassumethattheonefromwhichwebegintocounttheseries,thepointfromwhichweproceedtomeasurethelineisanyoneintheseries,thatitisanyoneofthepointsintheline,andthatitisamatterofindifferencetothelineortotheserieswhereweplacethisoneorthispoint。
Butwhatofthecontradictionof“thecountedinfinitenumericalseries“?WeshallbeinapositiontoexaminethismorecloselyassoonasHerrDühringhasperformedforustheclevertrickofcountingit。Whenhehascompletedthetaskofcountingfrom-=minusinfinity
to0lethimcomeagain。Itiscertainlyobviousthat,atwhateverpointhebeginstocount,hewillleavebehindhimaninfiniteseriesand,withit,thetaskwhichheistofulfil。Lethimjustreversehisowninfiniteseries1234……andtrytocountfromtheinfiniteendbackto1;itwouldobviouslyonlybeattemptedbyamanwhohasnotthefaintestunderstandingofwhattheproblemis。Andagain:ifHerrDühringstatesthattheinfiniteseriesofelapsedtimehasbeencounted,heistherebystatingthattimehasabeginning;forotherwisehewouldnothavebeenabletostart“counting“atall。Onceagain,therefore,heputsintotheargument,asapremise,thethingthathehastoprove。
Theideaofaninfiniteserieswhichhasbeencounted,inotherwords,theworld-encompassingDühringianlawofdefinitenumber,isthereforeacontradictioinadjecto[“contradictionindefinition“——
ed。]containswithinitselfacontradiction,andinfactanabsurdcontradiction。
Itisclearthataninfinitywhichhasanendbutnobeginningisneithermorenorlessinfinitethanthatwhichhasabeginningbutnoend。TheslightestdialecticalinsightshouldhavetoldHerrDühringthatbeginningandendnecessarilybelongtogether,likethenorthpoleandthesouthpole,andthatiftheendisleftout,thebeginningjustbecomestheend——theoneendwhichtheserieshas;andviceversa。
Thewholedeceptionwouldbeimpossiblebutforthemathematicalusageofworkingwithinfiniteseries。Becauseinmathematicsitisnecessarytostartfromdefinite,finitetermsinordertoreachtheindefinite,theinfinite,allmathematicalseries,positiveornegative,muststartfrom1,ortheycannotbeusedforcalculation。Theabstractrequirementofamathematicianis,however,farfrombeingacompulsorylawfortheworldofreality。
Forthatmatter,HerrDühringwillneversucceedinconceivingrealinfinitywithoutcontradiction。Infinityisacontradiction,andisfullofcontradictions。Fromtheoutsetitisacontradictionthataninfinityiscomposedofnothingbutfinites,andyetthisisthecase。Thelimitednessofthematerialworldleadsnolesstocontradictionsthanitsunlimitedness,andeveryattempttogetoverthesecontradictionsleads,aswehaveseen,tonewandworsecontradictions。Itisjustbecauseinfinityisacontradictionthatitisaninfiniteprocess,unrollingendlesslyintimeandinspace。Theremovalofthecontradictionwouldbetheendofinfinity。Hegelsawthisquitecorrectly,andforthatreasontreatedwithwell-meritedcontemptthegentlemenwhosubtilisedoverthiscontradiction。
Letuspasson。Sotimehadabeginning。Whatwastherebeforethisbeginning?Theuniverse,whichwastheninaself-equal,unchangingstate。Andasinthisstatenochangessucceedoneanother,themorespecialisedideaoftimetransformsitselfintothemoregeneralideaofbeing。Inthefirstplace,weareherenotintheleastconcernedwithwhatideaschangeinHerrDühring’shead。Thesubjectatissueisnottheideaoftime,butrealtime,whichHerrDühringcannotridhimselfofsocheaply。Inthesecondplace,howevermuchtheideaoftimemayconvertitselfintothemoregeneralideaofbeing,thisdoesnottakeusonestepfurther。Forthebasicformsofallbeingarespaceandtime,andbeingoutoftimeisjustasgrossanabsurdityasbeingoutofspace。TheHegelian“beingpastawaynon-temporally“andtheneo-Schellingian“unpremeditatablebeing“arerationalideascomparedwiththisbeingoutoftime。AndforthisreasonHerrDühringsetstoworkverycautiously;actuallyitisofcoursetime,butofsuchakindascannotreallybecalledtime,time,indeed,initselfdoesnotconsistofrealparts,andisonlydividedupatwillbyourmind——onlyanactualfillingoftimewithdistinguishablefactsissusceptibleofbeingcounted——whattheaccumulationofemptydurationmeansisquiteunimaginable。Whatthisaccumulationissupposedtomeanisherebesidethepoint;thequestionis,whethertheworld,inthestatehereassumed,hasduration,passesthroughadurationintime。
