Meaning of History - Reflections on Spengler, Toynbee, and Kant

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THE MEANING OP HIS TORY

(Reflections on Spengler, Toynbee and Kant)

Henry A,, Kissinger

'!hble of Contents

I

Introduotory Note '!he Argument (Introduction and Summary)

Pa.[!e

History - as - Intuition (Spengler) " Introduction n Metaphysics '.!.he Development of the Culture" " The Souls o:f the Culture Politics # Zcono:::iics, 'lne Hachine " Conolusicns History -as-sn- Empirical-Science (Toynbee) Introduction Page " J.!e taphys lo The Nature and Genesis or " Civilizations " 'Ihe Grovrth or Civilizations '.:be Breakdown of Civilizations" Schism in the noA v Social " n Schism in the So�i " Conolus1ons

l-

31

:3545

62 9Q-

i12--

l:5B

136-·

1451.65 183 198 21�.23�--

History and Uo.n' s E."Y.perlence of rt.oral1 ty (Kant) The Problem of Freedom endNecess1ty in the Philosophies preoe�ding Kant Page 260 " Metaphysio 272 " 'Moral Philosophy 277 'Jhe Philosophy of History Derived rrom the Categorical Imperative 289 The Philosophy of History Con-1ei ved as a Toleolog1cal System Page 300 'Iha Sense of Responsibility Introduction Pags 323 Preedom and Necessity Hee one ll�o II - A Clue from Poetry• �30 Appendix

BP1liogr-aphy

Introduction Assertional Logic Pre-Assertional Lacie 'Ihe 'Iheory of System.a

Page 349 Tl 352 " 366 " 371

Page :384

·IIntroductory Note. An introduot!op to an undergraduate hcnor t heais may seem presumpt(oue, rru-:

'!.

bdlieve that its 1norc.1nate length

and unorthodox method require an explanation. Aa a general reason, the length is due to the fact that I did not realize the implications of the aunject when I started to work on the the!is.

As 1t grew, I have rru;:.je several efforts to cut it down,

such as omitting the chapt ers I had written on Ilegel and Schweitzer. Since this still did not succeed in reducing this thesis to a more manageable size I have pointed out, st the end of this 1ntc,4uotory note, those portions which I believe�-to be the nucleus. or my analy­ sis and which may be considered my hcnor thesis.

'lhe methodology re�ults from my diasatlsfaot1on with the critical tr�atments of Spengler, and to a leaser degree, of Toynbee. I had the impression that merely enalytloal criticiem of Spengler .falslflea the

real eaaen()e of his philosophy.

JuBt as in the oase

of Nietzache, part of 8pengler•e impact reside!!! in the poetio 1maginat1venese of hi!!! desori�tiona.

I have therefore made a

conoo1oue effort 1n my expoa1to�y passages to capture as muoh aa posaible of Spengler's ntyle.

Thie hae entailed rather lengthy

quotations au� in one or two plaooa oloae reliance on the te�t. To present Spengler'e philosophy as fairly aa poaaible I have kept auoh clauae1 as "Spengler argues", "according to Spengler" eto. to a mlnimumo

'Iha expository passagea are to be understood ae con�

tialn1ng S9Emgler' &.1 arguments. · My oornmente are oonoentra ted in discussions at the end ?f each e�ction.

My baalo anal1�la is to

ba found in my "Conolu@lonG" on the Chapto�, "History tion" .,

BB

c

Intui�

-III have followed ea3entiall7 the srune methodology with Toynbee.

Here too purely analytical oritlcism falsifies the

stately empirical approach.

I have discuaaed each of Toynbee'•

main headln.gs at su.:fficlent length to indicate hia method ., though, except for a very few instances, I have omitted all his illustra­ tions.

Again� all mi oomments are contained in an introductory

paragraph and in a oonoludlng seotlon to each heading.

Again�

my fundamental ori tioisms are to be found un�e� the title "Con� clus1ona" at the end of the Chapter "H1atory-as-an-Emp1rical 8o1enoe". In eaoh case the expoa1tory paeeagea are preceded by a d1eouse1on of the author's metaph1s1oal aaeumptlona, to explain their etruoturlng effect on the eubs�quent philosophy. Since many excellent traatmenta of Kant's philosophy exist, my d1eouss1on of h1� philosophy ls orthodox.

My laat

ChapteT 1Q intended to explain the general position from whioh I approached .the philosophy of hb tory �

Needless to say I thla

la a etill tentative v1ew-po1nt. 'lhe Appendix was written after listening to a eeminar paper by a

log1oal

poai.tiv1st 1

1n order to

ole.,r tty my own thought

on the meaning of "meaning, and also to 1nd1oate what or1ter1a of validity log1o oftera to philosophy�

It lo based on a oourae with

Pror. Ilenry Scheffer and also personal consultations.

The philo�

soph1oal 1nterpretat1on or \,:the· logical syate:ms la my own. Though this analyeia was written ae a unit, the reader

-IIImo:y, t:r be 'flishea • consider only the following eeotlons as my honor thesisa 'lhe Argument {Introduction and Summary) Spengler (H1ator7 - ae - Intuition) iie taphya 1c a Pol1t1ca. E�onom1es, The Machine Conolut1ion.1 Toynbee

Kant

Metaph7slca 'lbe nature and Oenaa19 or Civilizations s�hlam in the So�l Conolua1one

(Entire Cbapter)

The Sense

or

Respons1bil1t;y

THE ARGUMENT (Introduction and Summary)

-1-

1.

The Problem In tho life of every person thcro comes a point when

he realizes that out of all the seemingly limitless possi­ t)llitics of his youth he he.s in fact become one actuality. No lone;or is lifo a broad ploin w1 th forests fmd mountains beckoning all-around, but it 'oscones apparent that one's journey across the meadows hns indeed followed a regular pnth, that one cen no lonr;er go this wny or thflt• but that the di­ rection is set, the limits defined. Fe.ch step once tnken so thou�htleasly now bec,omea fraught with tremendous portont, each &dvance to be made ap­ pear� unelterable.

Looking bflclc across the path we are struck

by tho inexorability of the road, how every step both limited nnd served rs a condition for the next P.nd viewin17, the plain we fc,el with P.. certainty approPchinr, · lmowledge that rnony roads were possible, that mnny incidonta she.pod our wanderini:;, that we are here becouse 1 t vrns we who journeyed and we could be in a different spot hrrd we v1iahod.

.And we know fur th.er that

wbstcver rot1d r.e had chosen, we could not have re1;1::..:ned ata­ tionA.ry.

We were unable to nvo1d in any mr--'llller our being now

in fA.ct so�ewhere e.!ld in some position.

V!o hnvo come up against

the problem of Necessity and Freedom, of the.irrevocability of our actions, of tbe airectedness of our life. WhRt is the me211in� of neceaaity ond where does it nrise? Necessity ia 2n a�tribute of the past.

�vents viewed in

-2retrospect appe�r inevitable, the fnct of occurrence testi­ fies to irre,,ocnbili ty.

Causality expresses the p2ttern which

the mind imposes on n soquonce of events in order to make the ir It is formulated as s lnTI, which

eppearBnce compre hensible.

reve, ls a trend of recurronce nnd an ass0I'tion of cornporP.bi li ty. Luw eve r fights 3gainst the unique, ngainst the personal e x­ perience ., the inward bliss .

Necessity recognizes only quantita­

tive diffe rences, and conceives o.f survival historical .fitness.

RS

its sole test of

Necessity discovers the typical in man,

the inexorable in e vents, the inevitable in existence.

Its doc­

trine is the philosophy of 'Eternal Recurrence of which the devil tolls Ivan Koramazoff., 11 But our present earth may have be e n re­ peated a thousP.nd times.

Vlhy 1t baa become extinct, be en £rozen,

crocked, broke n to bits , disintegrated into 1ts ele ments, again the r.n��r Gbove the firmament, then nga1n o comet, again a aun, again from the sun it bocomes earth and on eertb the same saquence may bnve bee n repeated endlessly and exactly the same to everr detail •• ,."

Yet every e vent is not only nn e ffect but also an inward experienco.

As an effect it 1� ruled by neces sity, ae nn ex­

perience it reveals the unique !n tDe personality.

The d e sire

to re concile llll experience of freedom vii th a de·te rmined environ­ r.ient is the lnment of poetry Emd tho dilemma of philosoph;y.

Re.­

tlonolism attempted to solve this problem by considering its pur­ poses os the ob jective pattern of -0ccurren�es Bnd equating free dom 1.

This follows Knnt I a 1:inAlysis of the ca tegor•ies. See post.

The British sceptics, pfl.rticularly Hume, sub­

with necessity.

mitted these notions to rigorous criticism and deni0d necessity s3

well

AS

pm•posiveness.

They· &r!?,Uod thnt perception involves

th8 impact of e�p1rical entities on a wax-like mind, whose sen­ sations of ploasuro are largely passive, whose concept of necea­ sit--y describe a constP..nt conjunction and to which freedom ia ·1

The limits of thought can not be establiohed by

thought, however.

Hum.e 1 a scepticism caused him to abandon phi­

losop�y while still a young man nnd Descartes WBS forced to in­ voke God aa a guarantor of external reality w1 th th9 aid of the

·2 very f&culty tho accuracy of which he had seriously questioned. Kant roalized thnt only £ln inward experience can transcend the 1nexorabili ty of oonpleted action. made room for boliof • n

Ha "limited ·knowledp;e to

Ee affirmed that tho real1 ty that is S'\lb­

ject to the laws of causality is given by sensuous experience and exhaµsted in the phenomenal world.

But beyond that man has

n transcendental experience of freedom which elevates him above the reslm of necessity into a higher world-order which conditions all nppear1mces.

Freedom la a.n inwnrd state, r.n attitude that

accompanies £111 action.

·This disproves Hu!ne 1s assertion that

nothing can be definitely known, since one can always imagine the opposite of nny thought.

Our experience of freedom testifies to

a fact of existence which no thought-process can deny and �or the l. 2.

SBe post. Ch. "History nnd Ma.., 1 a ?xperience of Morality.111 See poet. for full discussion Ch. 11 fiistor:y and U�n's F'.X�!:!rionce of Moroli ty." 1

.. 4_ du:xonst:;:,ution of ergo sum wes not really . . ' which Descartes' cogite 1 Whatever conception one may form aliout the inevi tncce�sG.ry. abi U ty of nn tions, �heir rrccompliahment occurred with an inward

conviction of choice. ;:;;an. 11

•

Freedom is the causality that motivates

To conceive a m&n hiwlng no freedoo. i� impossible except

as e man deprived of life," says Tolstoy. What is the solution to the pnradox of irrevocable action accomplished uith tr:e conviction of choice?

Ilow can we reconcile

the experience of freedom with our knowledge thnt our intentions ao frequently issue forth into totally incommensurate consoquencesT \'frla t is the meaning of a causality that ficcompli shes its elf under the modo of freedom? The philosophy of history has addressed itseli' to th'3se pro­ blems.

It testifies to humanity's yearning to understand the fat0d­

ness of life1to n mystic drive for an absolute, to en attempt to give meaning to the basic questions of existence. Por this res.son the philosophy of hi'story is indissolubly connected with raeta·2 physics; ie i�deed metaphysics of a very high order. '.The next 1. 2.

See post Ch. History and Mtm's Fxpericnce of Uornlity. For this reason I hava evoided the usual class�ficntion of philosophies of history into cyclical and progress theories. It seems to me, thot a classification in terms of metaphy4 oice.l assumptions presents v:idPr possibil1tios. Moreover, the philosophers diocusaed do not lend themselves well to such a clnssificotion. Toynoce combines the cyclicnl EJnd the progress concepts. Spangler is n cyclical pr�losopher in V1co 1 s tradition. Kant has a theory of progress, e.chieved by conflict which in its ir.1plicntions is very similar to Toynbee. (See past Cb. History and !\ian I s Experience of More.11 ty) ._

-5-

section will exa:11ine whether history can in fact give an Rnswor to these problems. 2.

Is There a Me enln'.; to History? ·l History, accordin.c;,; to PoppAr, has no meanin�.

It ie

the chronlcle of international crime and mass murder and takes no occount '::lf the tears E'.nd auffarinr: of mankind. It ls up '2 to us, however, he states et o later point, to �ive m�aning to history by assisting the open society to triumph in its eternal struggle with tbe closed socisty. Aside from the innor contradiction of this o.rgument, for if history haa no meanin�, the eternal conflict between fro�dom and rationality against mysticism, hl.storic1sm and tyranny can not be its motif - the passage 1llu5trutea the difficulty, and confusion, inherent in the word It implieaz

11

r,maning."

l.

History has no meaning.

2.

History has a meanine, but thnt meanin7 is

unacceptable to Popper. 3.

HiBtory has no meanin�, but if freedom end

rationality triumph, it will aucd0nly acquire content. These implications contaln the dilemma of the problem of tho meenlng of history.

Is history an open book, a set of

theorems that contains in 1 tself' e.11 the aspirations of man­ kind, as well as the key to the world 1 s purpose? 1. 20

Or doe�

Popper - Tho Open Society and 1ta En�m1ea Vol ,. 2 p. 256. Popper - Op.cit. Vol. 2 p. 264.

- 6-

hi s tory r e v e al a s er i e s of mo an i11.f,le13 a incid ents ., a c halle nge f o r our noma t i v e concep ts I only throuo;h conf ormity to whi ch i t c an ob t ain s i gnif i cance ?

I s menning, in short ., ·.sn a.ttri-

1::iu te of r e Hl i ty or s me t e phya i c ol cons truc t i on a t t endant on l our re c ogni t i on of s i gnif i c nnc e ? The lo �icll l p o s i tivists accept the former eltornative � Jfo ani ng r e sults from veri fying s ta.t oments w ith empirical fncts . 'I'he re s e arche EJ of c,nthropoloa:i s t have ., howeve r., di spelled the :mp e that the moanin.� ::,f aa s �: rtions could be given a firmer o ns i s by making the phys ic&l world the ir cri t e r i on .

I t baa b e e n

de�ons t rated that e ach culturs a nd t o a cert cin exten t each indivi duaJ. cons truc t s his o,vn image of " re ality" , nnd that "f ncts 11 are in nc, manner as abs o lute [,nd uns hoke nble ea a e aurned. The hi 8 tcry of modern phys i c s mor eover, has b een n conti nuous pro c es s of di s solving external reality Pnd lnyinp; bare 3Uch mys t eri ous and incompat ible prime d at & o.s enerp:y that works under the a::ipe ct of mass, as l ight that i s demons trably a wave , but equally cer tainly contains all its phy s i c ol propertiea in an elemen t al part icle , tho photon .

.,.

Moreov er, on thi s theo r y , e a clns 5 1 cnl logi c b as well

r e nlize d, no t only sll value jud gments ., but a ll quali t y judg­ ment s are Tio aningle ss .

The difference between affi rming an

ob jsct. ' a worth, or i ta color., is a differe nce in achi eving s. 1.

For full discu s s ion of the C'Oncttpt of 11 me oning 11 s e e Pos t !• ppend ix A " Tho Concep t o f Me ani ng. "

consen sus , but no t of empi r i cal verifi abi li ty .

1T ndi t ional lo� i c , at any rst e , was b e tter aware of

this prob lem.

In i ts con c e p t s e a ch proposi tion had as i t s 1 A judgment , o f whi ch the propo a isub j e c t u ltimate reali ty . tion cons ti tut e s t he expre s s i on in words , i s the ac t of dlaa p nrt:i cular e lement , the pr5c i e a t e , in the being of s sub j e c t that could not be tho"Gght of unleo s i t cont ained s ome o ther than the predi c a t ed character.

The di s tingui shing

char a c t oria t i c of a judgment is i ts truth or £olsi ty.

However ,

and thi s i s the cardinal point , onl7 true judgments matter, for unless a man s ays wha t he does no t r e ally think he i a af­ firming the truth of hla a s s ert ion.

A l l propoai t i ons, ther e­

f or e , b e � ides Bff1�mlr..g or denying the predic&te imp ly exis t e·n ce .

or

a sub j e ct

Reali ty ia thus implied by, not requi s i te for

judgu:ent s . rne e�1 s ten t1 a l import theory o f propo s i ti ons pr esented too mony d i ff i culti es• however .

Though logici ans could always

argue tliat e t ntement a about s quare. clrclaa did not imply exist­ ence s ince they involved mutualiy exclus ive t e rms , or contrast logi cal c ons truction whi ch only have a mode of b e i ng with real ·2 o xia tence. the �e conc1li at1on of def initi ounl reali ty e.nd all possib le judgmen t s proved impoa a ible . 1. 2 .,

Joseph - Int roduction to loR1 c - p . 166 . Rus s e ll - Principles of Mathemati c a - p , 4·4 9 .

s �nten t i al

losi c ab &.>1doned the con c e p t of. tho exi st-

en ti al import of propo s i ti onn .

I t s logi c al primi tiv e iE a

whi, cb exhibits but a grouping toge ther of symbols

s ent en c e ,

whi ch in the ir gene r o l cllar F.. c t e r i ::i t i c s repr e s ent but Only by b ei ng 1.:i r ousht

,rn ti t i e s ., �by s i c Rl S inc e

ompi rl c e_l

into r e l nt i on wi th- o ther

ob j e c t s , f a c ts , do tho s e a en t e � c e s acquire me r,ning .

a de tormi n a t i on of tru th fiUd f als i ty obvi ous ly does not

pr e code every

s t a te�en t , s e n t enti el logi � waa f o r c ed to i n­

voke &no ther pr ed i c a te however,

of propo si tions , tru th-wei ght •.

'l'hi a ,

i s n pur e ly psycho logi.c al r e l ation .

Bu t evon thi s the ory s tumb led on the problem of jus t wha t c ons ti tuted a f ac t nnd on the J:l.iffi cul ty of r e c onci ling tru t h- v n lue F.nd weight . ·2

Prof . S cheffer , to

Rus s e ll , in hi s l a ter wri tings, and

hnve echi eved a formu l a ti on whi ch

a t temp t s

giv e the gr eate s t pos s ibi li ty of d e tormini n,s the e a s on c e

o f menn i ng .

S t at emen t !! b o come repli A s t o pure hypo the a e a

whi ch, mor eover have t o be end or s ed b y the proper cri terion. The s t at e ment "S co t t ia tive an swer , empir i c a lly

1. 2.

the au thor of Waver ly" lo the affirma.. mdora ed, to the que s t i ons 1

1.

Did

at

2.

Did

only one:, }fan wri t a Waverly?

3.

Wns thi s mon S co tt?

l e as t ono men

wri te Wav�rly?

B a s e d on R e i chenb s ch ":Exp eri en ce 1md Predi c t i on . 11 Prof , S cheffer h e s n o t pub li shed :hi s tha-ory . · ( S e fl Pref a c e ) .

-9The r ange of me aningful prc,po .'.l i ti ons i s, 'however , not exhnus ted by the eopiric ul r e � lr.l.

Proper cri teri a c un be

oll t :e. ined for value theor ems or o s the ti c judp,onts .

7h1 a

t·i eory reco p;ni z e s the v �ris.bi li ty of m.e t B physi c P-1 s. s sumpti ons P. S

a c ondi tion of me o.nint; .

M� &ning b e corao s the functi on of

tr..r e1'l f R e tors : the lo gi cal 07.:pre s s ed i n the :no s t precise f ormuln tion of the hypothesi s, th 0 psycholo;;;i c&l i nherent in \-.he a c t of judgi ng , the . phi losophi c&l o:;,::p re s s e d in the enc or s e ­ l U�iv ers ali ty d e pends on t he con3eneus whi ch thi s ascri p tion of mer.:n i ng enjoys L,lld no t in th o f irst lns t s.nce on i t s orapir i cal vcrifi ebi li ty . Thus meani ng r o pre s ents the emar. a ti o n of o metaphys l c nl cont ext .

Jus t as e very msn in e c ertain sens e create s hi s

pic b1re of the world , jus t as t he s c i enti s t can fir...d in nature only wha t he puts in it in the f ormu l ati on of hi s hypo the sis , just e s every que s ti on de termines e.t le ast the range of enswera , s o hi s tory do e s no t exhibit the s runo portent to everybody but yield s only the me rm!ngs inher ent in the nature of cur query. Therefore, too, the phi lo sophy of hi s tory- �s ins e parable from mataphys ics , and involve s a d�ep ow nrene ss of the my � t cries 1.

The end oT senent in tu rn is composed of n met a physi cal ( the crit eri on ) and an e p i st emologi c a l ( the a s s ertion, not the juQgment of tru t h F.nd fals i ty ) elemen t. See po s t - Appc>nciix - The Con cept of Meaning.

- 1 0-

e.r.d ·p o s silJi li t l e s no t only of .i. o ture bu t of human natur e . I n the r e a c t t on of tt.e v�,ri ou s thinkers

to

the prob lens of

}-r:..i.l" "m n0 L e s s i ty nnd hurrinn fr e e cl om, in their c ap e. e,i ty to ex­ pcri �mc e �1 E1 pths inc. c ce s s i b l e to r e n s on u lonc , t a tr.e n:.e rming of hi s t c ry .

li e r. tho answer

r�'hor e fore ro:;.:ipcr 1 .:i s t e t 0 r:mnt that

hi e t ory rre s en t s mer e ly e. ch::.· oni cle of crime end nll!rc. o r , vii th n o m, :,,,r en e s s of the he £.r tbr o uk of bumani ty , r Gv o a J.s hi s :.crr.rn t i ve c on c C" p t B b11 t do e s n o t r epr e s en t u n e c c s s ary s t tr11m t e of svcnt s .

Tha t o ther l s v e l s o f mesning exi s t,.. i s

s h o wn by Dos !:.o j evsk1 end S chw e i t z er J iiomer end Sh0ko s p e sr e to whom hi s tory was a dee ?lY f e l t 0xperi enco of tr &n s c onl demtnl ir:ipor t . Who i s r i ght then?

I s hi s tory the sol.f -ro & li z n ti on of

t he .s p i r i t of f r e edom as Heg e l ho ld ?

Or do os i t repr e s ent

the rrowth £L11d de c li ne of 0 1'gani c cu l tures 11 thei1' e s s e nce a cr.y � t e ry t tho ir ruoving force long i ng vnc:l the i r mcnl f e s t a ti on power ns �, pBr.,� ler argued?

I s the re a de opor purpo s e i,n all

lhl s o�orgcnce and dec ay of c i vi liz a ti on5 , a r e ali z ation o� s e l ve t l on by f ai th as Toynb !;l e imp li e s ? t o no moro thm e terns l re cur·r enc e ,

Doon hi s t ory amount

the s t age f o r th19 Man who

surpt!S s e s hiras e lf' of JH e t z s che or does 1 t r eve a l the drfu-na of D. di vine plan, 5:" e.du &ll.y unfo lding and culrr.�na ting in unlvers,;il

1.

Se� on tbl s poi n t , A lfred 'Neb er . Euro pe an Hi s t ory .

F arewe l l to

- 11pe G c e ,

as

Kan t a s s er t s ?

l

If we aning i s the me t aphys i c al context that as cribes

s i g nif i c s n c e d o e s thi s p r e c lude differenti a by whi ch to jud g e ·v a l i di ty ?

The s e cri teri a exi s t , bu t they ar e n o t as obvi ous

ns the lo � i c s l p o s i t i v i s t s a s sumed.

Thou ri;h the que s ti ons deliml t the rs.nge

O .L'

answer s , we

can r e quire the answers to bo re levRnt to the prob lem.

Though

e a ch cu ltur e , end perha p s e � ch indi vidu a l 1nt erpre t a hi a d s t n

in an i n tens e ly pers onnl w ey , w e can ins i s t tha t the da t a b e adhe r ed to .

Vfo c an analy s e intern nl cons i s tency .

On an o ther

leve l we c an j ud g e the a d e quacy of the ttiinker 1 s phi l o s o phi cal

a ssump ti ons by their s co p e , by thei r g r ns p of the t o t ali ty of 3 lif e , ins t e ad of jus t 1 te a pp e ru- anc e s . n ewton s i t t in g under

the npp le tr e B rni ro h t havs corre c t ly c onclude d that a pp les f a ll when ripe .

I t i s not a que s ti on cf ri g ht or wren � , the refore ,

but of d e p th and s h allownes 8 .

I t does not suffi c e to show

lop:1 c al ly d educed theorem.s , nB an: abs olute t e s t of validi ty .

There mus t also exi s t a r e lo t i on to the p erv asiven e s s of nn inw ard exper i once whi ch transcends phenomenal re nlity .

For

1. · K�n t d i d no t a s cribe the s e lf-re ali z at i on of p e a c e to a d :l. ,'1.ne p J n.n 1 but to n n n tur P.l unfoldi n g . 'I'he i mp li ca t i on , j u s t as in S p ino z a , 1 3 however of n divine order 1n the c o smos . 2 . S e e p o s t : P. pp endix A . The Con ce p ts of Ne aning . 0 1 Thi s , howover 1 i nvolvo s utili z ati ou of 1:1D other s et of as sump ti ons . S e o p os t A pp endix A - The Conce p t o of Me ani ng .

- 12-

thou,.:h mnn i s

0.

thi nking b e i n1:; 1 i t d o e s not fo llow that r...i s

he ing 0:v.lrnus t s i t s e lf i n thi nking .

The u l t ima t e mys t e r i e s

of l i f e o r e pert.Rps no t appro ach ab l e ty d i s s e c ti on, bu t may rec:� i r e the poe t ' s vi ev, who 17,rA s p s the uni ty o f life , whi ch 1.:: i:i;r e a t e r than finy , howe ver p1:t ins taking ane.lys 1 B of 1 t s manif e s tat i o ns . Th0 Phi lo s ophy of Hi 8 tcry exhi b i ts the r e f ore ... in i t s r.:e t e p:1ysi c e l as sumpti ona an e t ti tude tow ards the b as i e pr ob lens of exi s t enc e .

They revc fl l whe ther l i f e i s appro a ched

wi th re verence on d humi li ty or ,,;1 th the s s s er tive tool of a r e .rr non thn t odmi ts no re e li ty ou ts i d e i t s e lf .

The ro:r n lution

of the di leITw:Ja of hl s t ori c �l events n erv ing n s the c ondi tion for a tr nns c enci ent al oxper i cn c e or r c sli ty exhaus ting i ts elr in phenomonal appe �r anc e s di s c lo s e s the e thi c al predi s po s i tions ·1 of n p 0 rs onality , no t a proper ty of h1 s t or1 c e l data.

1.

S o o p o s t Cb t

�'he S en s e of R e a ponnib i li ty.

- 13-

'I'!1e ?hi lo sophy of Hi s tory us a Hef l e c t l on of B r:.s i c Atti tudes i.3 1- r th i s the b e 6 :;..nn ing of dea th., life the pro cess of' mor L a li ty.

'Every thing �xi s tini:t i s 1:1odified by tit1e , hi s t ory

flxhi u i t 3 the u..'U o ldi n:; oi' gr o-i\' th, .fulf llln.en t and outw nrd d e c i:.y .,

L!Gn s tr i v e � for knowledge and hnvin� & L tai ned i t can

no t b o ar i t .

.A l l of 11 ter nt1.::re cont ains nn exp1·es s i on of this

d i l omn:rn snd of manldnd ' a l runent a t the shor tne s s of their lQ t . Eatile t b e c omes :.:,aralysod by knowledgo , 1'. chl llea pur chas e s it s t the pri ce of hi s d en th.

Thu s ia tho appe ar anc e of lif e

bu t no t ne c e s s ar i ly i t s me sning . Tho mag i c a t t i tud e to� 3rd s l i f e s eeks to e s c ape the trens i torlnes s of i ts e:xi s t en c e by c on juring i ts data .

It

o t tomp t s to find 1.n bL 1 tcry the ne ce 3 s nry reali zati on of i ts plU'?O s ive coucflp t a , to b e c lass i fi ed a s e t tr lbute s of even',:;3 .

But ;,urpo s e ropr a s en t s the emflnRtion of' o. me t aphys 1-

c al _ context no L a no c e s s ary d 0duc t i o11 fro:.: phonoiw:ma.

No

e thi c a l v·uluo can be as cribed t'.;> tho mere survi val ,,hi ch l::d a t,or·y a.:dtl.bita .

ror thi s r a ns on tha magi c a t ti tude de­

ve lops a phil��ophy of e t erna l r e currence , as a condit i on for its c o gni ti on.

Lea th b e c omes the reaul t of fu1f· 11:tment ,

life exhib i t s ruore ly mor t ali ty , hi a tory repr e s enta a machine c ontinually re-,proc'!.u cing ne\'1 man.i f o a to.ti ons of power .. ere , at bent, a mod e of c aus ali ty.

Valuea

The mys tery of lite is

li�i ted by clas s ifi able a a t n ; i t exhaus ts i ts e lf in the riddle

-14-

o f the :":lrs t c aua p, .

'.!'he f s c t of o :: curence r e venls the only ·1 cri t e r i on o� inwere f ! tne 3 s .

11 ::'e a2

11

vi s i on of re concili Ati on .!'.! 1:1 onl'J vt ew:::1 I'!. v a s t plf1 in

fr:J:r:i a r.101.1+"'\ t nl n t op wh�n tho h az e ob scures tho c oun try s ide r,.__,,.j e 'l o:r;;;r thin 0 n.Grp; s s 1 :n o to tal i mpr e s s ion o f p a e.ce B!1d h ,1.r:-:-,cny .

'I11o t nevi t a'l;! li ty exhibl t e d to re trospe c t i on

nt t �ins a de0per me anin5 through a trans c endont Ql oxpor:: enc:; ,

'Ille r e

� ! on o f n c c e s B i ty b e c ome 5 the condi tion

.f ri:r t:10 a t t ai nm ent of inwerd llb r,r & t i on.

R e s lgn n t l on as to

the purpoo e e o f tho unive r s e s �rves ee the r i r s t s tep towa:>c'l s e thi c al ac tl vi ty v.nd th'3 r e e li z 11 t � on e nsu,3 s that tho r;.e

of hi s t o ry i o no t conf ! nBd to 1 t s mer " '11'1.P.n:l f f'l s t � t i ons

nnd th!" t no cous o.l enn lya i s C ll.n i:ib s o l v e Me.n from p;iving hl a mnl con t ent t o hi s own exi s t4;1ncei ., The ph� los ophi o'S of Sp eni:;ler, Toynb e e ond Kan t c on t ain exp11 e s s i ons of the s e n tt:!. tud e s in · tho que s � for the eppre­ hen � i �n of the m� a ni n� of hi s tory .

f!pengler Rs o o r t ad that progr e s s wne not a c a t e gory of :no 2.ni ng f or hi s tory ,

1, 2.

L:U". � co'!l t r,ins thi,. prob lem of mo tl1Jn,

S e e d i s cuBs ion of Ch I I I 11 Toynbee . 11 S e e pos t - Ch - h Thc S an s e of Rospans i bi li tl . " S chwei t z er 11 The Phi l o s ophy of Ci vi liz e.ti on .

S e e also

- 15-

whi ch r e sr, l t s from the 1 rrcvo c nb i li ty of our c c. t ions r.nd pre­ ven t s us in the e leru ul flUJC of ·c hl ng a to e ver ob.s ervo tha t whl ch l a in tho a ct of oo s e rving i ts eL.' , to 0·"1cH' c ::iu:.r nlly t1 [d., orraine the inner connr:, c t 8dne e s of events .

'.l.'hi s cli::.· e c t E:d-

ne ,; s of lir e i s the s ource of tho du n l qua li t i a s of wo rld­ lon rrl i1s rmcl wor ld- dr c�od ths.,;; e.ri s e s frora ou.r c ons ci ousno e a of nior t nli ty nnd our lono line s s i n n w o r ld i n v,hi ch w0 can neve:;::" gr asp th e to tul inner mo aning of o thers .

The r i d dle

of tim.e opens up far Man , no t to b o c l as s if i ed :1. e; a c .s. taf;ory of R e a s on a s

Kan t

a t t e mp te d .

S pace 1 0 � con c e pti on, but

tiu10 repr a s en ta a d.eno t B ticn for .s ornothi nq in con c e 1 v ao l e . I t exp r e s s e s i ts e lf in the e t �rnal b e coming tha t l a the e :r n enco of Mon and thut a t t a ins pure b e i ng - pur' e s p u c e only u t the momont of hi s d6 a th .

Caus a l i ty npp li e s to the

s tiff-fo rms of r, ei ng ; De s tiny, f a t s dot:iine.te o e comlng . De s t i ny anawe ra the qu o t:. t l on of whe:1 c au.s o.ll ty of how .

A ll

of life i a pe rme ateci t-:y an innor qes tiny tlwt c on never ba dcfinbd , hi s t ory 6 1 s c lo s e o

R

ma j e n ti c unfo ld ing tha t ono

cnn only-· i n tui tive ly porcei ve ,. nev or caus s.lly clna ;:, i fy . !:xi. s tence cons t i tu te a a mys tic r e l i:i t.i onshlp to the ·ex tond ed e a , :­ pe c : & lly i1,.., c e s s ible to the n.r tis t und the gr e s. t s ti;. t c srn&n, the ruys tery e.nd tho 0 :.Ei en c 0 of w!u. ch e r�ch ct;. l ture pt1::rcoive s in a d l f f 0rcnt f ashion. And wha t c o o s Spen,i;;; l er· s e e wl th thi s i n tul ti ve vi s ion'l

- 16-

11

A b ound le s s mu s s o f humsn Dein gs, flO'idn a; i n a s tre run wit h­

cut b ank s ; u p- s trenm a d a rk p a s t wherein our ti me-sonse l o s e s Hll p ow e r s of d e f ini t i on and res tle s s or une e s y f ancy con j ur e s up g e o l o g i cal p e r iods to hi d e eway 1:1n eterna lly ur; :c: o lvA ble ri dd le , down- s tr e Rru a futur e even so dark and t1 ·':F: l e s s 11

1

-

su c h is S p en,o: ler 1 s vi ew of humnn hi s tory .

Over

t hi s surfnr:e th ere suddenly emerg e the forms of the .�r e at c1: l ture s , or g ani c b e ing s \\ 1 th the i r own inner ne c e s s ity and th eir d e e p lo gi c of b e coming.

The y f:. O thr ou rr.b 9.ll the o t a g es

of orr:onic life , y ou th , mAtur i ty , d e c lin e rind old a � e .

'rheir

you th is a p er iod of inf ini te y e arninR in whi c h ev e ry action i s an au ��ry of thi ngs t o c ome and in whi ch art , philoso phy nnd p o lit ics uncon s ci cus ly embody the co smi c b e st.

I n tho .r.radual

;:naturity of ,r,: rowth the my s te ry of lif e i s dis s t p atod ., its p rob le1:.s ru1swer9d, the qu e sti om1 thoup;bt tbroua;h ., the gr e at form ·1os t.

Irre vocably over the bodies of a hUitlani ty tha t ·

can n o long e r b u t accep t ., C a a s or i s r::i nppro 8che s embodyi ng it­ s elf in nll the t radl tionnl tr ap p i n gs of lif e .

enma.n i ty

flows i nto cities ond aoids t breod and c ircu s e s , ami ds t c re p e t i t ion of c o to c ly amic wars the c ivi li z ati on p e t rif ies and dies. The rewi th dia a pp ears n ot only its outw ard power , but als o i ts lnne r _ r.ieaning: , of which a e ch cul ture c ons tru e ta i t s own 1.

S p en d er - The De clino o f the \'/est - Volume 1. p . 105 .

- 17 U f e-2ymbo l .

Thu s tho G r e ek God e di ed w i th the C la s s i cal

s oul ,md so the W e s tern World has s t ar te d on i t a s low but

c R r t a i. n d e c line .

grn s ped the e s s en ti Bl mys tery o f life that

1: 1m t found i n tb e exp er i en c e of freed om .

lie r o n li z ed that

every even t r epre s eri t s n o t only r.n effe c t , b u t elso sn in-

w ar(: experi enc e , the key t o r e su l t s incmnme:1 sur ab le wi th our i n t enti ons .,

He af fi rm0d tha t there ore c e r tain ultim0 t e �o n l s ,

whi ch no hypo the s i s c o.n prove ,

i:md

no s o pbis try e ;er deny1

rir e s s ed in such words as hop e , love, be au ty, lu ck, f e ar .,

ex­

These

src the �:r ymbo l s that are vei led i n mys tery and no defi ni t i on

c an ge t in tou ch wi th wha t f e e l when we u t t e r the s e words .

He

knew

thn t in tui t ive per c e p t i on ( the

GElrmrm

e rfuchlen ) con­

t a lc s the key to some mys teri e s , jua t as _ c aus ali ty _ revesls !;he solu t i on to o thers .

Y e t wh a t d o e s Spong ler experi ence in hi s tory?

An end­

l e t, s 1J.nfo ldina: o f a cosmi c b e nt that expr e a s e e i ts e lf in the

s o le .al tern a tive s o f sub j e c t snd ob j e c t, a vaa t su c c ea s i on

o f c a t a s tro phi c uphe avals of whi ch power i s no t only tho man­ !fGs t e tion bu t the exclusive aim; a s timulus of b lood tha b

n o t only pul s e s throur.i;h veins bu t mus t h e shed r, nd wt l l be shed .

Ile f � e l s ln sho r t only wha t hi s t o ry also demons trotes

phenomenally ; he h a s n o t experi enced the mys t eri e s Rnd there­

by deri ved o level of trana ? enden c e , he baa solved thom snd

- 18-

will s e e in that s olu tion hi s tory ' s only m� nn1ng . 11 • • • • • • • • • • •

2

1

Every thing is de t erminc d , " the devi 1 te lls

J: v a:n Knramaz off , 11 nnd humani ty is s e t t led f orever .

Bu t as ,

owl rrp: to men ' s inve t e r a t e s tup:!. d i ty this can no t c ome about f or a t lee. 5 t a th ous Hn d year s , everyone who r e c o r:nizee the tru th even now may legi t ima tely order his life Rs he ple Hs e s , o n the new pri111c ip l es . ful 1 i'or him .

I n thRt s en s e ' o ll things e r e lew­

What ' s mor e , even if thi s pe riod never come s

to pas s , since ther e is anywny no G od r,nd no immor t nli ty , the new man moy we ll b e come the man-god • • • • • • " 'I'h19 disclos es the t rue 1mp l1 c ntiona o f Spengler 1 .e :;) os i tion , the dilemma of whi ch 1 s expr e s s ed in thi s a tr1k­ i ng phr as e r "In the world of his t o ry the Romon caused the G nlile P.n to be crucifi ed - thR.t we. s hi s De s t iny .

In the

o ther world ( of C au s ality nnd mor ality ) R ome was c�s t for percition nnd tho C�os s became the pledge of R edemp tion tha t was the \'! i l l of God . 11

Bu t the Cro s s on the hi lls of

Jeru s alem has long dis app e ared , the temple is in ruins, and thn Roman legions ar e · not even a memory .

Ye t on roadside s

a l l ov er the world, in the s ouls of whole civi li z a. tions the

Cross s till s t and s .

I a that all tha t ls imp lied bj des ti ny

t hen, thi s death nnd that C ros a T 1. 2. 3.

Th � an nlysis ho lds true only lf one i n t � : pre ts Speng ier 1 a . ph} los o phy ea emb odyi n� norms of A c ti vity. 1'hou�o tni s 1 s t h o u su al1 nnal:y-s i s11 i t i's 11b y n o means a nece s s ary one .11 See r o R t Ch . 1 S p cn rrlor • C h : '1'he S ense of R es oons ibili ty . t o j eJa:iki .. The Brother s Karmnaz off' .. The rfodern Libr ary p.os ci . i- . ·rug . Spenr,;l er .. op. cit . Vol I1 . p . 1 1 6 .

- 19S p engler h nd a v� s ion of the world - as- oxp orl rnc e but hi s conclusions· do not fl 11 i ta vastnes s .

His po eti c

i�M, g .i. n a tion b o c ame f a 1c1 c in ated by the me re nP.. !:!lysis of power-phenomena .