Wehavelongknownthatwecangetnothingbymeasuringsuchadurationwithoutcontentjustaswecangetnothingbymeasuringwithoutaimorpurposeinemptyspace;andHegel,justbecauseofthewearinessofsuchaneffort,callssuchaninfinitybad。AccordingtoHerrDühringtimeexistsonlythroughchange;changeinandthroughtimedoesnotexist。
Justbecausetimeisdifferentfromchange,isindependentofit,itispossibletomeasureitbychange,formeasuringalwaysrequiressomethingdifferentfromthethingtobemeasured。Andtimeinwhichnorecognisablechangesoccurisveryfarremovedfromnotbeingtime;itisratherpuretime,unaffectedbyanyforeignadmixtures,thatis,realtime,timeassuch。Infact,ifwewanttograsptheideaoftimeinallitspurity,divorcedfromallalienandextraneousadmixtures,wearecompelledtoputaside,asnotbeingrelevanthere,allthevariouseventswhichoccursimultaneouslyoroneafteranotherintime,andinthiswaytoformtheideaofatimeinwhichnothinghappens。Indoingthis,therefore,wehavenotlettheconceptoftimebesubmergedinthegeneralideaofbeing,buthavetherebyforthefirsttimearrivedatthepureconceptoftime。
Butallthesecontradictionsandimpossibilitiesareonlymerechild’splaycomparedwiththeconfusionintowhichHerrDühringfallswithhisself-equalinitialstateoftheworld。Iftheworldhadeverbeeninastateinwhichnochangewhateverwastakingplace,howcoulditpassfromthisstatetoalteration?Theabsolutelyunchanging,especiallywhenithasbeeninthisstatefrometernity,cannotpossiblygetoutofsuchastatebyitselfandpassoverintoastateofmotionandchange。Aninitialimpulsemustthereforehavecomefromoutside,fromoutsidetheuniverse,animpulsewhichsetitinmotion。Butaseveryoneknows,the“initialimpulse“isonlyanotherexpressionforGod。Godandthebeyond,whichinhisworldschematismHerrDühringpretendedtohavesobeautifullydismantled,arebothintroducedagainbyhimhere,sharpenedanddeepened,intonaturalphilosophy。
Further,HerrDühringsays:
“Wheremagnitudeisattributedtoaconstantelementofbeing,itwillremainunchangedinitsdeterminateness。Thisholdsgood……ofmatterandmechanicalforce“{D。Ph。26}。
Thefirstsentence,itmaybenotedinpassing,isapreciousexampleofHerrDühring’saxiomatic-tautologicalgrandiloquence:wheremagnitudedoesnotchange,itremainsthesame。Thereforetheamountofmechanicalforcewhichexistsintheworldremainsthesameforalleternity。Wewilloverlookthefactthat,insofarasthisiscorrect,Descartesalreadyknewandsaiditinphilosophynearlythreehundredyearsago;thatinnaturalsciencethetheoryoftheconservationofenergyhasheldswayforthelasttwentyyears;andthatHerrDühring,inlimitingittomechanicalforce,doesnotinanywayimproveonit。Butwherewasthemechanicalforceatthetimeoftheunchangingstate?HerrDühringobstinatelyrefusestogiveusanyanswertothisquestion。
Where,HerrDühring,wastheeternallyself-equalmechanicalforceatthattime,andwhatdiditputinmotion?Thereply:
“Theoriginalstateoftheuniverse,ortoputitmoreplainly,ofanunchangingexistenceofmatterwhichcomprisednoaccumulationofchangesintime,isaquestionwhichcanbespurnedonlybyamindthatseestheacmeofwisdomintheself-mutilationofitsowngenerativepower“{78-79}。
Therefore:eitheryouacceptwithoutexaminationmyunchangingoriginalstate,orI,EugenDühring,thepossessorofcreativepower,willcertifyyouasintellectualeunuchs。Thatmay,ofcourse,deteragoodmanypeople。Butwe,whohavealreadyseensomeexamplesofHerrDühring’sgenerativepower,canpermitourselvestoleavethisgenteelabuseunansweredforthemoment,andaskonceagain:ButHerrDühring,ifyouplease,whataboutthatmechanicalforce?