P.J. s appro a ch thr::iugh i n tui tive :rerc e p­

t i on re veals no more than the empiri cnl analy s is of Toynbe e . �11e narrow c o nfi nement o f t1enning to the s p 0 cific no uls 0£ er: ch Culture s e ems arb ibr nry .

The re is me aning not only in

the a s p i rations nnd symbo ls lo n� doad : but in those that have b e en continued ns the matrix f o r othe r civ il izations . ·rhou_c:,;h Spengler would r J p ly that nc Gultur e eve r under s tands ano the r in ju s t its or igino.l conno t ation, he bus fRile d to

do justice to the imp act the nd option of any alien form must ·2 of n o c ess i ty exer t on its u s e r . The conti nu ity of c ertain aspacts of ethl c n l, aesthetic end politi c al problemation l s

a s G ignif icant , o s its cy c ii c a l flu c tua t ion and should have be e n es peci ally acce s s ib le to a v ision of hi s tory- as-invmrd exp 0 rience.

Thou�h S pengler ' s ins i ght s are cha llenging end

his pr ec' i ct ion a per hnps corr e ct, they do not '9.xb aua t the me {J.I1ing of hi s tory. Toynb e e p robed for this d eeper mo enin� hu t lookBd for

1.

2,

Por interd epend enc e of tw o phl io s ophers - s e e pos t . Ch: Toynbee. S e e p o s t . Ch . "Spengler . 11 ',

1

-20-

e mpir i c a l ver i f i c a ti on into hi s tory ins te ad of i n to him:r n lf a

.t, c c " p t i r.8: almo s t comple t e ly Spengler 1 s :ne thodo logy of com­ p erin� c i vi li z at i ons i n their poli ti c a l o c currenc o o , e s 1:, €1 1 1 n s i n t hc !.r e s the ti c rmd theologi c 2. l mi:,. ni i' e s tu t ions, he

D

t temp teci to s o lve one pro'o lem. to whi ch Spengler never

acL' r e ::!s e d hi ms e lf : \'i}-.at c Ru s e s the energen c e , out of form­ les s humruli Gy, or the gonus cultu.r e f i·oynbee f i n6s the answer in the c o c trine of chall enge :::.t1 d r e s pons e .

Life pr e s en t s a s ert e s of proble:ns e a ch a

c� elleng e to u.'1.d ergo en orde al.

Toe ini t 1 2l su : c es 3 f�l re­

ac t i on cons ti tutos the c i vili z ation ' s cirth.

I t s �ro�th l s

not de termined by an orgenl c ne ce s s i ty but o c co:npli s he s it­ s elf thr ou�b the response to n u o c0 s a ive challen�es.

E a ch

s o lution do9s r:o t le ac to a n equilibrium but cr e a t e s on ov1:ir­ b r. l ence .,,bi ch 1:i turn b e c omes n new cb.i;:illan3e.

Progress

c o ao e s when s o c i e t:!.es f ai l to reac t t o new stimuli . A c i vi li z nti on grows thr ou �h the le ac. ersr.1p of a crt· a ti v-s minori ty whi cil dir e c t s the rw.jo.r i t7, by 1illme s 1 a , a s o ci al dri ll, in th � abs ence of direct inspirati on. Yet in every civilizati on mime s i s eventually br eaks down and the era ati ve oir.ori ty b e come i:i o. domino.nt minori ty subs ti tu ting fo:t"ce f or charm.

The progros sl v o differen ti ation of a civi l i z a tion in­

to R q.oml 'wnt rninori ty end an intern al pr o lebirlat , whi ch is in, bu t not of, a given s oci ety , wi th cre r�tivi ty and me ar.ing s tunt ed,

-21,:; i-v1,.,r ts Pn sr�i os into o ther - world.ly pursu i t s , culmlna t2.nc::; i. n a trans cenden t Bl knowled5e of the Uni ty Of manki nd ttirou,,·h a univers al church ,

By thi a ne t of f ai th the in­

te:;:rinl pr ole t ar i a t r e s cue s the valuos of the co llapsing s o c i e ty , whi ch i t e:mbodt o s in the new c i vi l i z a t i on eroc t Eid

by the vi c,brious 0:xte rnul pro le t ar i at on the ruins of the o lc .

'!'he d e c ay o f c .:. vi li za ti ona has ns i t s ou tward moni­

fr:s t B t i o:ns a univers a l s t a t e , in whi ch the i nterna l s chi sm o c curn , e. peri od of contendi ng s t e te s nm! a fi nal o po culyp.. t i c emerr;en ce of

higher religion aa t he embodiment of the

R

me Rning of hi s t ory . '.i' oynb ee ' s theory of Chnllenge- n � d-R es ponse i s simi l ar to Hov,e l ' s d i al e c ti c .

\'f I"j f

I t cons equen tly doas no t re­

present a nega t i on of de termi ni sm bu t a d e s crip tion of i t s opr:r o t i on .

The ::melya i s o f Y'e s ponse r. lmoz t exC' lu s i v e ly in

terms of challen ges len.da t o a more rf'fi nrrment of the En­ vironmen t theory .

Si nce Toynb ee a t temp t s to verify theo log­

i c al as sump ti ons by nn empiri c a l me thod , eucce s a b e come s the 0!1ly

cri ter i on of mor o.l fl tnea s .

s anc ti on t o the e le c t .

Survival ren:e nls God I s

H1 a to ry 1 s purpos e i s identi cal. wi th

man ' s aspi r n tions . The uns a ti s f s c torine e s of Toynb e e ' a phi los ophy dorivoa Though hi a conclu�i o ns give nn i n t ima tion ·l o f t r ane c P. nd en t e l oxp cri enc e , they are not suppor ted by from hi s me thod .

1.

I n the r:cn cept of Tr nnaf igur&tion.

-22-

}1

i s d ata .

'T"ne a t t emp t to find o caus al roaliz a t i on of a

, f vine pur po t e i n the muni f est B t ions of poli t i c al power incons i s tenci o s

r e su l t s i n rd:- ac le of

A.8

the a s s er t i on tha t the

Chr i .!:! ti .ani ty wi 1 1 s ave the 'l': e s t , desp1 te the

ccllapae of e very o thor civi li z a t i on, and d e s pi t e the f &c. t

th at

in Toynh ee 1 a s cheme universal

churche s

appe ar

as concomi tants of di s i n tegr a tion. An Lriv1ard experi ence c anno t be proved by empiri c al��"

d a t a , however .

A phi los ophy cf hi s tory wi thout a pr ofound

r:ne t 1:1phys i c s w i ll forever jux t apo s e surface da t a &nd c an never s a ti sfy t h e to tnli ty of man ' s d e s i re for me aning. Spengler hnd a vi s ion bu t di d no t pres s i ts impli ca­ ti ons .

Yet hi s intui t i on of Hi s tory- aa- on fxperi ence ha5

pointed the w ay to the solu t i on of . the enigma po s od by th e experi ence of fre edom and t he knowledge of ne c osoity .

I:a.nt r e ulizod tha t tho ph0nomennl world 1a explored in vain for a proof of t hose ide as , " the po ss ibili tie s of' which no human in telligence wi ll over f ethom, bu t the truth of whl ch no sophi s try, will over wr est from the convi c ti un of even the commone s t man. "

An

an nlya l a of hi s tori c al phenomena reve als

but the inev1 t abili ty 1.nheren t in comple ted action. 1,

Freedom,

Kan t - Cr i ti que of Prec t i c al R e ason. p . 231 ( Kan t ' s Theory of R thi c a ) transla ted by T . K . Abb o t t .

-23on tbe o ther hanc, t e s tif i e s t a RD a c t of s e lr- trnns cendence v:hi ch o v 0 r c omes the inoxor ab i li ty of events by infusing them w:i th i ts s pir i tu ali ty .

The u ltims. t o me nning of hi s­

tory- R s of life - we c on find only wi thi n our s e lve s . Yihe t i s the r: o n t ent of thi s tr ans cenden t al experi ence? 'l.'hi s i s n o t e asy to expr e o s .,

Whe n S o er e. t e s in

11

the R e public 1 1

i s asked to expl ain the " I d e n of the Good 11 he re pli e s thot i t cs.n no.t be def ined.

Men c &ri a t t ain 1 ts v i s ion only by

nnalo gy, by s tu dyin; tho s e ob j e c ts whi ch cont Rin s ome por t i on of the u l ti mate r e a li ty , such &. s b 6 au ty , ns tronorcy , ma thema ti c s . h e f l e ,, t; ion may then lead to a sutden i llum!nfition whi ch wi ll re , e a l tho tr nn� cend en t ul cono i ti on of P ll knowledge . :Co s t o j evski h as b e en c s.llod

11

th e gre a t crirnminal. n

Yet

T·os to j e v s ki ' a ins ight in to the depths , hi s very ab i 11 ty to do 30

,..,1 thout f llncb.i np, r e s ted on a s aintly r o coe:ni t i cm, of thia

tr ans c6ndenc e , on rm apprehens i on of the uni ty of mankind, 0.xpre � s e � in the conc ept of love as the mys ti c al bond of the univ-erse . 11

I f you love everything " s aya F at:h er Zos ima tt you wi ll

per c e i ve the d i vine mystery of things" and

11

Whnt grows livea

ni1d i s alive only through the r e e ling of i ts cont ac t wi th 1. 2.

Thomns Monn - Introdu c ti on to Shor t N ovels of Do s to jevoki . Do s t o jcvskl - Tne Br o tber a Karo.m as off - p , 2',83 ,.

-24-

c, tLer mys teri ous world s .

I f tha t f ee ling i s lo s t , the

heB.venly prowth wi ll di e nw ay in you. 11 And " tho I di o t " expr e s s e s the longi ng f or a fi nal cu lmi na t i on of all des tini e s 1 if

11

V.-ha t d i f f er en c e c an i t mnke

the ten s i on i s abnormal, i f the result i t s e l f , if the

Bome n t of s ens ati on, whe n rememb e r 9d end examined in th� he n l thy s t a t e, pr ove s to be in the hi gho a t d egr e e har�ony ,�d b e nu t y ; and giv e s an unhe ard of and undreomed of fael­ in� of c ompl e t i on, of b a l an ce , of s a tisfac t i on ond exult­ an t pr ayerful fus ion wi th the hi ghe s t synthe s ia of l i f e ? " Ther e exi s t two le vels o f hi s tori c a l on·alya i s then ; the ampiri c o l whi ch c l a s s i f i e s his torical d a t a by i t s phe no­ niennl B pp e aronce ond wi 11 per for ce di s c ovor a cy clical pat tern and the e thi c al whi ch vi ewa hi s tory as a key to &c t i on .

The doc trine of iJilDlanent neces s i ty repr e s en ts the

out s id er ' s view of hi s tory, the conce ption of a p�r s on who hns no t experi enced the a c comp li shmen t of the even t .

No

r e pre s en t a tion of i n evi t ab i li ty c ·an I howeverI ab solve the individual from �iv ing his own mo aning to hi s own e xi s t en� e .

U e c o s s 1 ty d e s cribes tha pas t b u t fre edom rules the fu ture. Purpo s e s reve al a t ask to be achi eved , an ex�re s s i on of

a s ou l , no t an a t tribut e of his torical event s . The e th i cal "

-25-

b c s i s of cond u c t dep ends on the tr ena csnd en t al exper i e nc e lmpll e d b y F l �to , Kant or Dos t o j ev ak1 . Does thi s me an tha t mys U c i s m c ont ains the only key t:o hi s

wi th r e a s on bu t an ob s t acle t o the u l tima t E'! de-

t e rr'.l i n n ti on of the me aning of life'i cd the qi; e s t l on.

!�an t has a lr e ady a.newer ...

�Jo r ali ty derives from a mys t i c r e l a t i o n-

ship to the Inf ini t e ,

a per::i onal expi0 r i ence whi ch e lev11tes

m:m nt1 ove the r e alm of nece s s i ty .

Thi s tran s cendental ex­

"'' '" ' ta•�·� , however. enables r eason t o give ru l e s of genernl l i ty .

The c a tegori c & l imper a t i v e is no t a law in

the ord inary sens e bu t a guide to on n c tion po 3 tul a t ed by Kant ' s phi l o s ophy of hi s tory

the

i a on emnna.t i on of: this tr ans cenden c e . a c or o l lary to demon­ s trate the kingdom o f ends , where e n ch mun i s b o th sub j e ct find

s lator, the hi ghes t concep t o chi eved by t he W e s tern

TJind of the digni ty of the incli v l du e.l . Wha t i s the r e l a t ionshi p than of mor ali ty t o a phil... of hi s t o ry ?

The magi c r. t ti tude c nn f ind no such r e l a­

tion rmd :mu s t have r e c our s e i n the " man-god, " Ei.lld a c!e term1n i s tl c p sycho logy . 1 ..

,,

.

Vi ewi ng tho su c ce s s i on of grow t h end de c ay,

Ksn t d o e s n o t r e a l ly s ay thi s . Bu t hi s po s tul ati o n of God, f r e ed om Rnd innnor tali t-y imply i t . For the c a t e�o ri c al 1m­ pe rEtt1 ve c an· onl;r s erve as o n· ce � s 1 ty o f thought t o a c er t a l n a t t i tude . S e e p o s t ,, 11 Hl s t ory and Man ' a �.xperi ence of Mor u li ty . " i nai s ::i o lub ly c onn ro c t-=d v.r1 tr, a. conc e p t of l imi t s a e a pos t 1 The S eris e of R espon a i b i li ty. n Only :th �e 11 F t ernal P e ac e , 11 no t i n the " i dea f or a Univers al Hi n tory , s e e po s t .

-26t,ho wBrs , t�rn ( e s tru e tion o f v alu e s , ono i s temp ted to agroe 1 ,Ti ;;11 Ho;:;0 1 rr only by consoli ng ours elves that it wou ld not be o thcrwi sEi c &n vrn a c c e p t the s 0 enarmi ties. 11

Life d o e s

s e e:;;. jus t a pr oc e s s of dyinp; , :powe r d o e s 3 0 em the cri t erion of vs.Lie s '.rr asyme chus ' que ,g ti on d o e s appe e.r unan s wcr r,b le. Ye l; out of thi s -..mf o ldi nr,; of S i

111:--.r n t

di e l'lno

nev er prove tha t our i:: c t1 on,

even a s e cond ago , wos r e n lly freely wi lled ond yet

ent er t ain no do�b t of our fr0edom a5 each new s i tuation Rri e e e .

De spi te the liml t s of ou;; life , we know thnt

our v c ti ona are ir!'evo c flble r.nd tho t e ,;en 1m1c t1 vi ty po si ts on c.b s o lute reli. t1on.

We can live thi s · d i lemma

only by o. me e.5ure of' e ccep tanc e and

t e the knol'1-

leclgo of the transi torine s s of our lo t , wi th n moda of permanen c e .

'Ibi s acceptance i s n o t a k1am9t1 c r e s i [� .a tlon bu t un ac tive re cogni tion of limi t s , whi ch ensbloe man to faco nnd tr an�J Cend the naje s ty of the f low of his tory l and the dir e c tne s a of life . This i s the profounder 1,

For full d evelopmen t s e o pos t

11

Tho S ense of Rc spona:!.bil1 ty . "

-288,3 �ni n,g

of Go ethe ' s poen that S pen;;ler chooe as the;

thc�mo of hi s pbi los ophy t I n the -r;-nd les s , s e lf-repe a ting f low� f or Gvermore the · s �me . M:,yT i nd nrchc tJ , sprin ginp;, mee t ing , hold e. t r e s t t.he ,d e:-:hty fr e.::r:e . S tr e P-ms fro� n ll things love of livi ng r,r andee t s t t�J' s.nd humbl e s t c lod . A l i th 0 s tr � in in.i:::r , ri ll the 1 s tr 1 v1ng is e ter� al peace in Gcd .

1.

1.-onn im tnend li chen Das s elbe Si ch wi ed orhol end ewi � flie e s t D:"ls t uu s endfael tig G ewoolote 3 1 ch kraef t i g in einand erschli es s t , S troe�t Lebon s lus t au� n l l en D1ngen Dem kleinsten , wia d em Rrc es sten S tern Und & llos rr aen�an, nllea R1n8on I s t �wige Ruhe in Go t t , dem Herrn

Chapter II HIS TORY AS I i:f'1UI TION

Spengler

IN IRODUC TION

Sp engler denied tha. t his t ory worked towards p·l Lrp oses

as c e r tain.ab le by rati ona l ana lys is .

Progre s s 13 a causality

!rrrp osed by the i n telle c t , :m!i.n 1 s reac tion to the dual quali­

ties of wor ld-l onging and wor ld-fear that are the resul t oi'

his rc la ti on as a mi crooosn:: toward!:! a lll.Qcroc osm , his knowledge of li:mi ts , the o er tainty ot d ea th .

His t ory , on the o ther hand , contains the probler.i of

mo ti on , the enigma of the e v er -unique exp erience , the dilel!l:I18. that forces man n o t only to ob s erve the movemen t in a s cene ,

but at the s ame time to par t i c i�a te in tha t mov ement .

'Thi s

impossib i li ty of ever obs e rving tha t �hich is in the pr oc e s s

of obs erving i ts e lf , leads t o the inner exp er ienc e o f a des t iny

idea , that la l ived wi th abs olute cer tainty by every IllB.n or

the ear ly c ultur e and the b ea t of whi ch i s ever decre�s i ng in

the la te Megalop oli tan .

Des tiny r epr ea ente e t ernal b e c oming ,

the i n tui tive answer t o the ques ti on of when , the s our c e a nd

resoluti on of all of man' s hope , the ultltaa te roal iza t l on of

inev i tab i li ty"

Causali ty governs t...'le b e come , wi th spac e as i ts r epres­

enta tion .

Becoming and being , Space and 'I'im e , Wi s dom a.nd In­

t ellec t , Freedom and Necess i ty c ons t i tu t e the true p olari t i es

of 11£ e , giving ris e to man ' s int erpretat ion

or exis tence e i ther

under the aspec t of the World-aa-II!a tory or the Wor ld-a s - Na ture . 'The ordering of his tory in to anci en t � medieval and

modern , the Darwinian the ory of evolution , the c onc ept of'

-32inf ini te human progr e s s b ec ome equally meaningle s s .

Ins tead,

there emerge th e shap es o f the grea t cult�res , as tho carri ers of all of the meaning of humani ty .

Each i s a pr oduc t of the

·soi l in which 1 t grew, a.wakening in a moment when the .fear of den th

and the l onging :for life synthe s i s e d into

a pie ture of

the world f r om whi ch c:nerges the Grand My th , th e aymb ol of' a ll

the prob lema and all the p o t e n tiali t i e s inher en t i n the oul � e . Jhe inward repr e s �n ta t i on o:f thi s �rr�ge i s the cul tur e ' s s oul .

Each cul ture ha s a de termina t e life- span b e.for e r e turning to

the b i o logical �ges tha t apa'Wned i t in the shape of civili za­

tion , a s ta te of ab s olute f iniahedne a s wi th the prob lems ans wered , the s ty l� l o s t� Phi l o s ophy of h i.s tory .t. o Sp engler is · n o t a ques­

ti on o.f indus tr ious ly adding ep och� to ep ochs , nor

scient i fic c oll e c ti on of da ta .

or the m,re

Da ta provides but the raw­

ma terial , the condi ti on f or the hi gher experi enc e , the physi og­ noml c tac t , l'!hich i llU!I1.lna t e s the meaning of the symb ols , and ex;ilai ns

the

s tages of deve lopmen t .

'!he

morphology

or

h i s tory

is Sp engler ' s task , one eminently fi t f or - a Faus tian ( Wes tern) �ink er .

ing .

Cultures are c ompared in terms

or the ir inner mean-

'1heir c on t emporary epochs reveal func t i ons of iden tical

s tage s in deve l opmen t .

B ec oming and become , de s tiny and causali ty emerge a s

ma.n ' s prob l ems a t evecy s tage and permea te all hi a cire a t i ona , nr t , the 3 ta te , religion , e conomics and natura l - s c 1 enco . 1,

S e e p os t .

And

-33a t the end of the road , while Caesarism rules in the Megalopolis a.nd man ' s d ilemma.a are thought through to s teel-br ight s harp­ ness , occura a moment cf rea l i za t ion tha t af ter e l l , the analy­

sis had not led to i ts goal, tha t man holds in hi s hand no thing

but th e early myth in another shape .

A t thi s p oint the s econd

Rellgiousnea� comes over mankind and idea tion i n the grand

s tyle ceas e s in all f ields of act ivities .

'.ttle c iv ilization

p e trifies , the period of £ellah-existence as ob j ec ts to a des­ tiny tha t is no longer exp er ienced

c ommsn c e a .

S ince des tiny 1a the repr�s en ta.tion of the will- to-live ,

dependent on the s e lf'-aa s urance o! i ts exp onent , an analys i s

of the e lements of pol i t ic a l s ucces s ens ues , n o t in a norma­ tive framework or purposive realization but as an answer to th� p�agma. t ic problem of preva iling .

Prof . v on Beckra ll re j ects Spengler 1 e phi l o s ophy a s a

metaphysical creat ion , no t 1p the f irst ins tance bas ed on em.2 p1r1cally ver if ied obs ervations . 'D:11e mis s es t.�e ess ence ot an inductive meth od .

metaphys ical

conc ep ts ,

Not the erl a tence , but the adequacy of' not their exclusive fou.,da tion in par t_­

icula::r obc et'va tions , but their applicabill ty t o the pervasive.:.

nes s of experi ence must be the s ub j ec t of analysis .

,5

We mus t fur ther decide how far Spengler- i s a :follower of Hegel 1 s despite his a t tacks on the asor1p t i on 1. 2.

3.

or ra tiona1

S chmoller 1 s Jahrbuch fuer Oeeetzgebung Vol. 47 , p . 33 See API,en:Ux tt A" - 'lbe C oncept of Meaning . See ante Ch . I - Introduc ti on . Post �' A- ·Ihe Pos aib il­ i ty or Meaning .

-34purp os es to hi s tory and wha t was his re la ti on to Darwin , the ob j e c t of hi s ridicule and ye t the chr onicler i n th e b i olog­ i c a l world of Sp engler ' s p oll t l c al r ealm.

And so the las t

que s t i o n

emerges :

Is i t p os s ible to

des crib e the mere comp on e n ts of p oll tica l s uc c e s s w1 thout im­

par ting in to th e eva lua ti on o:f i ts elsmen t s norma tiv e c oncep ts ? I� l t p o s s ib le to u tili z e n e c e s s i ty a s a guide to c onduc t , n o t nierely e s th e

des crip ti on of c omp le ted ac ti on?

The s o lu t i on to

the s e pr oblems can not be ro und in phe nomena bu t p e r s onali ty; expr e s s ed

swnp t:i om1 .

only 1 n a

phi los ophical ly by i t s me taphysical e. a ­

�5-

1ill'D\. PHYS !CS .

2.

o ��er ,

"R egard th e y

the .fl owers a t eventide as , one af' ter the

c los e in the se t tin� sun .

S trange is the fe e ling

th a t then pr e s s e s in up on you - a f e eling of enigma tic f ear

in the pres ence of this blind , dr eam-like , ear thb ound exis t­ enc e .

The dllillb f or e- s t , the s ilen t mead ows , thi s bush , thn t

them .

Only th e l l t tle gna t l a fre e - ho danc e s s till in the

twi g do n o t s t ir thems e lve s , i t is th e wind tha t p lays wi th

evening light , he moves whi th _6I' h e wi l l .

" S ervitude and Fr eedom - thi s in the las t and deep e s t

analysis is the d if feren t 1a by whi ch w o d is tinguish v ege table and animal exie tence . wha t

Ye t only the plan t is entir e ly and wholly

1 t l a ; in th� b eing of th e animal there l a s ome thing dual .

A vege tab le is only a veg e table ; an animal is a v ege table and s ome thing else b e sldea .

A herd tha t huddl es toge ther tremb ling

fn the pres ence of danger , e. child thn t clings we ep ing to i ts

mo ther , a man desperately s triving to f or c e hi s way into God -

all thes e are s e eking to re turn out of the life o f freedom into the v ege tal servi tu.de .from which the y were ema::icipa ted into

individ•1ali ty and lone11 .nes s . n

S o b e gins V olume 2 of Spengler ' a Dec line ot' the Wes t

and therein is to b e f ound the e ss ence of his me taphysical doc trine ,

Everything e4i a ting c on tai n s s ome thing c osmic , the

periodic i ty of th e s ea.er nn3 , , the rhy thm of bir th , life and deca;y. 1.

Spengler - Th e Docline of the We s t - V o l . I1 p 3 .

-3 6But anima ls do not mer ely exis t .

'Ihe y repre s ent a uni t tha t

has separa ted i t s elf from th e A l l , an d c an define i ts p o s i tion in e wor ld -around thfl t i s fel t by i t as env ir onmen t .

mic r oc osm in a macroc osm.

'lhey a.re

'lhe c osmic has rhy thm , tac t , th e grand hB. rmony tha t

b ind s t o g e ther l ov er s or crowd s i n momen t s o1' ab s o lute wor d­

l e s s under s t and ing , th e puls e tha t uni tes a s equenc e of gener­

a tions in to a meaningful Trhole .

'Jhis l s De s ti ny , th e symb o l

of th e b l o od , of s ex , of dura tion .

'Ihi s an s wers the que s ti on

of when a nd whl ther • an d repres ents the only me thod of approach­

ing the prob l em of time .

I t i s f e l t by the grea t ar ti s t in

his momen t of c ontemp la ti on , i t la emb odied by th e s ta t e sman

in ac ti on an d ls lived by the man of the Spring- time cul ture .

I f c ons ti tutes the e s s ence of tragedy , the pr oblem of " to o la t e" ,

when a re��0nt of th d pre s ent la irrev o cab ly cons 15ned t o th e

pa s t .

'fu e m.l croo o:'lm c on tai ns tens i on and p olar ! ty I the. !on­

line s s of th e individua l in a world of s trange s i gnificanc e s ,

in whi ch the to tal-i nner meaning of o t hers r ema1 na an e t ernal

riddle .

Rhythm and ten s i on , long ing and fear , chara c t.erize

the reJ.a tl onshlp of the mioroo osm to th e macroco::;m .

c on tai n cone cl ousne s a , ( Dns eln-Bei ng ) .

Anima la rep resen t

YJaking-B eing { Waki ng-C ons c i ousne s s , Wachn ein ) . ev erything exls ting rever ts �o mer e Be ing . eye .

Organisms

Only in el eep

For Man waking-b ei ng l a conf in ed to the r ealm of the

'Ihe s ounds of tho nigh t , th e od or of f lowers all s timula te

-37-

a " whi th er rr in· the world of ligh t .

Of' the wor ld of s�ent ,

man knows 11 t t le , of the na ture o f' the b ut t erfl7 , who s e crys­

ta lline eye s f ocus a p ic t ur e of myr iRd p o s s ib i li t i e s , n o thing .

Tl,us night ha s always b e en i' elt n s akin to dea th and the id ea

of �n inv i s ible God c ons ti tu t e s the hie;hea t manife s ta t i on of

hti�an tran s c endence .

'lh i s has raade the dep t h- 6xp e r l enc e the mos t sl gnifi ­

ca..'1 t c onc ep t in man ' s life .

fue awarene s s oi' the I depends on

t.11 � rec ogni tl on of the 'lhou , of tli e exi s t ence of' the oth er in the en vir onmen t .

Jus t a s the n o ti on of D e s t i ny i s ti ed up

wi th the rhy th.'Tl of' b e c oming and the f elt puls e of the organ i c , so waking c on s c iousne s s c omes t o the full awar en e s s of' space ,

ex tended only thro ugh the exp erien c e of' death .

A t t;p.a t momen t ,

man f ir s t reali zes h i s immens e l one lin es s in th e uni verne , the epi s o di c na ture of hi s ex i s tenc e .

'Ihe an imal live s in a pure

pr e s ent �nd dies wi thou t knowledge of' the fa c t, b u t r or man life 1 s a sh or t .span b e tween b ir th and dea th.

'Ihe enigma of Time rir s t app ear � , the real i z a tion o�

lirr� ts , of the trans i t orin es s of exi� tenc e .

Ther ef or e the

firs t manifes ta ti on of higher thought o ccurs as a medi ta ti on .

up on dea th .

Man reb e ls a t th e though t of ��e epi s odi c na ture

life , a t i ts mys tery and h is l onelines s in the univer s e .

or The

enigma t ic which ever thr r.a tens the exis ten c e of primi tive man

begins to b e mas t er ed by the ac t of naming ob j e c ts , vh lch s erves as a limi ta tion gn d an a s s e r ti on of supr emacy .

'Ihe w! sh to

-38 -

trans c end mottallty dev elop a into the pr oc e 5 s of c onjuring the

world , achieved under the asp eo t of cul t by the reli gi ous s oul and under that of technique in an age the num.ina of Vlbich are e:;qJres sed in the ory .

In pri.mi tive s ocie ties the enl gma. tio in conquered by

religion , whi ch requir e o forms , the kn owledge of which i s r e­ s tricted and 1'.hos e ri te s �us t b e exac t .

As a func ti on of the

soul ' s dep th exp eri ence , r e ligion c ontains the grand myth of

enah cul tur e , the ac tua liza ti on , ? f i ts pr ime a r ol , expr ea D ed in the upv!B.rd-a tri ving f orceful God of the G o thi c , the apir1 t

of God hovering 1n the cave-world of' the Magian s oul , the s ta t1 " ueaque 'b od.y of' the Apollinian . �

',

'Ihe

reac ti ons , which originally wer e to tal tend to b e­ I come permes. ted by s.n unders tandJng of / s ignii'icanoees . Under-

,,

/

s tanding s epar a ted £r om aensation-- 1s called thought .

Pr o!'ane

causali ty app ears , sup�lan ting the holy causali ty of' religion ,

in order t o wi thdraw fr om the world ot b ecoming the da ta whi ch

i t then dis s e o ts .

Ye t na tural aolenoe l s nei ther new nor s elf'­

contained , bu t a o onBequence of the r e ligi ous world-pic ture

tha t prec eded i t , all 1 ta theor ies merely e.n analysi s - and

even e. r eb u t ta l presupp oses s.n ob j ec t - of the l.ived me taphysic� of t..11.e culture ' s you th .

N o mat ter how far na tural s c ience ad­

vances , a t i ts edge , in the inexpl1cab1e re s1due1 ever hovers God as everything b eyond the p os s ibility of oauaal anQlysla . 1,

Por exp lana ti on Each Cul ture" •

or

torm see pos t .

Chs.p ter tt 'Ihe S ouls ot

-39 -

'.ihe insolvab le dilemma o f ti.t:16 emerges , each ac t l e

uni que , ye t s cience mus t p os tula t e o n endle s s comp o. rab iii cy: of phenomena .

'lhe wo rld reveals a pr oce s s of e t ernal becoming J

bu t causali ty can op era te only on th e b e c ome .

The realm o:f

b ec o'.!line:; knows o nly s ingul arly oc curr ing !'ac ts J the world of p:.ll'e being op era tea w i th e ternal tru th s . 'Ihe c on.flic t of rhythm agai n s t tension , d e s t iny agains t caus a l i ty p ermea t e e exis tenc e and his to ry. Tuo i � ture a of the world a re po s s ible : the Wo rld-aa­ Hl 3 tory in which the b e c ome is orde red wi th re fe renc e t o the b e c oming or th e Wo rld-as -Natur e in Vihich th e o pp os i te oc curs .. 'Y.'1. e Viorld-e.s-His to:-y pres en t s a dynamic p roce ss of growth wi th the wi;I.1- t o- live the only cri t e rion of succ e s s , the only sourc e of mo tiva t ion. exis t.

In thla wor ld of fac t s only sub j e c ts and ob j ec ts

To live for abstrac tions involv e s sui' fering a de s t iny

irui tea.d of b eing one .

I t s ch ronicle rs are thoae individual :,

v,hos e phyB iognom.i c tac t enab les than to a pp rehend the t o tall ty of even ts in s. poe t ic uni ty , with a c l ear realiza ti on of the in­ sufficiency of a caus a l anal ysis .

I ts repres en ta tives are the

gr eat s ta te 3roen mo emb ody the meanin g of the o c currences , . the

men of b lood who feel the co smic b ea t and ac tualize i t .

"I

feel mys elf driven t owarda an end tha t I do not know" , Uap oleon s ta ted at the beginning o.f the Rus sian crunpaie;n .

"As �o on aa I

Till 1 then no t all th e forces in th e Wbrl d will prevail aga infl t me . "

shall have reached it an a tom will sui'f ice to sha t ter me .

l,

Spengler - op . c i t . - Vol I .

p . 144 .

-40Ye t the World-as-Na tur e , to o , haa i ts triump hs .

I ts

linkage s r e p r e s en t man ' s a tt em p t a t a t tainin g ma s tery over his It can achi ev e in i t s h i ghes t form l iber a ti o n and

des t iny .

freedom from the wor ld-born rear v.h i ch is the lot consci ousnes s , the

b oanda r i e s .

It

Ego ' s lon e l ine ss in 1.h e face of impas s able

i s ever the ta.sk o!' reli g ion to .fi ght agains t

the p owera of th e b lood , c e ti sm , to

or waki ng.

t o w1 thdraw from th e world into a s­

r ea li z e the n ec e s s i t y of tension an d in the end

finally to love i t .

" Morali ty i e a planned caus a l! ty of con-

duc t"

of eterna l validi ty and

if ma,"l.

did n o t exi s t .

by defini t i on app licab le even

'Iha sain t mus t reali z e , however , th.a t

hi s vic t ori es a � e not of th is world .

If he wan ts temp oral

suc c e s s the log io of eventa forces him to us e p oli tical weap ons . 'Ihe rne e tin g of' Pila te

and Chris t

repr e s e n ta ti on of this dilemma . And in the

c ons ti tu tea Spe ngl er ' s p o e t lo 'Ihe Roman asked "Wb.a t i s truth? "

tha t ques tion exp r e s sed the s el.f-o onfid enc e of' the S ta t o ,

pride or eminent ri tnes s , th e ent ire meaning of hi s t ory .

And the

an swer , n o t inde ed sp oken but :!.mp lioi t i n the ac ti ons

of the pri s oner was : "What i fl ac tuali ty Y "

'Oli s c o n tai ns th e fino.l diff eren tia be tween the two

f orm-worlds , be tween becoming and b e ing , des ti ny an d causali ty , hi s t ory

1, 2,

and na ture .

B e c oming wi th wak ing cons c i ouane:3 5 a.a i ts

Spengler - op . ci t . - Vol II . p . 27 0 . S e e Kan t • s derin i t i on o f tb e ca te gori cal impera t ive as 1:1 p p lied to a ll rational b � ing , not only to Man . o i t . - Vol II . p . 216 .

Spengler - op .

-41 -

sub jec t, or a waking -be ing tha t a ttemp ts t o domina te des t in;y

ar e the e s s ence of the antinontr, the real alterna t ives of life .

Tue p ol � tic ian de sp i s e s the think er and dre et1er - and

r!g:h tly .

F or the b.elhver all worldly amb i t ion i s sham and

decep t i on - he too is righ t .

nA ruler m o .a ttemp ts to. imp r ov e

reli glon in th e dire c ti on of prac ti c a l , world ly purp o s e s i a n fool .

A s oc i ologis t-preacher who tri e s t o br ing p ea c e 1 f or­

r.1'�P.,1e�1 s , righ t e ousn e s s and peac e in to the world of ac tuali ty

1s a fool a ls o .

He fa i th has y e t a l t ered the world and no

fa c t can rebu t a �s 1th

•••••

a s a 1 n t 1 fo r b e twe en lie s

1

Le t a man b e ei ther a hero or 2

not wi sd om , but bana l i ty .. "

Sp engler res olv ed tha dilemna of our exp er i enc e o:f f'ree­

dom and our knowledge of' neces s i ty into s p os tula te of al terna­ tives .

'lhe opp os i ti on of' b ecoming end b e ing , the ten s i on b e­

tween D� a t iny and Cau.se.ll ty , cons ti tutes th e l!le taphys i cal basis

of Sp engler' s philmsophy 0£ his t ory .,

'lbe ac tualiz a t ion of' the

b�anen t pulse achiev es i t s highe s t rorm a s long a s i ts direc­ ti on is taken f or gran ted .

Waking-o ons ci ousnes s achieves a

gradua l dominance only by r educ ing the l iv ed experience or the

cosmic b ee t .

Fina lly man i s a.drif t in a world whos e put'poe c

13 n o longer hi s own .

pe trifi es and die s . l. 2.

'llle Cul ture turns into a Civiliza ti on ,

Spengler - op . c l t . - Vol II . Spen gler - op . o i t .. - Vol I I ..

p . 216 . p . 274 .

-42 The ima gina tivene s s of this _phi los ophy can n o t hide i te

inner comp lex! ties , however..

The op·p os i tlon of b e c oming and

b e ing , Des tiny and C ausa l i t y , Ne ce s s i ty an d Fr eedom seems to reduce exi s te nc e to a mere v e ge ta ting . only pas t a c t i ons .

But ne c e s s i ty exp lai ns

I t s a o tua lization in conduc t requir e s a ·

"\'raldng-con s c i ou snes s , which m or e ov er ope!' a tes w1 th th e inner

If' the Cul tures are dis tingufohed by l. their s truggle f or the a c tualiz a t i on of an idea , then the ep ec-

conv ic tion of choi ce .

1fici ty of hi � t ory resi des in an elemen t 0£ purpo s iv enes s , not

in o.n inexorab l e des tiny.

'Il1e Wor ld-as-His tory and the World.­

as-Na ture are , af ter all . mer e ly me taphys ical ab s tra c t i ons for

th e app rehens i on of events , no t ob j e c tive m odea of real ooour2 rence a . Spengler implie s th a t the man-of-fac t live s a dee ti ny

and thereby achiev e s hi e tr iumphs .

But , agai n , thi s does not

:.ea-n to prov e the doninsnce of know­

ledge sf a 11:nl.1 t b ec ome s ever ::nor e def !ni t e , the inex ora.b lli cy of deve lopnent in th o .ligh� of one ' s pa.s t inev! table .

The know­

ledge or the trs.nal toriness of exis tcnc e ia respons ible for mueh ccns is tency in a c tion , and gives ri:se to the trs.eet'ly or the m.,m tho mus t live o u t an a a a entially me anlngle :3 3 belie f , only to

l, On this poin t see also Soh,rei tz er I I The Philos ophy or Civ11-1za t1 on" p . 871 e t . eeq. 2 , F'or full dis cua eion of thes e geners.litie e a ee poa t Ch. 11 '.lhe S ense or Heap on s 1bil1 ty" ,

P:iv e conten t to his pas t .

'-'

- 129 -

'll'...i s i a the drama o f Rubashov in

gDarkne s s a t No()n" , and of Ivan Kars.m.a:t: o!'f vd:lo c onf e s s es » · no t

· indee d b ece,us e h a c omm.i tted the murder » bu t b e caus e the crime

wa s impli ci t 1 n his previ ous 1 1.f e , v.-hioh c ould acquire mean ing through this sac ri�ic e �

Ye t a g e i a n o t exclusiv e ly a physio l ogical s ta te .

Lifo

e �ernal re currenc e of problems , the s e t t leme n t of

each cond ! ti oning and weakening the a.b ill ty to r e s p ond t o o ther s .

I t i s a di lemma in whi ch ab s tract argumen t oan not go 1 'Ille physi ological analogy l a no t tenab le w1 th ?m1ch f'ur ther .

cult'.ll'e:J , ya t the exis t:eno e or c iviliza t1 ona may b e c onceived as a suc c e s s i on of di lemma s .

Toynb � e c orre�tly analyz ed the

challenge. and r esp ona e elemen t , b u t turned i t into a me chan:i:stic 1:r n thod f'or ma terial salva t i on .

l t appears ., tha t the s olut.1.on

of each pr oblem takes away s ome thing of tho ab i li ty to oxper1 enoe i ts inner meaning , gradually le s s ening the intens i ty of the resp ons e .

The League of Na tions Vias a dream ., the Uni ted Na. t1ona

is mer ely a tec.hnical oles.ring hous e , perhap s therefore or long er dura ti on as i ts 1 :iner idea l a di s s ipated .