HerrDühringatoncegrowsembarrassed。
Inactualfact,hestammers,“theabsoluteidentityofthatinitialextremestatedoesnotinitselfprovideanyprincipleoftransition。Butwemustrememberthatatbottomthepositionissimilarwitheverynewlink,howeversmall,inthechainofexistencewithwhichwearefamiliar。
Sothatwhoeverwantstoraisedifficultiesinthefundamentalcasenowunderconsiderationmusttakecarethathedoesnotallowhimselftopassthembyonlessobviousoccasions。Moreover,thereexiststhepossibilityofinterposingsuccessivelygraduatedintermediatestages,andalsoabridgeofcontinuitybywhichitispossibletomovebackwardsandreachtheextinctionoftheprocessofchange。Itistruethatfromapurelyconceptualstandpointthiscontinuitydoesnothelpuspassthemaindifficulty,buttousitisthebasicformofallregularityandofeveryknownformoftransitioningeneral,sothatweareentitledtouseitalsoasamediumbetweenthatfirstequilibriumandthedisturbanceofit。Butifwehadconceivedthesotospeak“!“motionlessequilibriumonthemodeloftheideaswhichareacceptedwithoutanyparticularobjection“!“inourpresent-daymechanics,therewouldbenowayofexplaininghowmattercouldhavereachedtheprocessofchange。”Apartfromthemechanicsofmassesthereis,however,wearetold,alsoatransformationofmassmovementintothemovementofextremelysmallparticles,butastohowthistakesplace——“forthisuptothepresentwehavenogeneralprincipleatourdisposalandconsequentlyweshouldnotbesurprisediftheseprocessestakeplacesomewhatinthedark“{79-80,81}。
ThatisallHerrDühringhastosay。Andinfact,wewouldhavetoseetheacmeofwisdomnotonlyinthe“self-mutilationofourgenerativepower“{79},butalsoinblind,implicitfaith,ifweallowedourselvestobeputoffwiththesereallypitiableranksubterfugesandcircumlocutions。
HerrDühringadmitsthatabsoluteidentitycannotofitselfeffectthetransitiontochange。Noristhereanymeanswherebyabsoluteequilibriumcanofitselfpassintomotion。Whatisthere,then?Threelame,falsearguments。
Firstly:itisjustasdifficulttoshowthetransitionfromeachlink,howeversmall,inthechainofexistencewithwhichwearefamiliar,tothenextone——HerrDühringseemstothinkhisreadersareinfants。
Theestablishmentofindividualtransitionsandconnectionsbetweenthetiniestlinksinthechainofexistenceispreciselythecontentofnaturalscience,andwhenthereisahitchatsomepointinitsworknoone,notevenHerrDühring,thinksofexplainingpriormotionashavingarisenoutofnothing,butalwaysonlyasatransfer,transformationortransmissionofsomepreviousmotion。Butheretheissueisadmittedlyoneofacceptingmotionashavingarisenoutofimmobility,thatis,outofnothing。
Inthesecondplace,wehavethe“bridgeofcontinuity“。Fromapurelyconceptualstandpoint,this,tobesure,doesnothelpusoverthedifficulty,butallthesameweareentitledtouseitasamediumbetweenimmobilityandmotion。Unfortunatelythecontinuityofimmobilityconsistsinnotmoving;howthereforeitistoproducemotionremainsmoremysteriousthanever。AndhoweverinfinitelysmallthepartsintowhichHerrDühringminceshistransitionfromcompletenon-motiontouniversalmotion,andhoweverlongthedurationheassignstoit,wehavenotgotaten-thousandthpartofamillimetrefurther。Withoutanactofcreationwecannevergetfromnothingtosomething,evenifthesomethingwereassmallasamathematicaldifferential。Thebridgeofcontinuityisthereforenotevenanasses’bridge[37a];
itispassableonlyforHerrDühring。