Ageing 1n a

Culture may well be the gradual s olution or the problems immsnent 1n i ts exis tence , their dea th a f orm of di senchantmen t .

�bs trac t argumen t can give n o a id , b ecaus e the faa t of' ex.is tence forces a p o a i tion towards life regardles s of' the s ta te of tho Culturo in �!ch one lives and becaus e the very oer ta..1.nty of

See p oa t Ch . IV . 'Ihe S en s e of' Rosp one ibii1 ty !'or limi ta t1on of a the ory of ac tion , whi ch a tt emp t s to d erive i ts a t taln­ ab l li ty from phenomenal roali ty . See p os t . " 'Ihe S ens e o f Re sp on a ib i li ty 11 f or Devel opmen t of thi s C onoep t .

-130-

tran s l tor ine s s C Rn enable ms.n t o giv e a meaning to hi s exi s tence .

A ll the Culture5 Spengler tr ea ts have di s in tegrated .

i a of n o av ail t o charge pea slmism . a.chl e\·ed b y p os tula te .

Irmnor ta.li ty can n o t b e

It

B u t b ehind tho phys ical decay tha t s e ems

t"le lot . of every thing exi s ting emerges a level or meaning whi ch

erib o di es a. typ e of a t taina.b le permanence .

In i ts doa th each

cul ture b e qu ea thed fo:!'!!2!! to the succes s or which , ...,na. tever Sp eng­ ler ' s a s s er ti on , were the c ondi tion preceden t to all aub s e quon t

prob lema tion and the f ounda ti on of future grea tna s e . M onrms en has a ta ted i t well:

of the R oman R epub lic .

" We are fac ed wi th tho end

F or ha lf a mi llenium we ob s el'Ved her

ruling tho c oun tries of the . Medi terranean .

We have seen her

co llaps e in p o ll tic s , in mora ls , in re ligi on and in 1 1 tera ture ., not through the vi olen c e of ex ternal even te , but th:t" ough a �adual inward decay .

'Ihe wor-ld which Caeaar folll1d , o onte.1ned

the nob le heri tage of pas t c enturie:'l and an inflnl te

abundance of p omp and glory , but li ttle sp iri t , s ti ll less ts e te . a ll , the j oy had gone out o f life .

It was indeed an old

not to b e made y oung aga in even by the genius of C a esar ' s

p9.triotlam .

'Ih e e er enl ty of the dawn can no t return un til dark­

nes s has s e t in and night he.a reigned supreme . brough t t o th e s orely

But never thele s s

harras sed p e oples o n �he Medi terranean

evening af ter tho 0 ul try noon .

And when in g o od

, after long h i a torical · nlght , th e day of new p e oples

dawned

a�d young r,.at l ons in �r e o s e lf-fulf i llmen t began to move

,om,�n R new and higher goaln , ther e wer e among them qui te a f ew

-13 1in vmlch the B e e d s tr ewn oy Caesar had b orn fru.i t and whl ch owed bht , as they s ti ll do , the di li tino tive charac ter of the ir na tic-n1 ali ty • "

Perhaps thi s i s th e only immor tal i ty a Culture haa !l

right to r e quir e .

·Tu ua Sp a n gler ' s phi los ophy o:f h i e tory II wi th i ts challeng­ ing in:tuiti ons a nd br oad vis tns· repr e s en ts an e. t temp t a t the res olution of the enigmas o1' exia tenc e .

He clearly r ealiz ed

the nec ea::3 1 ty of an exp lici t me taphy5 ical formda t i on f or the appr ehen s i on of Hi s t ory-a.s - an- I n tui t i on ..

'Ih oue}l hl s phi los ophical as sump tions do not a lwgys s tand up under ane. ly tical cri ticisiil , and c.b.ough al terna. tiv e in t erpreta tlons can b e of'f'ere d fer s ome of his da ta , Spengler ' s p oe ti o ir.agina tion pointed the way t owa.rdo ins ights of p r o:f ound and co:npelling b eauty .

'lhe world-as - rucp er i en c e repres en ta e. c on­

s �uc ti on which truc es full c ognizanc e of the organi c fac tors of exl s t enc e .

'lber e i e c onsiderable mer i t in hia ar ticula tion of

llie two p o s s ib l e modes of c ogni t i on and exi s tenc e , D e s tiny and Caus &.ll ty , Time and Spac e .

'Ihe in terdep enden c e of' religi on and

na tur al s c i ence c ons ti..�tes a p oe t ic v i a i on of gre-a t dep th .

How­

e1e r 1 Des t i ny can n o t :ner e ly c a r. s l a t of vege ta t i on and all ac tiv­ icy b1pli es purp o s e s .

No mere a s n er tion of n ec e s s i ty oan r elleve

Theod or e Momma en - 'Ihe Hi s tory of R ome - V o l . VI p . 6 1 4 . { German e di tion - Ve-rle.g den• 'l.'eidmanns chen BuchJ1e.ndlung} . 1.!y tranala ti on .

-132a

cultur e from the respon s ib ili ty giving own meaning to i ts own

e tl s ten c e .

1

·wha tever the tragedy of lif e , i t s c ou tent cons ti tut e s

:he cre a t i on o f an individual s oul , the reac ti on to i ts irrunan­ c on tains the e s s ence of

pers onal i ty .

Sp engler thoup;ht tha t h e hed r.a a o lved thi s prob lem by a p o s tula tion of alt erna tive s .

But a t e a ch a s p e c t of hi s phil­

osophical exp o s 1 ti on , this dl leilllI!B. ha a accoun ted for lnck of' oon s i s tency

and iruib 1 11 ty to a c c oun t for a wide range or phen­

I t la a trange tha t a Tran s c enden tali s t sh ould have f o\Uld no d e ep er meaning in hi s t ory than i t s mere man ife s ta t i ons . And s o tha poe tic b eauty of Sp engler ' s p s ychology p re­ sents a challenge f or o thor minds and n ew appr oache s .

'Ihe

dilemma of the re la tl on of n e c e a sl ty an d f'r e e d o:zn remains , to gutde our que s t f'or the me&ning of hi s t ory , the purp os e of lire .

See p os t Ch .

11

The Sernse of' R a sp cmsib 11 1 ty11

A " The C onc ep t of M eaning . "

•

A l s o App endix

H!SmRY AS A. if IDfPIRIGAL SC IENCE

Toynbee

- 133 -

±��£'��::� �! �!! Toynbee attempted to tran s cend Spent";ler t a mstaphysl cal li::i tnti ons by E!ll as s erti on of purpos ivenes s .,

Ha arguod that

hi :-i tor7 di d no t rev e al an organi c proc e s s , continuous ly end iJ.,ovitably l'.'8:Pl:'99l!Cl11g !1€.JW .Jl1!3J11: f e s t a.tiorui of PCJ!1 �r but a "ff'i l led. clevelopn10 nt of ros pons ivo growth , i t s fat1.>.ll ty a tes timony to oan I s f at lure , no t t o c. trag edy of unavoidab l e death .

Hi � t ory , in Toynbea 1 s s cheme , e.xhi bit a a cona tant al­

tel'Ilati on of dynamic ere a.ti vity a.'ld s t at i o torpo r .

The embod­

m,.mts of activit:r are civ1 lii:a.t ions 1 beings of 11 tha highe s t which a.lone oons ti tute "intelli -

ardor and s elf- contained" , r;lble fie lda of s tudy . "

Thoy do not repres ent

orc;anl c ent i-

ties w1 th de t e n:uned li!ei- s pe.na , but merely a relation, the co;:.rnon field of ac ti on of thei r comp onent p olit ical conw.uni ties . T.hei1• life pren ents a succea sion of p r oblema , ea.ch a challeng e to underg o 011 orde al.

I i' the aucc e s a ful rea pona a creates an

ov-erbals.r.ce whi ch in turn pre a en ts i te el.f as a chall enge , then tho civi lization grows through a dynaml o rhythm of continuous problemn.tion.

Thi a is accompli shed under the gui dance of a minorit y llhich les,ds the uncre ative ma j ori t y b1 Jllimea is , a a ooie.l drill , m& the charm

of

! t a ina pirntion .

Yet creativity contai ns its

G1Itl neme :i i e in an idolat ry of past successes and miine sia 1o doome d to break d::iwn beoauae of 1 ts ma chani call1e l!I s .

....... ..., ___

,-------- ... ----------

l, Toynb�e op. o1 t . Vol. VI. P • 45 . 2, Toy-.nbae o p . c it . A. S tudy of' Hia to ry Vol, I . p 4 57 .

, , ,-.,

The ere ati vo

-134-

!1lnorl ty , SW1sing the �i f t in s ooi et-y, turns i ts e lf into a domin­

Th6 unc rea t ive majnrl ty and the

&�t raino�lty and rules by force .

t 1r,�'o G.ri nns beyond tho bordara s ecedo , !'arming the internal and ei:terns..l proletari at .

Tha ri ft in the body s o c i al paral lels a

schltm ln tho a Oul fro:m the te:na i ons of which a univers al -a tate ll?pear9 the immedi ate s o luti on .

But e,n 1.meuc c e B s ful a eriea of

responses has doomed the ci vi l1 zntion .

Ite innor me on.i!lg i s •

hot.1s ver� aalva,e e d by the hi gher re l i gion whi ch the inte rnnl pro­ le ta1-t ut cr0ates on the ruins of' the colla.pa ing univer sal a t at e ,. Aftor a violent interregnum th e universal church be come s the cnrys nll s from ,.hi ch a new B oc i ety may s pring by the pro cess of a.ppo.rentati on- o.nd- affi li ation.

The approach. o.f the s t ud;r which bas es i t s elf on i9ll-be loved me thod o.f making an empiri cal surv ey " 'i'oynoe e into innsr contradi c ti ons . be f�cad wi th the vali dat ion

l

11

the

le'1.ds

An empiri c l B t wi ll always

or tho ao normative conceptB , for

which hi s t ory o!'f ers no nece s :::al'y proof , and phenomena no univer·sal rule .

The formulation of hi s tori cal lnwa impli e s a con...

capti on of ne oea si ty, not to b e evaded by a mere paatula.t1on of purpo sivene s e .

Agains t a background of twenty-one civ1lnt1 ona

fun t either ba.ve ool laps� d or exhibit all the syr.1ptoms of de oay, c..1lallenge-and-response , wi th i ts accompanying doc trines of .. 'U .. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

1. Toynbo e op. ci t . Vol IV. P� 26 1 2. As Kant shows .

wi th dra wal-and-r e turn b e c ome s n ot e. ri ega ti on or inevi tab i li ty ,

b·.1 t

i ts mechani s tic des crip tion .

Hor e ov er ,

o.n empiri c al sur­

vey has a. tendency t o co nsider mere s urface phenome na o.s e qui­

valen t , s ince the inner in terpr e tative mean ing mu.s t cons li tu t e l U rne tap hyaical r e s o] 1 1 tion . or.

1uynb e e c omp ound s thi s by imp os i ng a n ortta tive p a t tern

s. c ompara tive s tt:dy of civi liz a t i on:3 1 nll

ceived as

len t .

oi' which a.re c on­

p hi l o s ophi cal ly c on temp or ary and f un c ti onally equi'Ja­

A P la toni c ldentif' i ca tion of p ol.t tlcal a c ti on w1. th ap ­

pr opr1a te t'yp e s of a ouls reaul ts and an a.ffirma. ti on of a s uprs. 1:,1JJ1dane p lane o.f hi s tory tha t emb od iea the true fuli'illmen t; of exi s tence .

I t will b e our t.e.sk to an alyz e the val idi ty of' on a t­

tem;:i t a t fi nding eoluti ona to prob lem.s of i nner experi,mc e in the causal Il1811i.fes ta.ti ons o f lif e .

We mus t determine the degree

of real ity tha t c.an be ascrib ed to anal ogi es f'ro!!l mythology or tho New Tea tam.ea t .

b&aic enigma:

'I.his will b r ing us .face to face w1 th cur

Does his t ory or li.fe exhib i t a ma s ter-p lan the

unders tand ing of which of.fer5 a key to the d i lemma s in our

aoul:J or a.osa the s o lu ti on reside i n an inner rec oncili a ti on?

:,us t wo look outs ide or inside onra �lves for a motive f orce to

appre hend the es s enc e

of

h i s tory

a.a a. guide to e.c ti on ? ·;

Can

a meta phys ic al pa. t tern b e uti liz � d i n a 1:1 tudy tha t profe eses to f'l n d i ta proof i n t..h e firs t ins tance in emp i rical da ta? pos t App end l.x A " 'Ille C onc ep t s of Meaning" .

-1361

Every phil o s o phy of hi s tory roUB t s o oner or later fnce t'.:e pro blem of what cons ti tutea the mo tive-forc e of dire cted lif0 e

Spengler had opted for

forw.

He argued that

r.11 ha.ppenings o the

respon s e

QI1

organic i.rerr.:9.lJ.enoe that ruled

Toynb ee c o11ld not !'a.ee the di leiru,11a. 1n

to whi ch

li fe

pres ented a

reve al e d a

was t..'10r.e fore Ul1.pre di ctable .

thin

a eri e3 of challene;es i,

pera onali ty

e.nd whos e

aoluti on

Yet thi s a.3 s erti on o:f :fre edom

clashed with hla �111pirioal data that indi cated almost certain decay for e ach ci vil1zati on . Toynba e tried to solve thi s difficulty by consi dering histo!7 as tho re ali zation o!' a divine plan ,. 1.n whi ch "the�� 11eeda f. :nvn a.re separnto �seda ,. ea.ch with 1 ts own de s tiny•

but

all of one kind, and s own by the s rune Sower in the hope of nttnining one he.rveB t . 11

Growth and de cay mere1, hi de en under-

.lYi!lG uni ty through whi ch God reveal s lllma e lf to mankind. Lit'e �Maonta an alt ernati on of activi ty and decay, of inti::1grati on and differentiati on.

Whi le events e; eem superficially recurrent,

hlatory actually operates in the .fs.s hi on 0£ a wheel , the oi rcu1u motion of whi ch s erves as the oondi tion for progre s s .

--------------------

1. Toynbe e ' s metaphyaical doctrine is no�here expli citly stated. Ih orde r to e1v0 1t tho moa t complote presentati on I have uti li zed Dnnte 1 a phlloe ophy, whi ch s e ams clos e a t to the impli e d c::orrcept o f Toynboi:1 and nppli a d 1 t t o the concept o f Tra.nsfi g" u�ati on whi ch is tne key of Toy:ibae • a cosmology. c:. Toyn.b o a op. c i t . Vol . II I . p. 38 5. 3. Toynbee op. ci t. Vol . IV. p. 34

-13 7-

�!G

C:.is integrs.t1 on of' ci vi liza.ti ons mere ly oxh-tbi ts the condi tion

�\,r a hiG�er experi ence , f'or the vi :a ion o.f tho au:prs.�:i:ir.mda....'"le rar,.llty whi ch 1-s of' a..11.d beyond thi s world• the Cl. ty of - Goti_,

w�1i ch err.ergea out of the &.shea of the human Ci ty of De s truction o

l

Thi s 15 the conoept of transfiguration whi ch transforms tl1e event s o:f thi a world into incidental e.ppe a.ra..."l ces in a ell vino a �10mo, and whi ch consi ders truo peac � that inner s tate of ble ss edn�s s whi ch come s with the reo agn.itiou of limits .

Yet

:".aw c a.11 God ' s re a.l:rn be 1n tb.i a world a..ri d not be of i t ?

Wb.R.t 2

is the �e:Ati on of God 1 a im.�anen�e to His trans cendence .

Dante hB.3 poeti cally r63olved the phi lo sophic al proble�s

.. _,... ____ ---- -- ----- ------

l. Top.bee op. ci t . Vol . VI . p. 167 2. Toynbee anawere the problem wi th two eimilef! • one g�orne tri­ cal on the nature of the relation of a aqua.re to the s ide of a plane of a cube , tho other geo3 rapb.l cul baa ed on a tompo ral superi�po s i tion of succ e s s ive layers of settlements on the 13 8..Iile s 1 te. Nei ther are compl etely a a.tisfectory. The geometri cal simile merely proves the feruiibility of cons t:ruc tins s uch a relation, not its exi stence . The geo­ sraphi c al cnalogy illus trate s the trui sm that every physi cal obj ect i s part of a larger whol e . Toynb es o p . ci t . Vol . vr. :p. 159-162 .

-1�8-

Man p ar ti c ipa.. t e a in a divine p lan and 1n-

rai s ed b y Toynb e e .

s ofar as he i s G od ' s cr e a tur e i s incapab l e

0f grea t er p erfec ti on .

-r:1e c ogni ti on of' tho fir s t i n telligenc e { s elf - evi denc e of c er­

ta ln axi oms ) and the aff ec ti on for the f ir s t ob j e c ts of de s ire

{ the pur e l ov e of God ) expr e s s the divine imprin t .

But Man i s

He has taa ted th e frui t of' go od and evil ,

als o fs.ll�u Cr om Eden .

a ain b o th. b ecause o f i ts timing and the overs t epp ing of 11rni ta . !,!an ' s fall ha s b e en s o dreep, the c orrup ti on of h.i a na ture s o ex tdn sive

tha t unaided he would b e t o ta l ly incapab le of trans­

cending h i s f&lle n s ta te .

Humani ty a "tt a. ins the p os s ib i li ty of

Grac e only thr ough the ma j e s ty of Chr i s t ' s s a crif ic e .

I t' s

exl s t enc e r ev e a l s an unc e a s ing s truggle for the s ell-rea liza­

tion of' a Will c orrup ted by des ire . R e a s on ., " the virtue tha. t 2 couns e l s " ., c on s ti tut e s the agency b y which the will i a de termined the

into i ts pr oper direc tion .

The po ten tiali ty to love God expr e a e e s Man ' s true e s s en c e ,

mlsdire o t1 on of tJ11a f e e ling c on ta.ins the f a t ednea a of ex-

1.s tcmee.

Inward b le s s edn e s s exhib i ts the refle c ti on of God i a

love and tha t of a ll true b e li evers and s erves a.a th e c ond1 tl on

for immor tali ty .

Ye t th i s l ov e can not achi eve the full impli-

es tlons o:f i ts lnn:nanenc e in the mundane sphere or by merely ra tional c ondit i ons .

Only Paradise s ees the c omple t e union

Hll , D e sire and R ea s on . e,.1b re.c ing Love of God .

or

'!here ·everythi ng . c oa le s c e s in the all3 Th i a l s true meaning of P ic c arda Dona ti

I t mus t b e :raepea. ted tha t this 1· epre E1 en ts my c on s truc ti on of the spir i t of Toynb e e 1 o me taphys i c s . Dan te - Purga tory - C an to 18 . Dan te - Parad i s o - Can t o 3 ,

- 139va::os e symb ol.le appearan c e in the Moon expr e s s e a both Volitio n and Ne c e e a l ty ettd to who::n Do.n te 1 a re.tlona1 queq regardi ng the jus tic s of degr e e s of b li s s eppears e s s en tially meaningless . }ba t , too ., ls the

o! the a.b i l l ty , peculiar ta ·i.; he b le s s ed ,

of reading each o thor ' u thoughts .

!n Paradis e , indeed , th,e

" v ir tue the. t couns els 11 has b e c orae superf luous , a t lea5 t 1.n l ta direc ting conno ta t ions .

Knowledge l s now ins tan tane ous ., b e li ef

no longer aUb j e o t to el ther 'b u t tre s s ing or argumen t .

Every­

thing merges in a total uni cy b rough t ab out by the ra.aisnce of nn a ll-1 llu."llinating Grnce ..

This e:xhib i ta the a s s ump ti ons or Toynb ee ' s me taphysical doc trine , which suffers :t"roo an ov erly utili tarian arg1Jmen ta tion _ end a lack of' e.xp li c i t formula tl on .

God I a love , !den t i cal wl th

tha t of Via.n ' s l ov e for Hlm 1 expr e s s ed i n the f e eling of bro ther­ hood cona tl tu t e a the condi t i on for the exper i ence of trans:f'1gur­ a tlon > the connec ting link b e tween mundane and supra-mundane l The concep ti on of trans c endence is given symb o lic reali ty . axpr essl on by Chr i s tian i ty in God ., the fa ther, the aapeo t immanence in God , the Holy Ghoa t .

or

Chr i s t , the S on of God ., who

sacrificed him.9 e lt' t o a t te.in b le s s edne s a for h i s own , r epre sen t a the c onnec t ing l i nk to th e human hear t , however grea t the l ogical 2 dlf fic11lty reas on :flnda in. th e Trin1 ty .

i, 2,

Toynb ee op . ci t , :Vol . V I p . 164 though i t mus t b e s aid tha t 'lbynb e & can d o no be t t er tha n derive God ' s love by a syllogism. Toynb ee op . ci t . Vol . VI . p . 162 .

Hi s metaphya i ca enable Toynbee to impo se a normat i ve p.ttarn on hi s torl c�l evant s .

He v a.li dat e s the e. t t itude s

to­

v;n.rds l i .f e whi ch charac teri ae a. di s integrat i ng ci vilizaticn fo

tarma of

Cru_.i s ti an the ology.

For -thie re-a eon the Stoi os-•

•;)hl los ophy of Deta.chraent violates the imparat1 ve of' the brother2

hood of Mail baa ed on God ' s lava .,

'l"herofore S ocrates • death

los e s me aning a inca i t repre s ented a futile r�acti on to tAa ll Ch'.l. sm in the He lloni o B oul and e. t t ampted to tr1J.ns fer i to fi eld of action forward on a mere ly mundane plane ..

Thi a , too , explain.;

tJ1& mc :ral a a.nc ti on impli cit in s uch statements as the " orimi nality of mi ll te.rism 11 ,

3

the "gre,a.ter treasure ro j e oted by the J'ewe 11 ,

whose inabi l i ty to accept Chrl B t doomed their civi li zation . To;y'I(D e e 1 s me taphya.i cal s.s :nUiip ti ons pePmea.te , hi s concept ,if a cult-ure ' s growth .

Primitive humani ty repres ents a Yin

stats of integration, the c ondi ti on pre cedent to a �urther ad­ vance :tn the d1 vine e chome o.f things .

Tha OPea.ti ve minor! ty

contains the Saints , 1n who s e s oul e. epe.rlc of the divine has kindled a r e s pcnsa e.nd who cGns ti tute the "vi rtue that ooune els " in Danto • s terms towards tha un1.ns pi red maj ori ty .

Mon ' s fal.l

from Gro.ce has res ulted in that perverai ty of human nature whi ch Prevents di r a o t illuminati on, forcing re course to a utl.me s i a dom;ie d by 1 t a mac...�ani c a.lne s a .

A t the end o f thi s deve lopment

�----�-------------� 1 , S e e Po s t . 2, Toynb e e op. ci t . Vo l . VI .. p. 132 . 3: 'l'oynbo e op. ci t . Vol . IV. � 'l'0T.1b e e op,. ci t . Vo l . I V . p. 243 S. 3 e !J po a t for fur the r dependence on Dante .

4

-141s ts.nd:1 the Ci ty of Dea true tion , a t 0 s t imony t o Ha n r s pre s en t

ina dequs.cy bu t also a token through i ta crea. ti on of" a universal

ch:ireh of' p o t e n tial ful!'ill.men t .

T9yn1J ee J . h o wever , did. n o t merely a ttemp t to probe deeper

J.uyers of meaning than Spengler , but conc eived hims o l!' in the tradi tion of tho Bri ti sh Emp iric i s ta .

He � s s er t"Sd that Hi s tory

reve ale d 1 ts immanenc e t o t'la app lica t i on of' the p rop er me thod­ ology , to the pa t i en t c la s s if i c a tion o:f do.ta.

Such an approach

however , is to tally incons i s tent wi th Toynb ee ' s phi losophical l basia . A mer e empirical analys i s of hi s t ory i s 1mp oa3ib le , the regulari ty ob s erve d i n phenomena c ons ti tu ting e. me taphya ical ll5Bump t1 on of' orde r .

An empiri c i s t i s unab le to f ind purp cslve­

nes!'l 1n his tory , !! inc e e.11 regulari ty imp l i es a.t leas t the necess i ty of' c on s tan t c on j unc tion.

A his t orical " law" always

deni es the uni que exp er i enoe or the c r ea tive ao t 1 r e ducing b o th to agents of an inexorab ili ty tha t cons tan tly produces new sur­

face manife s ta ti ons of" succe s s and p ower ..

F or success c ona t i tutea the final le sson tha t hi s tori­

ca l phenomena teach Man .

Ea.ch acc omp lished :f'ao t , each s urviving

poll t 1cal or ganiza t i on tes tif ies to a me thod of prevailing ,

repr esen ts a.n answer t o the pra gmatic query:

" Wha t work s ? "

A

nere callee ti on of' hi s tor ioal da ta - though j t can n ever b e con­ struc ted fr ee from the me taphya1 cal p o a tula t i on inheren t in S ee poa t " 'Ih e C on c ep ts of Meaning" . litL'll e - An Enq airy on Hu.>nan Unders ta.nd1 ng .

-142sel ec tivi ty - will always ropr e s ent a nega tion of fre edom and

i:;.n as s er tion of de terr;iini em . the nilled p erforms.n e e

8

te s tinony

alternatives tha t ac c omp ani ed

are f or go tten and only the deed rem.a1ns

to i ts fa tedne s s .

Fa i lure o on s ti �utos

the only s in

kno wn to his tory 1 n an emp irical and pragmati c appr oach.

Toynb e e , hovmver , d oea no t a uc c e e d in cons true ting a.n

edifice based on emp irical c ons iderations .

Hi� c onc lusi ons are

pr ecisely what one would expec t in the light of hi s philosoph-

ical as sUlllp ti ons and theologlca.1 c onvi c ti ons .

A pragma t i s t

b een careful ab out a me tho d tha t yields an ans wer 1 Nob ody b e t ter so o":.w l ous ly 1 n line wi th his preo ono ep t i ons . 2 illus tra t e s the mme s l s of the " e go-cen tr i c d e lus i on , " than should have

'I'oynbee who c a s t i ga te s i t e o vi olen t ly .

Love i s not immanen t

in hi s toric al da ta. , b u t c ons ti tu t e s a r e f:l o lv e o:f

the a oul .

tory l s n o t a b ook d e s igned t o i llus trate the Uew Te s tame n t ,

;·j nor do Chr i s t ' a

I

The

His -

sayings embody truisms .f or " succ e s af'ul" c onduc t .

But the superimp o s i ti on of an empirical me thod on a the o lo gi ca l founcia. tion , w1 th. da ta conoaived aa provin g moral validi t;y ins tead. !enca

of the poa tula tea cat:'ivi ng from a transc end.en tal experyields :r, rooia ely this r e sul t .

whether

I t never b ec omes c lear

tho Pharlseee a.re condemned b e caus e of their :failure

to recogniz e

Chr i s t 1 a moral s uper ior! ty or b ec aus e of their lack

of p oli tical p erspicac i ty in fai l in g to r e sp ond properly to the l, Par ticularly as Toyn�e e refu� e s to accep t the Raco '.Ihe ory of Ma terial Pro gres s b ecause i t f i ta in with proc onc ep t i ona of age ..

2 , Toynb ee op . c i t . Vol . I . p . 153 .. 3 , See poa t - C onclusi ons .

I

i':cso of the future .

S imilarly Toynb e e sways uneas i ly betwe en

rJ jo cti ng nrl. li tarl sm for i ts e thi cal defi ci oncy 01.. i t s 1 £:l::1'JSS • :,

11

sui c i d-

A normat ive pnt tern for the evaluati on of lm.'IB derived 2 Th� conne ction er.u•i rtcally repres ents e. lot�i ce.l incons i s t ency .

betwo en mo ral acti on a."'1d materi al auc ce s a can no t be f'ound in

:r:o.;ii puln.tory D techni cal laws end led Kant to the poa tulati on of

God us tho (5Uarantor of the s umm.u::n bonum.

Empi ri cal analysi s

corr.pUl" oa pheno�enal menifostati ona a...."1.d a e 0lrn a. re curri ng pe.ttern. valua judvnents conc ern thonia el ve a wi th the fr1.. riermo aning , the

no��onrr of exi s t ence , the con9 equenoo of our exper1 onc6 of frc edora.

I t is impo s s ible to find a gunra.nteo fo r the real.i za-

tion of re li 11i oua fe.i th in the appearance of hi a tori cal phenomena.

Such a e;uurante e would roduce e thi cs to r-..ilos of' prudence .

vbl !!tor of the moral code would in thi s view be not e. knave , but a. fool .

A

Freedom i s not o.chi ov e d by tha me re as s e rti on or

n purpo si veness thnt its elf be come s but o. mani fes tat i on of hi s­

i toric al law , olMsifiable as a. wachar...i ::: t i c technique f'or ble s s•

I �chrns s .

The s alvati on of e ot·la an d the growth and decay of

I civilizati ons are no t c onne c te d by a causal! ty donated by im• nocll o.te reward ond puni shmen t .

'.Ihe whe el oi' exi stenc e may uti l•

ita i ts circular motion to progre a a along virc;in ground .

Ya t

no civ ilizati on has ye t 1;1uccooded in thi s endeavor anr1 do cay haG ��rl�0d the i r• o.dvence , even in Toynbo o 1 s teI'1i1S . •• .,,, Q ... - - -

- -

- - - -

And s o the very

- - - - - - - - -�

1, '.t1 'Yynb e 0 op. oi t . Vol . IV . p . 3 6 5 . S e o al s o po s t c onc lus i ons . 2 , So o pQ s t for C :: ·1 t o ri o n ( Appendix A ) . 1 ( Kan t ) �. · ' J { � :x, u 1.; 0 Gi''. c ] 't i :i t ory ru1d ;,10.11 :; ,sq , c ri 0nc a of Y,lor a l 3 . ty . .• , � ,�, ·;) :J D t . Cl1 . 'I.i AG S (' f1Se O �C R0 a r),Jns:I l.Ji l :l t·y •

-.l 44c onc ep tion of virgin gr o�"'!d c ona ti tuter1 the longi ng of a s oul .,

the hop e of a fulf illmen t ., for the a t ta ltment of Ylhich we mus t

looi,;: in to our s e lves and n o t a t t emp t to c oax i t out of hls tory

b y c on j uring !. ts phenomena .

-145-

--

0 Hn.t ure arid Genes i s of Civl liznti ons ..-:11.. -------- ---- - - - - - - ---

Two a tre.nds of thou01t can be di s tingui shed in Toynbe 0 • s

µul osophy ,.

1'he bi olo3i cal approa.ch regll!'d.s hi s tory as an evolu­

tio·;i.9. ry proces s , 1 ts recurronce of r;rowth and de cay o. tes timony to El

-e f-f orns . . to tum hims.elf ..into .Su.p��@�

'J:hJ,:1 ,yi.?:,l g_2rn,t11a t e a

'i\Jynb0 0 ' o onulys i s of the gen es i s o f ci vi li za.tiomi ond thei r e;:rowth,. ':'l: o theologi cal conception s e es in hi s t ory the ronli zation of o. di­ vtne plilll to teach roan tho e s :i ent1al me llllinglee sne a s of tempo rnl s�cce s s .

All typical atti tudea towards life fai l , s ave the rocogni•

tion of the supra-:crundane ple.ne of re ali ty which deni e � tho subs ten­ tiall ty of all wordly endeavor.

1'hi s is the t endency of Toynbee ' s

llf£1ys i s o f the broa�down of civi li z ati ons and their di s integrati onG Toynbee 1 a pos tulnti o� of fr0edorn i s theref ore deceptive .

The

bialo;:;i cal approach reduce s Cho.ll enge- ond-Ros po.!ls o to e. !lle chani a t1 c description of the immanent Elan Vital .

Tho theologi cal viow cons iders

uurpo3ivenesa morely God • a tocl to teach nan hi s impotence on the :t.mclane plano .

Thi a i s compounded by the empi ri cal me thod whi ch movos

Gi th great pat i ence through n vna t amount of hi s tori c al dat a. dnte. belongs to the po.B t and is t..'lerFlfore rul ed by nece s a � ty .

But Free•

on the other hand , can not be d erived as attribute of reality only throu5h an inward oxperi once. Hi a tory • a purpose repres ents

a metaphys i cal as sumption not a ne ce s s ary conclu�i on from hi s tori cal l eveni;a • Thi s be come� vary noti ceab l e in Toynbee ' s anal y s i s or the

.;s:-ie a i s of' cl vil i z ati ona .

Cl1allengo-und-Respon s e , the interacti on of

�::.c0 u.nd Envi rorn11ent ls concei-ved as the key fo.c tor in :-, civili zo.ti on 's But tr..i e theory be como s a t1oaningful as s e rtion of purpos i vo­ mly i f the lli"l a.lys i a conc e 1•n0 .l trr n lf wi th tho it1ponde1•nb:l. lt ty

r; f'

.. J..46t:'l e res pons e . d:::i p

}10VJevar.

Thi s i s proc l s e ly whnt an empi :I-i cal 1ae thad can no t

Its chi ef cancern is no t the uni quene s s of th e res-

::a!,3 0 but the 3ena rall ty of the che.llenr; e .,

Toynb e e cars fully clas s­

tfi G S &11 po ssi bla chal lenges , conce i:ved as quali to.ti vely equl valent

1md varyine; only in intens i ty.

Thi s , h o.;iev e r , re duce s Chall enge-and---1-- .. -------·-·· . . . . ·-

�os porra e to but a re s ta t ement of the Envi ron!nent theory. t.�o problems rai s e d by thi s phas e of

11

Thes e are

The S tudy of' Hi s tory. "

Toynbee • a phi los ophy of hi s tory b egins wi th a. query :

What

are the smalle s t meani ngful entities whi ch a hi s tori an may s tudy?

c7..ru:llne.tion of England ' s pas t l eada Toynl:>ee to the conclusi on that

An

every nati on belongs to a larr;ar unit whi ch a e ts the :frnme-work for � ts ende avors .

Con3 equently ci vi li zati ons , not s tate s , are the s ocial

a�mns wi th whi ch a -mi losophy of hi s tory mus t concern i ta elf' ..

For

tJ1J s reason, too ,. r'elo.ti ona b e tween s tat es have a completoly different

i�port than contacts runong ci vi lizati ons .

Relations b e twe en a tates

ropras ent the me ,.hani s m of a Soci e ty rs growth.

Con tac ta runong ci v..

ilizations revo nl tha proces s of appo.rento.tion-und- a.f.fi lie.t i on by 1,h�ch m:iw civ111zationa ri s e on the rul na 01' tho old.

Toynbe e

d1 s­

ti11.,1ui shes only two comple tely 1nd6pendont clv1 11zati ons runong hi s 2 t�onty- one s pecimen.

Toyliooe considers the clvili gations intelli gible fi elds or

study be cause they are the repree ontat:tves of the evolutionary rhyth?il premeats exi s tence .

Here hi a biologi cnl npproo.ch corne a to full

The dynruni c ac t�vi ty of civi li zatlona i s but o. p:i-elude

level of integrati oi. whi ch in gqod tima wi ll ::r nrve a.a the �00 pan t "Conclusi ons " . T:Jynbe o op. ci t . Vol . ::: • p . 131- 'Ihe Et,-ypti rm and the µ\nde an :::1 v1 1:.. 3 e ti ons are t..1-ie mire l uted ci v :t l i z at ions •

i ,[

jtt8Pll1£:. off point for a f'resh advance .

Thei r comi-non 'Caak s e rves

tlle condi ti on f'or the compurability of civili zati ons .

aa

For thi s :rea­

son, 1'oynbee rojecta the vi.cw thG.t any one ci vi lizati on cw: repres ent c.n ultirim te s tace of d evelopment.

�ni s nssumption deri ves from the

6 50.ce ntri o delusi on whi ch �quateo t.11.0 influence of a civi lizat ion in i ts growth phas e ,11 th tho total meoning of hi s tory .

It re fle c ts

on atti tude whi ch c onsiders i ts point of' ob s erva.ti on as normative in­

s toad of uc cldentol, n. me thod di ::i curded by the physical Bci enoea 1 J;iore over, the 111-tee;ration o !' the oinco the Copernican revolution . 1Torld into a West ern pattern i s con.fined to tho economi o and por­

lrnps the poli ti cal plo.no .

The contributions or the Syri ao civil­

izntion to Western ideation, i...he edifice of Chines e phi los ophy, the

;:rofu..11di ty of Sume ri c as tronomy a.11 testii'y to lovela of' acln eve!!ient

\"Jhl ch rnal�e the attributi on of ul timacy to any one civil i zation oeaningla:rn .

�J�beo t...'1.nre fore - di a agraos �1 th tho pe ri odi zation of hi s tory into

ruici ent 11 medieval ancl moderno fJ1

Civil iza.tiono · do not reveal s tages of

uninterrupted pro�ress but a common offort. tho succes s of which

cm be judged only by the attairuuent of a new level of lnt esration.

All civilizati ons a.re cons equentl7 phi los ophi cally comtemporary.

Co�pa:rod to the lii'e of the earth, the difference in agE'I betir,een ci v... ilh�utions be comes nogligible , tho youth of the spociea 1n t eI'Iil of its o,m time-a c al6 appl'!rent •

....�----------------

2

1, Toynb00 op. ci t . Vol . I . p. 160 0 See obvious relinnc e on K@t and oven rcore pronouhoedly on Spengl er. 2, Toynbee op. ci t . Vol . I . p ,. 17 (For Toynbee • a as aumpttona h1s to the aco a pan of the earth.

- 148'fue unc er tain ty e.b o u t the outc ome of the ev oluti onary

pro c e s s preven ts an evalua t i on of the in trins i c meri t of c iv il1 'Ihis i s c omp ounded by the 1n3 ignirico.nce of a ny iza tion s . achievement c ompared t o the c ommon goal .

Tcynb ee utilizes

the ana logy of a one-way s tre a t t o i llu.s tra te the phil o s ophical

e,p ival.enc e of c!v lll�a Li ons .

The dir e c ti on o:f the e tr o o t

f::ir c i::: s dynronic ac t iv i ty and preven t s revers ins or evon s topp ing tho v ehic le .

Never thale a s none of tho twen ty- one c ivilizn t i ons

,Ihich have en ter ed the thor ough-rare has suoc eeded in pa a s ing

Four teen have r ev Grs ed in v i o la t i on 3 of the rale and s ev e n ru-�ib i t va.r i oua s tages of br eakdown .

o:it by th e further exi t.

The fur the s t p o in ts of p ene tra ti ::m lie a o c l o s e t �ge th er tha t

an evaluat i on e i ther ab s o lutely ., or in terms of dis tan c e from the exi t , b e c omes a. phi l o s ophi c a l 1mpoa s ibili ty .

C iv illz a t i ons thus repr e s e n t in telli gible f i elds o�

s bdy and g eni of a s p e c i e s 1n an evol�ti ona.ry proce2 s .

'!he ir

rela ti on in time c on s ti tute s an nap e c t of' the deepening o�· reli3i ous idea t i on .,

of a uniform advanc e .

b u t does n o t resul t in suoces ai ve s tages.

'lhey are philos ophicall7 eqaivalen t ,

func ti onally contemporary and a llow a c omp aris o n f or the de ter­ or the lawa governing hi s t or ical procee �es .

If th e � ivilizati ons repres en t geni of a new spe c i e s , l . 'lhis a ta temen t f'rom Toynb ee op . c 1 t . Vol . I . p . 175 i s in f la t c on tra.di c ti on wi th the . whola tendency o:f V o l . V 0.nd Vol . V I . See concluo i on for d l e c ua s i on . 'l'h is a a :'! U.'lles tha t Toynb eEI i a aware of the goal and p r o s en ta an o ther incons is t ency in an empirical a cheme . -:.··Jynb ee op . c i t . Vol . I . p . 17 6 s e e a l n o pos t r or di scus s i on of th i s inc ons i a �ency . S e r, p os t .

I

-149�ha t acc oun ts for the ir geno s i a ?

Toynb ee endeavors to loca te

a pr inciple which di s tingui she s primi tive s oc i e ti'e s and c ivil­

iza ti ons in order to f' ind a c lue f or the solution of th i s prob ­ lem .