Thirdly:solongaspresent-daymechanicsholdsgood——andthisscience,accordingtoHerrDühring,isoneofthemostessentialleversfortheformationofthought——itcannotbeexplainedatallhowitispossibletopassfromimmobilitytomotion。Butthemechanicaltheoryofheatshowsusthatthemovementofmassesundercertainconditionschangesintomolecularmovementalthoughheretooonemotionoriginatesfromanothermotion,butneverfromimmobility;andthis,HerrDühringshylysuggests,maypossiblyfurnishabridgebetweenthestrictlystaticinequilibrium
anddynamicinmotion。Buttheseprocessestakeplace“somewhatinthedark“。AnditisinthedarkthatHerrDühringleavesussitting。
Thisisthepointwehavereachedwithallhisdeepeningandsharpening——thatwehaveperpetuallygonedeeperintoeversharpernonsense,andfinallylandupwhereofnecessitywehadtolandup——“inthedark“。
ButthisdoesnotabashHerrDühringmuch。Rightonthenextpagehehastheeffronterytodeclarethathehas“beenabletoprovidearealcontentfortheideaofself-equalstabilitydirectlyfromthebehaviourofmatterandthemechanicalforces“
{D。Ph。82}。
Andthismandescribesotherpeopleas“charlatans“!
Fortunately,inspiteofallthishelplesswanderingandconfusion“inthedark“,weareleftwithoneconsolation,andthisiscertainlyedifyingtothesoul:
“Themathematicsoftheinhabitantsofothercelestialbodiescanrestonnootheraxiomsthanourown!“{69}。
VI。
PHILOSOPHYOFNATURE。
COSMOGONY,PHYSICS,CHEMISTRYPassingon,wecomenowtothetheoriesconcerningthemannerinwhichthepresentworldcameintoexistence。
Astateofuniversaldispersionofmatter,wearetold,wasthepointofdepartureoftheionicphilosophers,butlater,particularlyfromthetimeofKant,theassumptionofaprimordialnebulaplayedanewrole,gravitationandtheradiationofheathavingbeeninstrumentalinthegradualformationofseparatesolidcelestialbodies。Thecontemporarymechanicaltheoryofheatmakesitpossibletodeducetheearlierstatesoftheuniverseinafarmoredefiniteform。However,“thestateofgaseousdispersioncanbeastarting-pointforseriousdeductionsonlywhenitispossibletocharacterisebeforehandmoredefinitelythemechanicalsystemexistinginit。Otherwisenotonlydoestheideainfactremainextremelynebulous,butalsotheoriginalnebula,asthedeductionsprogress,reallybecomeseverthickerandmoreimpenetrable;……meanwhileitallstillremainsinthevaguenessandformlessnessofanideaofdiffusionthatcannotbemorecloselydetermined“,andso“thisgaseousuniverse“providesuswith“onlyanextremelyairyconception“{D。Ph。85-87}。
TheKantiantheoryoftheoriginofallexistingcelestialbodiesfromrotatingnebularmasseswasthegreatestadvancemadebyastronomysinceCopernicus。Forthefirsttimetheconceptionthatnaturehadnohistoryintimebegantobeshaken。Untilthenthecelestialbodieswerebelievedtohavebeenalways,fromtheverybeginning,inthesamestatesandalwaystohavefollowedthesamecourses;andeventhoughindividualorganismsonthevariouscelestialbodiesdiedout,neverthelessgeneraandspecieswereheldtobeimmutable。Itistruethatnaturewasobviouslyinconstantmotion,butthismotionappearedasanincessantrepetitionofthesameprocesses。Kantmadethefirstbreachinthisconception,whichcorrespondedexactlytothemetaphysicalmodeofthought,andhediditinsuchascientificwaythatmostoftheproofsfurnishedbyhimstillholdgoodtoday。Atthesametime,theKantiantheoryisstill,strictlyconsidered,onlyahypothesis。ButtheCopernicanworldsystem,too,isstillnomorethanthis,[38]andsincethespectroscopicproofoftheexistenceofsuchred-hotgaseousmassesinthestarryheavens,proofthatbrooksnocontradiction,thescientificoppositiontoKant’stheoryhasbeensilenced。