He r e j ec t s the v i e w tha t the p os s e s s l o� o f 1n.s t i tu t:J. on s ,

or the nr tl cula tlon of the divi s i on of' lab our , can s e rve as a cri t eri on .

Tne s e occur ln very elab orate form in a l l typ e s of

�i s torl cal exi s t ence .

Toynb e e finds tho dis tingui shing f e a ture

in mimes la , a gen eri c f e a ture of so cial 11.fe , de.fined a::i vi the

acquisi ti on through

imi ta ti on of a o ctal a s s e ts which the ac�

quisi tor s have not or i gina ted .for thems elves �nd which they

might never hav e c ome t o p o s s e s s i f they had not enc oun tered

and imi ta ted o ther p e ople in who s e p o s s e s s i on the se as s e ts v;ere 1 Mime s i s is a s o c ial dr ill , l tn dir e c t i on towards to b e f ound . " the p �a t charac teris tic of pr irtl tlve s o c i e t i e s , i t s u ti liza tion for new crea tiv i ty the mark of c ivilizati ons .

'fu.is rai s e s the que s ti on whe t.�er the dl�f er enc e b e tween

civ.t 11za tions and prim! t lve s o c i e t i es ls p erl:l.anent" and funda•·. . raen tal. Toynb ee • a me taphys ical as sump tion of · cyc lical progress , . de tel'Jnine� the reply .. S in c e all exis tence e.xhlb l ts not only a process of growth but t e s tif i e s t o a mode of evoluti onary sur-

vival , civilizati ons � an repr e s en t merely the mos t r e cen t s tage of hi s tor ical development.

'lhe tra.naforma tion of Sub ...?Jan in to

Ilan , which mus t of necesa1 ty hav e oc curred in a s ocial environ­ ment, ! a pos tula ted by Toynbee ·aa having b een a c c ompli shed

l. ·J'oynb e e , op . c l t . Vol . I . p . l�l . ?. , ',;11ich i n thi s vi ew b e come s nllllos t 1ndls t1ngul shab le from b i o logical proce s s e s .

-15 0�,der the a egi s of pr lmi t iv e s oc1e t 1 e5 .

Thie tes tifies to

a level of dynamic c r e a tivene s s .for surpa s sing any achievemen t of the mor e re cen t sp e c ie s of ci v l l i za t l ons .. The pres e n t s ta ti c c ondi t i on of pr imi t iv e s oc i e t i e s 1s de c ep tive .

of integration.

U,.r: la s t s :o;rnb e e

It does not ex..�ibi t uninsp ired torp or but Mankind 1 a task l s likened by

to the climb ing of a moun ta.in of' vas t extend , surrounded

by ledges .

'Ihe exer tion r e quire d f or c l imbing i t s s te ep s idee

issues for th in n f ever ish ac tivi ty tha t some time s produce a sufficient t.'or rea ching the nex t l edge , out more of ten

s trength

reaul ta in a loss of' the grip and a dr op to the dea th on a lower

level .

'.Ihe l i�l ta t l ons of the hume.n v i s i o n conf ine i t

scanning only one

to

perpendicular and one hori z o n ta l :::1urfac e .

'ihe exhau.a t e d f i gur e a on th e le.igc ::ire ther ':lf'ore f1• e que ntly mi s taken f or paralyti c s and the

of ac thi ty .

climbers S. l:l the apprehens i on

But r ef le e ti on wi ll reveal tha t the .f igur e s on

the ledge c ould hav e a t tai necl l t only by prodigi ous effor ts and that many ledge a b o low mus t b e a trewn wi th the corp s es of f'a11u:res of n pr evious dynamiom .. '!he differ ence b e tween

primitive a oci e t i o a and civiliza•

la n� i ther f'undrunen tal nor perma � en t then , but the a�c 1 t1me and p lace o f obs erva t i on .

Th e pre s en t a te tic

of primi t iv e s oc i e t ies merely calls to Jus t aa the

l, ?.,

mind pa3 t mo ti on t

ac t ivi ty of elviliz.a ti ons will o eaae when Man baa

Toynb ee op . c i t . V o l . I . p .. 192 .

Not e c orresp ondence of this pi c tur e wl th Dan te • s M t . Purga­ tory .

bee n turne d int o Superman .

Toynbe e ' s bi ologi cal cpprouch overrides any mere poa tu­

lnti ')n of purpo s ivene s s .

Hi s t ory i a nn tSvoluti onary proce s s

.; : 0 .,'ccine by al t e rnn t e s t o.:3o s of in6 0 ra t:ton arid d5.fferenti o.t i on ..

11:0 gene s i s of civ1 11: zations tes tl fl es to a mutati on f'rom the

s tutt u condi ti on to cre ative ef.fort ,,

'l1hi s holds true oven in

cil.:J OS of np:;_J arenta t l on-nnd-affiliat i on .,

\':i th r e s pe c t to the

i ntur.:.m l prolGturi at , tho doml rnmt minorities are s t atic by

dcfini tion .

Th e s 0ce s s i on o f' the int ernal prole tari at rovaals

tho dyniar;1i c re act i on whi ch changes the t orpor into ac tivi ty and

tile integrati on into new d1fi.'e rent1 at1 on .

The bi rths o f oi vil­

�zatl onn form part i cular b e at s of a gone rel rhythm.i. c pulse of 2 the Unlvera a. '11:.i a explains the nature; of tho e;ena a 1 e of c i vi ll z&.•

tions but not their part! culnr oppe o.runc e o.t a dofinl to time .

;,11ut ure the fe.ctors that 11ft the s e ontiti e ::i out of the s tream of h·cmwnl ty 'l

What accountn f'or the lone interval of Y1n before

tl:0 climb up tha pr oci l)O cornmence 3 ? �io;-rn .

True to hi s e:a::piri cal

Toynbee oxemine s all pas s ible caus e s before drawing CJnclu­

Ro finds the negative .factor whi ch re tards activi ty in

the vis inert ta 9 the tmrn.:rda stab 11 1 ty •

11

cake of cus tom " , the inhe rent tend.encey

.... .. __ ---- - ----- -

1, Toynb e e op. ci t . Vol ,. I . Po 194 Toynbea op ,. cit ., Vol ., I . p . 20!1- . Note the simil arity of thi s o onoo pt w1 th Spengle r o.nd 1 ta 1noons 1 s t &n cy w1 th the or,;,ho.a i a on pure vol1 ti on.

-152DJ.s s e rves a::i the f o i l .for the crea tiv e a. c t , the c ond i t i on ', o be ov erc ome b efor e d!.i'feren t i a.'ti on can s e t i n . Two ob v i ous al t ernn t1v e s present therns elvea ae t'h s p os ­ i tive fac t or s .

'Ihe muta t i on can b e p o n tula ted a s the c ons equence

of :'l one s pe c i a l qual i ty of the hune.n bein gs who have succeeded the trans i t i o n .

'Ihe cha nge ma y , o n the o ther hand ,

be a L trib u tcd t o a s p e c ia l iy fevornb le c ons t e l lati on of' cmviranr:r nn tal c ond1 ti one .

Nei ther hyp o the s i s i s tenab l e a c c or d -

bg to To ynb ee .

ls a c ons truc t i on or human pr e j u.d i c e 1 ano ther fac e t

Rac e

of the e g o- c en tr ic delusi on 1 for wh i ch n c s ci en t ifi c c r i teria. can be found .

I t s g eneral a c c ep tan c o 1n the w�a t I d e r1 v e s fr om

;.be Pro t e s ta n t c on c ep t of p r e - des tina t ion which c on s i d e r s ma ter­ ial suc c e s .:1 an .J.nd i c a t i on of divine sane t i on and a3 c r ib e s an defi c i enc y to a l l disbeliev er s .

It 1 � r e in.for c e d

b y the racial the o r i e s develop od :f:r om de Gob inea.u , \7h o s e p r imary con.c orn had n o t b ee n the valida t i on of natural phenomena b u t poli t i ce.l p o lemic .

A ga i n s t the s e l f-ev idenc e

or the .firs t a s ­

sa:rption, can b e s e t the fac t that raoe f ee li ng r epr e s en ts a :a e l a t iv e ly r ec tan t Wes t ern phenomena .

In the medi eva l p eri od

tJ.e potential e quali ty o.f all humani ty c on s ti tu ted a c ornera t one of p op ular b elie_f .

More over• , n o c onnec ti on can b e e s tab ­

lis hed b e tween the p i gme n ta t i on o.f the ekin a nd the crea t ive ten dency tha t i ss ue s in to the Yan g s tate .

t 2.

1'o y·nb e e op . n i t . V o l . I . p . 208 . Toynb ee Vol . I . p . 227 .

An e�np irical survey

-155incli. c o. t e s that all rac eis exc ept the Negro rac e have at one

tl :,o cl' anothe!' produc e d o. ci vi li za.ti on., The a imi le of ths 1 howevor, tlrnt thi s defi ciency , s prove pe i c prc the on '3 cli;'t:]01

nnd not b e inherent but may re s ul t from the COI:l}Jarati ve Youth of L!rn .spo ci 0 B a

The Envi ronmental theory fares no b e t t er.

Its only

c-:i'·,cJ.usi ve pr·o of, ac cordi ng to Toynb o e , would involve Wl ex­

rni n2.ti on of' all condi ti onB that are claimed to be conduci vo

to tho gene s i s of civilati ons und o. dete rralnati on of whe ther

they rrere s o operntl v o whe rever they occurred .

Such

rui

empi-

r: cal s urv ey wi ll r eveal o. wi d e vari e ty i n the 6e ·o 6 raph1 ce.l or climnctl c c ondi ti ons that attended t he g enesi s o.f civi l il!:a­ tions .,

Though the Et3yptian and Sumer i o civi li zati ons d eve loped

in e rl ver bo.a in, no t overy r•. v e r of' s inrl. l ar extend - such as tLe Colorado ri v e r- has prvduced a civ ili zati on .

Again though

i:he Euras i an end Arab i an at eppea ho.ire produced nomudi sm, the

h!erJ can _prairi e and tha Argentine pa;npas have not s erved as an o·ostrrcle to tha bi rth ot civ111za t1 onn .

If both the race and �nvl r on.�ental theori es are di s­

cre aJ. ted what do 0s acco·� t 1'or the e;enes i a of ci v111 .z;a.­

'11 oynb00 findl:l the s oluti on in a combi nati on ot the t�o

..... ___ ____ ---- --.,,,.

--

?or a di s cu s s i on of eLlpi rical proof by s imi le see Conclus i ons . Toync �a op. ci t � Vol . I . p . 253 . For a di s cus s i on of th� · conc lusivene s s of auch a pro o f · e e e Conclus i ons . Tha t the se envir onments ml v:t yet p�oduc e c1vi l1 za�i ona is indi cated b:r Toynb e e ' a aa :r n rti on t:rnt. the Minoan Islo.nd-E.mpi ro was not !'Q peuted in Indonesi a. . fl 9 oent hi a t ory mo.y have dcm,ons tra.�ed tho we al-mo s s of thi s argumen t .

-154 fc.c tor s �

Ra c e � whi le n o t 1 ts el.f the c a us e J r epr es en ts the

rm.nlf e s ta ti on

or an l.rm;1anenc e tha t the phi los ophers call Elan

rHal e nd the mys t i c !l God .

l

'Ibe Envir onmen t , a gain c on s ti tu t e s

ar. omnipr e s e n t obs ta c l e thwar ting t i s f' or c e and , cha :J.lenging h

i t to ba t tle .

;

'Ih e intera c ti on b e tw e en Race and Env ironmen t >

Gorl o n d th e Dev i l e xhib l ts the p l o t of' the B o ok of Job

7

of

,\)u 'c:, e 1 s I' 9.U s t, of life and oi' hi s tory . 'Jhe genesis of c iv i li z a t i o n s l s n o t due t o one ra c t or, but to n cveral .

I t r e sul t s not f'rom an en t i ty bu t a r ela ti on .

:ha interac ti on tha t caus e s the Yin s ta te to chang e t o Ynng i s 2 the theme of much of' the pr ofound e s t myth ology . An encoun ter be �,;re en s up erhuman en ti t l e s c ons t i tu t e s the p l o t of' tha th e olor;ics l v er s i ons ao well a s the sc lcn t1f1c a s sump t i on s .

The

enc oun tor b e twe en Yahwe and the devil 1:; the s tory of Gene s is , re:;r na tad Y.i th the s sm e inhoren t meaning i n the New Te s tamen t as, the pa ttern of Redemp t i on .

'.Urn ca ta s trophic impac t o:f a tars in

s;m c e s erv ea a.a the ma trix on whi ch phy s ical s c ienc e c on s true ta i ts image of the origin of the Unive ru o .

BGth ac.c olmts agr e e

i n c onc.eiving the encount er as a r a r e nnd uni que even t wi th o on­ of unimaginab l e p or ten t . 'lhe plo t b egins w1 ei a p erf e c t s ta t e

or

Yin .

The

perfec t

J:'oynb e e , op . c i t . Vol . I . p . 270. For the validi ty of c onclus ions £rom m7 th ology s ee C onclu­ s i ons . No t e the r e li ance of th i s argument on Spengle r ' s me taphysi• cal pon tula t� . Toynb e o op . c i t . Vol . L p . 274 . The opera ti on of cha l len g e-nnd-r e ep on s e 1 s d e s cribed a. t such lrr;is:"� th b e caus e i t i s oen trnl to Toynb ee ' s argmnent and wi ll be u ti lized to illus tra t e 11mi ta ti ona o f' his m3 thod - S ee pos t c onclus ions �

-155 -

]{n:J1'1 le dge of Faus t ., :h e p erfe c t goodn e s s o f .ro·b i the p e rfe c t

1,m o cen ce of· Adam and Ev e c an change in to Ya.nG only thr ough the

in �e rv e n ti on of &."1 ex t err.al a g e nt .

I t i s the ta sk of thi s f a c ­

tor t o s upp ly t..1-i e i nn er cr ea tiv e f' ar c e '111 th thn t s timulus r.w s t

Ul�e t o e v oke t;:ie m o s t p o t ently crea tiv e r es::i on s e .

This es-

scn � fa lly expr e s s es t.11 e func ti on of the cllraa c t i c f a c tor in 2 ccr t3.ln va1' i at1 ons of th e env l r omnent the ory . In :.zy th o lo e;y t.lJ. e intru s i on o.f th e Dev i l i n t o G od ' s

real� supp l ies the ir.ipetus for the tran si ti on to the Yan g s ta t e . 'I'h e Lord and S a tan make a ,r,a ger wh ich i s then t c s te d on a hum.o.n

n.;en t . FaUB t , Job , A cla � , r P. ;>r e s en ts tho s e c lv l liz a t i on s o n the

ledt:;e who have j us t a t taine d t.11 e ir f ee t und c ommen c ed tb e c llmb

·.rl. t:'.1 a full aT.ar ene s s o f th e dangers of an a s c end tha t b r o ok s

no s tO?P iJ'l[; and i n wh ich d e a 11.1 r e p r e s en ts the only a l terna t i v o ':o the achievemen t of the nex t l eve l .

How e v er , my th olog:y and

theology make the a. ttaill?':len t of the l edge in ev l ts.b 1e , the w�.n­

ninc; of the bo t by the d ev i l out of the que s ti on .

Does thi s mean thn t G od h a s chea ted the d evil and b e t

,1ithout r i skin g anything?

'!hat would nega te the e s s en c e or the

enc ounter and G ould n o t therefor e pr oduc e 1 t s vas t c o ns equen c eB .

To:rnbce ·

replies tha t tho Devil ' s i n t erv enti on s uf'f1 c e s to

di � turb the e qui librium but can n o t ach ieve n new lev el of in­ te:':}'a tion . l. 2 ..

God who has b een yearning f ar a n opp or tuni cy for

croa tion b u t c ould find none in tho per f e e tl on of Ria

TaJ!1pee op . c i t . Vol . I . p . 278 . Tb.i s c on tra.d ie t s p r evi ous app r oa ch to tha t the ory . C on cl us i ons .

S ee pos t

LI .

- 15 6 -

I

rev i ous eff o r t , i s n 0'1'7 enab l e d to r es tore the equilfbr :tum on

a new and hi r e r p lan e .

i

na :r tici p a. te .

In th i s a. c t o f c r e a i:i on , no d emon can

On the mundane p l an e , the hur11an p r o ta g oni s t con s -":;i tu t o s

1 th� th ea ter f or thi s ac t ivt ty a n d hi s o r d eal ac c omp l i 3h c s i t-

i

1·

s e lf in thre e a tage s .

'Ihe fir s t s ta g e find s symb o l i c ex p re s s -

,j i o:i in th e a s s aul t of th e t emp t er a.nd chan r; e s th e s ta t e o f Yin to Yanr, , fr om harmon y t o di s c ord , fr om r e s t to mo ti on .

'!'Ti th

awarene s s of' th e f a tednoss of e_ c our s e fr crn whi ch th e r e l s n o re turn , b egins the s e c ond s ta ge ,

i

�-

j•

the c r i s i s .

The :rn.omen tnry re­

b elli on a t f indin& one s e lf b u t a to o l in Gud 1 s hands la tran s ­ cend ed b y the p e a c e o f r e c onc i l ia ti on .

This enab les mar. to

echi •� • v i c t or y throu�h d. efoa t , p e a o e through s utrering.

l.!an

resi r:na hims e lf' in to God ' s han d s a n d thus rev er a ea th e rhythm

, a f\a n - from mo ti on towar d s r es t , f'r om s t orm to cn ln , fro::.i. Yan g , b a c�_ , t0 Yin . God s tands rev e a l ed n o t a s a har d tn skma s ter , nor

j � ,

the caU£1 e of .s uf f erin g , b ut as the a l l� em'b ra c ing Lov e "\'.nich made

the new l evel of in te gra t i on p os s i b l e . Toynb ee ' s p oa :l tive f&c tor

l

then , th a t exp la : t n s the gene-

, 2 l s of c i v i ll z e ti ona and th e emergi ng a lf' ferentia t i on i is the � Life p r e s ent s a a eries of' i rela ti on o f Che.llen ge -and-Re3 p cns e . l pr ob lems , each a ohal le nge to und eir g o an ordeal .

lfo cnlcula-

l 1 t on , h owever pruden t of quan t i ta tive p hen omena can e erv e for

r:j l11e predio ti on

, r• ,

of hi s t or i o a l even ts

.

�ynq ee op . ci t . V o l . I . p . 28 4 , Toynb ee op . c i t . V o l . I . p , 2 98 .

For n ob od y can know

the

11 un1rnowr. God" ,

1

nc tual ly oc curs .

- 157the rea.c ti on of' t,.'1. e p ro tago11 1 s t whon the ordeal

De sp i te this analys i s of th e imp ona erab i li ty of tho res­

pons e , Toynb e e engag e s in an exten aiv e nna.Iys l a of the his tor­ ically affec tive s timuli to de termine t..'1. e range of p os sib l e

res;J onses .

A n exam1 na t i on or the genesis of clvi l1 za ti ons lends

to the " law11 tha t the ir b i r th results not fr ora unusual ly easy,

but from difficult env ir oru:ten m .fr e qu en t ly in r e sp ons e to change s in clirna te { f . e . the G en es i s of the Egyp t i an of Sumer i c c iv i l­

iza ti on) .

'!hough , a t firs t blll3 h , the re la ted c iv i li :z. a tl om1

do not seem t o con s t i tu t e a reac t i on to an envir onman t , closer

rofle c ti on indica tas tha t the ir r e sp ona e i s not to the physical

but to the blI!llan environmen t .

'Ihe i n tern£ll prole ta.r i s. t 1 s wi ll

to s ec ede tea ti fies to the d mn.inan t minori ty 1 a wi ll to repre s s , j:ie final breaking away t o the in tolerab i li ty of the challenge .

Mor eover the ge ographical loc a t i on of the affi lia ted oiv ili.za­

ti on WJ ually pr e s en ts a grea. ter s timu.lua tha n the phys i c al locus

of t."1. e par en t civi liza. t! ons .