EvenHerrDühringcannotcompletehisconstructionoftheworldwithoutsuchanebularstage,buttakeshisrevengeforthisbydemandingtobeshownthemechanicalsystemexistinginthisnebularstage,andbecausenoonecanshowhimthis,heappliesallkindsofdepreciatoryepithetstothisnebularstageoftheuniverse。ContemporaryscienceunfortunatelycannotdescribethissystemtoHerrDühring’ssatisfaction。Justaslittleisitabletoanswermanyotherquestions。Tothequestion:Whydotoadshavenotails?——uptonowithasonlybeenabletoanswer:Becausetheyhavelostthem。Butshouldanyonegetexcitedoverthatandsaythatthisistoleavethewholequestioninthevaguenessandformlessnessofanideaoflosswhichcannotbedeterminedmoreclosely,andthatitisanextremelyairyconception,suchanapplicationofmoralitytonaturalsciencedoesnottakeusonestepfurther。Suchexpressionsofdislikeandbadtempercanbeusedalwaysandeverywhere,andjustforthatreasontheyshouldneverbeusedanywhere。Afterall,whoisstoppingHerrDühringfromhimselfdiscoveringthemechanicalsystemoftheprimordialnebula?
FortunatelywenowlearnthattheKantiannebularmass“isfarfromcoincidingwithacompletelyidenticalstateoftheworldmedium,or,toputitanotherway,withtheself-equalstateofmatter“{D。Ph。87}。
ItwasreallyfortunateforKantthathewasabletocontenthimselfwithgoingbackfromtheexistingcelestialbodiestothenebularball,anddidnotevendreamoftheself-equalstateofmatter!ItmayberemarkedinpassingthatwhencontemporarynaturalsciencedescribestheKantiannebularballasprimordialnebula,this,itgoeswithoutsaying,isonlytobeunderstoodinarelativesense。Itisprimordialnebula,ontheonehand,inthatitistheoriginoftheexistingcelestialbodies,andontheotherhandbecauseitistheearliestformofmatterwhichwehaveuptonowbeenabletoworkbackto。Thiscertainlydoesnotexcludebutratherimpliesthesuppositionthatbeforethenebularstagematterpassedthroughaninfiniteseriesofotherforms。
HerrDühringseeshisadvantagehere。Wherewe,withscience,standstillforthetimebeingatwhatforthetimebeingisdeemedprimordialnebula,hisscienceofscienceshelpshimmuchfurtherbacktothat“stateoftheworldmediumwhichcannotbeunderstoodeitheraspurelystaticinthepresentmeaningoftheidea,orasdynamic“{87}——whichthereforecannotbeunderstoodatall。
“Theunityofmatterandmechanicalforcewhichwecalltheworldmediumiswhatmightbetermedalogical-realformulaforindicatingtheself-equalstateofmatterastheprerequisiteofallinnumerablestagesofevolution“
{87-88}。
Weareclearlynotbyalongshotridoftheself-equalprimordialstateofmatter。Hereitisspokenofastheunityofmatterandmechanicalforce,andthisasalogical-realformula,etc。Hence,assoonastheunityofmatterandmechanicalforcecomestoanend,motionbegins。
Thelogical-realformulaisnothingbutalameattempttomaketheHegeliancategories“initself“[Ansich]and“foritself“[Fursich]
usableinthephilosophyofreality。WithHegel,“initself“coverstheoriginalidentityofthehidden,undevelopedcontradictionswithinathing,aprocessoranidea,and“foritself“containsthedistinctionandseparationofthesehiddenelementsandthestarting-pointoftheirconflict。Wearethereforetothinkofthemotionlessprimordialstateastheunityofmatterandmechanicalforce,andofthetransitiontomovementastheirseparationandopposition。Whatwehavegainedbythisisnotanyproofoftherealityofthatfantasticprimordialstate,butonlythefactthatitispossibletobringthisstateundertheHegeliancategoryof“initself“,anditsequallyfantasticterminationunderthecategoryof“foritself“。Hegelhelpus!
Matter,HerrDühringsays,isthebearerofallreality;
accordingly,therecanbenomechanicalforceapartfrommatter。Mechanicalforceisfurthermoreastateofmatter{SeeD。Ph。73}。Intheoriginalstate,whennothinghappened,matteranditsstate,mechanicalforce,wereone。Afterwards,whensomethingbegantohappen,thisstatemustapparentlyhavebecomedifferentfrommatter。Sowearetoletourselvesbedismissedwiththesemysticalphrasesandwiththeassurancethattheself-equalstatewasneitherstaticnordynamic,neitherinequilibriumnorinmotion。
Westilldonotknowwheremechanicalforcewasinthatstate,andhowwearetogetfromabsoluteimmobilitytomotionwithoutanimpulsefromoutside,thatis,withoutGod。
ThematerialistsbeforeHerrDühringspokeofmatterandmotion。Hereducesmotiontomechanicalforceasitssupposedbasicform,andtherebymakesitimpossibleforhimselftounderstandtherealconnectionbetweenmatterandmotion,whichmoreoverwasalsouncleartoallformermaterialists。Andyetitissimpleenough。Motionisthemodeofexistenceofmatter。Neveranywherehastherebeenmatterwithoutmotion,norcantherebe。Motionincosmicspace,mechanicalmotionofsmallermassesonthevariouscelestialbodies,thevibrationofmoleculesasheatoraselectricalormagneticcurrents,chemicaldisintegrationandcombination,organiclife——ateachgivenmomenteachindividualatomofmatterintheworldisinoneorotheroftheseformsofmotion,orinseveralformsatonce。Allrest,allequilibrium,isonlyrelative,onlyhasmeaninginrelationtooneorotherdefiniteformofmotion。Ontheearth,forexample,abodymaybeinmechanicalequilibrium,maybemechanicallyatrest;butthisinnowaypreventsitfromparticipatinginthemotionoftheearthandinthatofthewholesolarsystem,justaslittleasitpreventsitsmostminutephysicalparticlesfromcarryingoutthevibrationsdeterminedbyitstemperature,oritsatomsfrompassingthroughachemicalprocess。
Matterwithoutmotionisjustasinconceivableasmotionwithoutmatter。
Motionisthereforeasuncreatableandindestructibleasmatteritself;
astheolderphilosophyDescartesexpressedit,thequantityofmotionexistingintheworldisalwaysthesame。Motionthereforecannotbecreated;
itcanonlybetransferred。Whenmotionistransferredfromonebodytoanother,itmayberegarded,insofarasittransfersitself,isactive,asthe-causeofmotion,insofarasthelatteristransferred,ispassive。
Wecallthisactivemotionforce,andthepassive,themanifestationofforce。Henceitisasclearasdaylightthataforceisasgreatasitsmanifestation,becauseinfactthesamemotiontakesplaceinboth。
Amotionlessstateofmatteristhereforeoneofthemostemptyandnonsensicalofideas——a“deliriousfantasy“ofthepurestwater。
Inordertoarriveatsuchanideaitisnecessarytoconceivetherelativemechanicalequilibrium,astateinwhichabodyontheearthmaybe,asabsoluterest,andthentoextendthisequilibriumoverthewholeuniverse。
Thisiscertainlymadeeasierifuniversalmotionisreducedtopurelymechanicalforce。Andtherestrictionofmotiontopurelymechanicalforcehasthefurtheradvantagethataforcecanbeconceivedasatrest,astiedup,andthereforeforthemomentinoperative。Forif,asisveryoftenthecase,thetransferofamotionisasomewhatcomplexprocesscontaininganumberofintermediatelinks,itispossibletopostponetheactualtransmissiontoanymomentdesiredbyomittingthelastlinkinthechain。Thisisthecase,forinstance,ifamanloadsagunandpostponesthemomentwhen,bythepullingofthetrigger,thedischarge,thetransferofthemotionsetfreebythecombustionofthepowder,takesplace。Itisthereforepossibletoimaginethatduringitsmotionless,self-equalstate,matterwasloadedwithforce,andthis,ifanythingatall,seemstobewhatHerrDühringunderstandsbytheunityofmatterandmechanicalforce。Thisconceptionisnonsensical,becauseittransferstotheentireuniverseastateasabsolute,whichbyitsnatureisrelativeandthereforecanonlyaffectapartofmatteratanyonetime。Evenifweoverlookthispoint,thedifficultystillremains:first,howdidtheworldcometobeloaded,sincenowadaysgunsdonotloadthemselves;andsecond,whosefingerwasitthenthatpulledthetrigger?Wemayturnandtwistasmuchaswelike,butunderHerrDühring’sguidancewealwayscomebackagainto——thefingerofGod。
Fromastronomyourphilosopherofrealitypassesontomechanicsandphysics,andvoicesthelamentthatthemechanicaltheoryofheathasnot,inthegenerationsinceitsdiscovery,beenmateriallyadvancedbeyondthepointtowhichRobertMayerhadhimselfdevelopedit,bitbybit。Apartfromthis,thewholebusinessisstillveryobscure;
wemust“alwaysrememberthatinthestatesofmotion`,fmatter,staticrelationsarealsopresent,andthattheselatterarenotmeasurablebythemechanicalwork……ifpreviouslywedescribednatureasagreatworker,andifwenowconstruethisexpressionstrictly,wemustfurthermoreaddthattheself-equalstatesandstaticrelationsdonotrepresentmechanicalwork。Soonceagainwemissthebridgefromthestatictothedynamic,andifso-calledlatentheathasuptonowremainedastumbling-blockforthetheory,wemustrecogniseadefectinthistoo,whichcanleastbedeniedinitscosmicapplications“{D。Ph。90}。
Thiswholeoraculardiscourseisonceagainnothingbuttheoutpouringofabadconscience,whichisverywellawarethatwithitscreationofmotionoutofabsoluteimmobilityitgotirretrievablystuckinthemud,butisneverthelessashamedtoappealtotheonlypossiblesaviour,namely,thecreatorofheavenandearth。Ifthebridgefromthestatictothedynamic,fromequilibriumtomotion,cannotbefoundeveninmechanics,includingthemechanicsofheat,underwhatobligationsisHerrDühringtofindthebridgefromhismotionlessstatetomotion?Thatwouldbeafortunatewayforhimtogetoutofhisplight。
Inordinarymechanicsthebridgefromthestatictothedynamicis——theexternalimpulse。Ifastoneweighingahundredweightisraisedfromthegroundtenyardsintotheairandisfreelysuspendedinsuchawaythatitremainshangingthereinaself-equalstateandinaconditionofrest,itwouldbenecessarytohaveanaudienceofsucklingstobeabletomaintainthatthepresentpositionofthisbodydoesnotrepresentanymechanicalwork,orthatitsdistancefromitspreviouspositionisnotmeasurablebymechanicalwork。Anypasser-bywilleasilyexplaintoHerrDühringthatthestonedidnotriseofitselftotheropeandanymanualofmechanicswilltellhimthatifheletsthestonefallagainitperformsinfallingjustasmuchmechanicalworkaswasnecessarytoraiseitthetenyardsintheair。Eventhesimplefactthatthestoneishangingupthererepresentsmechanicalwork,forifitremainshanginglongenoughtheropebreaks,assoonaschemicaldecompositionmakesitnolongerstrongenoughtobeartheweightofthestone。Butitistosuchsimplebasicforms,touseHerrDühring’slanguage,thatallmechanicalprocessescanbereduced,andtheengineerisstilltobebornwhocannotfindthebridgefromthestatictothedynamic,solongashehasathisdisposalasufficientexternalimpulse。
Tobesure,itisahardnutandabitterpillforourmetaphysicianthatmotionshouldfinditsmeasureinitsopposite,inrest。Thatisindeedacryingcontradiction,andeverycontradiction,accordingtoHerrDühring,isnonsense{D。Ph。30}。Itisnonethelessafactthatasuspendedstonerepresentsadefinitequantityofmechanicalmotion,whichismeasurableexactlybythestone’sweightanditsdistancefromtheground,andmaybeusedinvariouswaysatwill,forexample,byitsdirectfall,byslidingdownaninclinedplane,orbyturningashaft。
第2章