B o th the physi cal and hum.an en­

v iron:nen t , then , oan pr ov ide the cba llen ee tha t a t tends the gene­ sis of civilizations ..

'Ille in t en s i ty ef the r e s p on s e r epre s en ts a func t i on or

severity of the s timulus .

ti ona . l, "•

Ea se is ir.J.mi cal t o c iviliza-

'lhe s timulua of ho.rd c ount ries led to th e supe:rior i ty

Toynb e e op . cl t . Vol . I. p . 3 02 . Ill us tra ted b y o xamples f'rom the Oclys n e y , C�pun , R oma n Cam­ pa gna . Por liml ta tl onl:l of this me th od ology 1:1 e e pos t " C on­ cl u.r3 lons . 11

I I I donbnrg over the Rhine lo..l'ld, cf "tho Ye l low riv er b asin I,rc.n ai -,ri ave:' tllut oi' the Ynnc;tse end tho triwnph of Hew En.;;l and ovor

:,

�� ;- tn l"ival s in the c o l or.l zatio.. 1 of N o rth Ameri ca.

Dyno.ni c act i vi ty te s t i �'i c s to tho dil"ecti on o f r:iime s l s

1 1 c-,;�r�1G the l.'utm:•e e.c11.i eved by bre aking o f the n cake of cus t om" .

1

'f :or t,hi n reas on new u;round provi de s a s tirrulus by the re .naval of tha we1 c,.11 t of t radi ti on.

The s timulus of' bl ows and pre s sure s ac c ounts i'or tho

:>B juvcmuti on of r;1any poli ticul enti tie a , for the viri li ty

border provinces ..

or

Fro.ne e underwent a re c;ono rati on through the

;nli to.ry ca.tas t rophy of 1871 , o.s dtd Prus s i a. und er tho impac t of ,Tona ond Aus terli t z .

Tho dominant poai ti on enj oyed b y bo rder

�r::ivincea Vii thin tho ci v1 l i z at1ons re sul ta .from the tempe ring

they und crc;o 1n the cons tant cho.l l engo as guardi ans o:f the

r:ie.···she:3 -

Tho h1 s tory of the gro11th phas e oi' the Holy Romm

I�pire axbi b i tb a continuoua shl ft 0f the c enter of Gravi ty to�2.rds the border rB51 ons , i ts decline u rev e rs al of' that ten1 dency. lf oithar the Ottoman nor tha Aue tri an Em.pi. re a urvi ved

the ra la.xati on of tho i r mutual pres sure in the contes t for the Bo.lkons.

'Ihus Toynbee di s ti ngui sh.a s res pona o3 du.a to the s timulus

o::' hard countri es , to the st imulus of new .i;round• ond the s tir.rulus of blows o.nd proa ::mro s .

If an increas e i n the s everi ty

"··-------_q-----

or tho a timulua yi elds

l . To�'11b o e 0 1;> . ci t . Vol . IL P • 1 6 6 . For a cli :r nua s i on o t Toynbo e • s data ci o 0 po s t Conclusions .

-159::. corr e s pondi ni:;ly tm cce s s ful r o s pons e , c an thi s pr oc e s s ba con• tinne d i ndefini t el y ?

Toynbee deni e s thi s and po s tulo.tea an

optj rnu:n cha l lenge def'ined. as the Golden Mean, of au.ff'i cient

. �,,tens :i.ty t o eli c i t tho :i:.aximuro po t ent i al of ere a t i vi ty , though l ; no t so oppres s ive as to be s M. fl1ng . The "Law of Compona ntion 11 e1.r,1•0 s s es hi e :me chani cnl formulati on of thi s princ ipl e ..

It

s tates that an exc e s s ivo che.l l engo b y e i ther tho ph73 1 c a.J. o r the h:.nan onviro:nnent mus t be oornpensat e d by e....-1 allevi ati on of' t he :11to:rnate f ac t or ..

Such was the cao e of Swi t z erland and Hol land•

both of whi ch mas t ered a pro:ti..i bl ti ve phy s ic al e nvi ro:runent in ez­ chan0e for the le s s eni ng or the hu..-nnn pre s sure a . T'.10 concept o f tho Gola.en Mean rai o o a f'oI'llli dab l e probl ems in t1e tho dol o e;y ,.

For hotr i s a challense prov e d e.xc e s a 1ve ?

The

uns ucce s 5 ful rea pcna e to a parti cul ar chall eng e may meraly indi cate a lack or inner reactive abi lity. l'!IJproachea .

Toynb e e offora two

An exces s i ve chsllenga can be prov e d by a. rela t i on

i n thre o tor.t::l!! , o f whi ch, 1 n c or.ip arabla c ondi ti ons , th e Gol den :'.ea..ri of c.1 eve ri t y produoe.il the o ptimum res pons e .

3

Top-1bee • s s econd

;roof e.x.amlnea ti:+e abortive c1v1lizati ono �hi ch col laps ed soon upon attaining bi rth u...,de r the formi dab l eness of their Thus the Far ITeat e rn Civili zati on of the Celtic

For a dis cus s ion o.f tho e s o en t ! a.l moo.ninglea sno e s of' thi s adaptation of an Aris toteli an conce pt s e a pos t Conclu s i ons . Toynbo3 o p . c i t . Vol . II . p. 2 74. ToJ111b e e op� ci t o Vol . I. P • 290 . For i l l u�trati ona s e e P• 291-322 � '.C'h.i a arc;l.ll!ient of co\U' s e ., cloo e not really re solve the cr1.GJ.nul di ler.mm , 1:1 fnca al l terms mutua lly define ea.ch other ,.

-160rringe exp e rienced a bri e!' b 1o om micll far o. time 1ndica tet'l a ty1e of' Chris tianity might b e ae t .from I on ia ins tead Irish mis a i onar!es ranged f'ar ov er the C ontinent and

of Rome .

Ereginn repr e s en t ed me re1� one e xrunp le of brillian t learnl ng .

Ye t the dua.� ch allenge of fered by the super­

ior dis cip1ine Cl.t' the R oman Chur ch and th e impiac t of the S can­ dinavian Voe lk erwanderung wa s too a ever o . (A .D. 664 )

'lhe S yn o d o t' Whi tb7

ae ttled th.a i s su e and l e d t o the i s ole. tion of Ir eland

too res t of Ghr i a tiani ty.

'll:le invas ions b y the R�r� emen

hardly been overc ome whea Henry I I invaded the C e l t i o :t"r 1nge Papal sanc t i on .

These two suc o e s ai ve b lows pr e a en ted a

o'i' such aever i ty tha t an e.f'f'eotiv e re apo;1.s e pr oved and thua the Fa:• Wes tern C iviliza ti on , m o s e 1noep­ l a o p� omi s 1 ng , pr oved ab ortiv e .

'lhe c oncep t o f cha llenge-and -re sp ons e repre s en ts an ..f .. flrma tion of purpo B ivene es in hia t or;r .

I ts d1.e tingu1 sh1ng chnr­

s.c terii, tlc !s th e crea tive imponderable tba t prevents the p re­ di c ti on of the reac tion to the or dea l .

The level of inte gra tion

or Yin l a dis turb ed .and the d,namic ac tivi ty (Ynng) of mi.oh :ruf'fering reprea f.>n ta Ma.n ' s lo t , leads bs�k to the i nner recon­ c111o. ti on w1 th God and the

reoogni ti o n of His Love.

'lb.us Toynbee ' a me taplrys ical doc trine

an aumpti one 1'1nd expres sion

on tha genes 1 s of civilizati ons .

remain unr e s o lve d .

But the ini tial ·

'lhe empiri cal me thod in� oee a a

-161succ e s s pe. t t ern vhi ch n:.ake s the :r e cogn1 t l oo of Ood 1 s l ove de­

pen d en t on the new level of integrati on ach ie ved on the h 1gp.or ledge .

But n o civ i li ze. ti on has ye t m anaged this pr ec ipe and

t11e a s s er ti on o:f.' the p ur p os e of h is tory as sn inner reoonoi lis.­ ti on repres en ts a me taphysic3.l r s.s o lv e , r.i.ot a da ta of h i s tory .. 'lhe immarrnn ce in a ll ac t ivity of' the Elan Vital t.'!\8.kes cha.llenge­ r,nd-regp ons e , lrmumence .

11 t tle more than fue me chani mn of an ina,::ora'b le

More over , the i;,ragma tic appr oa ch re1'ul ts in an

analysis of respons e almos t exc lus ively in terms of challenge ,

which repre a en � e. t bes t a ref inement o f the e nv ir onment theory.

Er.Ipirlc ism noraiea .

ar.d noumenal e xperience c on tinue ns logical an t1-

'Ihua God ' s purpos e is d er iv ed syllog1s t 1cal ly from

a norma t ive pa t t ern b a s e d on Tcr�nb e e ' s c o ncep tion of a fair

wager . Taynb e e '

::1

dis tinc ti on b e tween d !a cre t e phases of Yin and

Yang l'ai a e s many problems .

If' 1 n teg:ra t 1on r epres en ts organ ic

being and Yang purp osive ortta ti on , mus t thoso t?lo s tagea operate aucce s s lvely?

L1.f'e never s eems t o e:xhibi t p erf e c t e ta tea or

either ab solu te Int egrati on or abs olu te diff eren tiation .

It

app ears l ike ly tha t the a ta t i o o ond1t1 on of primi tive s oc i e ties re aulta f'rom tho same e go-oon trio delus i on tba. t con a 1c�ssa,r:y - _stinrn.lm1 .

The

cle g enera H on of the c c•nquer or s is paralle led b y an increas e in s :a t"UI'e of the s edentary s e t tlers to whom the exi s ten c e of

foreign d omina tion . c ons ti tu tes a c orui ten t cha llenge .

'Th.e end

of Nomad emp ires is lik e the ir b e ginning , vi olen t , sudd en 1 to tal . S ome Nomad c onquerors s uch a s the O smanli s 1 suc c ee ded

tour de rorce of imp os ing a las ting emp1re on a s eden tary

�opula ti on . but only a t the pric e of arres ting their ovm civ il­ i zati on .

C a ta p ult ed out of the s t epp e into the Balkans by the

;m:)s su!'e of the Mongols , th e O smanlia 1 p o l l ticaJ. b e ginning was auspicioU3 ror they pr ov ided tha t universal sta te , �hlch tho

Ealkan off sho t of Or thodox Chri3 tiani ty r..e.d been uns.b l e to achic•re for i tself' .

'Iha dura. t i on of the O t t oman emp ir e was ,

however , the !'e aul t o-J: a aucce::, aful res pons e to the ex tre. ordinn ry challeng� c ons ti tuted by the human envir ornnen t .

'.lhe

Osmanlls r ememb ered tha t suc9ea sfu1 utiliza tion of anhml f l ocks

depended n o t only on the re la tl on of' th� shepherd to the hord

on the employr:ieP-t of animal auxi liaries , the dog , horse This les s on they app lied to their Balkan Empire .

of anir'i..a.ls they to ok advan tage of htnnan auxiliari�a , f'or cib ly from their Chr.i s t ian s-ut- j eots .

·:roynb e o op , c i t . Vo l . III . p . 27 .

'Ihe omp loymen t

I

I

I­ i

f

I

- 167-

of s l&ve s as s oldi ers and admini s tr a t ors , the Jan i s sar i e s in

the o t t oman cas e ., has b e en the tour de .f orce by v.'hi ch all sue-

cess fu.l Nomad Emp i r e s over seden tary p eople h.a ve ma i n tai ned the!:1s e lve s .

'Tu.is resp onse had t1�0 c ona e q:tenc es .

i3y exc lud ing

the O sl!lD.nlis f'rom any adminia trn tlve and p ol i ti cal r e s pons ib i l­

i ty the ir n or.al f'ib r o d e c;enera ted , in the ab s en c e of any eff e c ­ t:ve s t imulus .

'Ihe .Jan i ss ar i e s c o uld main tain the ir ef'.f i c i ency

only as long as the ir U'..mlb ers vrnre mna ll , in i tseli a tour de

fol'ce .

Ev en tually the loss of' p ub l i c spi.ri t by t..li.e rulins

Os:.:Janli s led to a dilution of the Jani s s ar i e s and the arr e s ted civiliz a ti on rep re s en ted by the O t toman Er:rp lre exp t:r ea. a s the " s io1;: ma.n of Europ e " in 19 18 .

'To.us the hi s t ory- of Nomad Emp ires illus tra tes the manner

in ·which c iv ili zati ons b e c ome e.rr e s t e d ., through t.11. a exc e s s ive

c;J.Sll enge of' e i ther the phys ical env ironmen t , s uch as tho s teppe ,

or �he human envir onmen t exemp l if'i ed by the impac t of' seden tary 1 popula ti ans •

Tuo c orollary c ondi tions chara c ter i z e arr e s ted c iv i li za­

�i ons , cas te and s p ecial i za tion .

Survival in a s evere envlron­

!'lent ia pur chase d only a t the pri c e of' tha t p ::r of'icien cy in one axce llenc e whi ch a t lflea crea tivi t;y 1n all c., ther fi e lds .

1he

t.lrn to anhlalism whi ch c ons t i tu t e s an o ther face t of the

ar­

Cent &ur. , the man gr own to th e hors e , r epre a on t s the ou ts ider ' a view of the Nomad raJ,der . res ted c ivi liza ti o:. . l,

I t c on tains the aynib olism of' _tho re­

'fue1r r e ac t ive ab ili ty ha s b e come

F'or o ther il lus tre U ons s e e '1'oynb ae op . c i t . Vol . I I I 22-79 .

p.

-168 concen tra t e d o n one cha llenge , which i a indeed ma s tered , bu t whi ch firs t reduce a a."'ld then preven ts the p roper respons e to the inevi tabla new chal lenge s inhe ren t i n ex1 a tenc e .

U t op i a s ,

by def i ni t i on a t t emp ts t o p e g s oc i e t i e s a t a cer tain level , exhib i t mo s t cl early th i s tendency t owarda cas t e and s p e c iali za­ ti on .

'Jhe a rr e s t ed civi l iz a t i ons thus disprove b o th the uni ­

formi ty of the c ivih.1 a t i ons 1 d ev8lopmen t a.s wel l & 9 the n e c e a­ ai ty for c ons tan t gro'Wth.

If growth is not the n e c e s s ary concomi tan t of a o1vil­ � a t i on 1 a exis tenc e b ut depe nde on a balanc ed r e s p onse to a serie s v!' challengi:, s wha t la i ts na tu:r e 'l ans wer o n mytho lo gy .

Toynb e e ago.in bas e s

A e s chylus ' Prome theus Bou.� d , c on tains

symboli c ropr e a en to. ti on of the c ond i t i ons a t tending growth. Raving a t tai ned dominanc e over Olympus , Zeus la chiefly c on c erned rl t.½. maintai ning his mas t ery .

Any change c an mer e ly de trac t

from the eb eolutene e s of hi s p ower . hia emimmoe unaided .

Ye t Z eus did no t a ohiavo

Hi a Tl tanio al ly Prome theu.s , the appre­

hension or crea tivi ty , the emb odiment of the Elan V i tal , works cons tan t ly f or progre s s agains t arre s t , repre s en ts thought againa t for c e .

Na amount of physical c ompula i on can avail to

wre3 t Prome theus • s e cra t .from h im and i n the end there i s rec on­ cllia tion .

Z eus aaml ta the creativ i ty as e. c ondi tion for hl 21 1 O'lrn sUl:"'viva.J. . He had n o t b e en wha t he s eeme d . 1

.. ,

'l'oyn'b ee op . c i t . V ol . I I I p . 117 . S eo a di a cua a i on cf thi s me thod of' utili z i ng my thology s e e hia tor:f oe.l proof H e e poa t C o nc lusi ons .

Toynb e e a � e s in Aes chylus • tri l ogy n pc e ti c chroni c l e ,f iiol l !3rri c hi s to ry ..

Jua t as Z e u s o.vo:lded the fnte or the

Hre ii ted cl vili �ati orn:1 by b e i ng gs.lv anl zed i nto a c t i vity :,"J. , ?ro:no theu.s s o Helln.s ' 3 .:c c: e s s ful . �:3 :1_:;e,

5rowth

t e e tif!ed to a seriail of'

r e s pons e s to rocurront challenges .

Tha f :'!. r s t cllo.l-

of'ferod by the barbari an hl r;hlond e rs avoked the res pons e

�r mus t o ry ov er �he bri gsnds �

Thi s vi c tory decided that He l l e.a

s:1ould b e a wo:-J.d o f c i t i e s nn d ae;ri culture , no t of vi llages pns ture l e.nds .

The lirr� t o1" maximum dens i ty of populati on

Juppo rt nble by agri culture prov e d to be inelas ti c , howo v o r .

The

�alt!msi ou problem s e rved ini ti e.l ly o.s n stimulus f'or ove rs o all o;:punsi on.

But the impact of He lleni c imperi ali om evoke d the

rGuction of gre ater uni ty anang the Medi t o rranean people s 9.lld �et nn effe ct1 vo lirni t to Gre ek coloni :i::atl on .

Thi s chnll ene;e of overpopulati on was finally s olved 1

oy Athena , whi ch be came tho "education of He llao n .

Under l t :s

�------------ - --1, It is doubtful whe ther Perl clos me ent ht s ref e rence to Athens as tho educati on of Ha ll as in on e c onomic s e ns e .

- 170guidance Greek expans i on was transformed to indir ec t me thods ,

with c ommerc e and pr oduc t i on the kay me thods of c ont1nuing sur­

Aes chylus ' trl ology a erves u s a tea timony to the inten­

viva l .

s i ty of the A thenia.n response .

Grow th - in Toynb ee ' s scheme - s tand� revealed as a pr o­

cess of succes sful re sp ons es to r ecurrent challenge � .

'Ihe op timum

is tha t milch provides a a timulus for a resp onse tha t

carriea tbe c iv ilize. ti on _ b eyond the p oint of exac t balance -

the condi t i on of the arrea ted c iv l l.i za. t i on - into a con tinuing

disequilibrium.

'.lhe s tep from gene ais , to growth exhib 1 ts a

repe ti tive , recurrent rhy thm 1n which equ1l ibr1uro c ons ti tutes

breakdowo . Growth represen ts one aspec t or the p�oceas of evolu­

tion, accompliahi�g i to elf through ever grea ter s el.f-ar tioula­ tion and progr es sive ma.J te17 ov er the environment .

Ye t what

crl teria ex.is t .for evaltlA ting the growth of a c ivillza tlonf

Does maa tery over the enviromnen t mean the external rela t1ons civili zati ons or ! ts inner s elt"-de t ermina tion?

Increased c o�trol over a ci vlllzat1 on• a human environ­

exproa a ed in terms of geographical expansion l s rejec ted aa a cri teri on of growth .

E:x:pan s i on seems to exert

effec t on the abili ty to respond crea tively .

'Ihe

of Chr1a t1an1 ty exi s t in the Catholicism or

>

tha C op tio church of Abys sinia , the Fundamen talism of

-17 1..; the Mi ss i s s ipp i b a s i n .

1

'lhe " law'' tha t geographical exp ans i on

s oc ial progres s fur ther exp-la.ins the philologi c al pben­ or:1enn that th e mos t

tte fur thes t

archa i c forms of the language usually o ccur a t

dis ta.nee .from their origin .

Wb.y should the era of

t.ri e p er i od

of decline?

Toynb e e argues

tha t the " s oc i a l radia-

tion tt obeys the same laws as ligh t-vm.ves .

During the p eriod

of growth a c i vi llza t1 on e m.1 ts i t s inf luence i n a ray of uni-

form c ons i s tency , wi th cul tura.l , p o ll tioa.l and e c onomic manif e s 5 'lhe p e r i od of decline w t1ona merging into a meaningful vbole . witnes s es a diffrac ti on of

the s e rays in t o the i r c omponent

par ts a llowing abs orp ti on or th e d e sirable emi s s i on .. the resis tanc e t o th e accep tance

S in o e

o f a n a lien cul tural pa ttern

is much grea. ter than the r e luc tan c e t o take over alien tech­

niques , the decaying civiliza tion ususlly succ eeds in making

i ts

1nfluenoa felt on th� e c onomi c , s ome time s on the p oli tical ,

rarely on the cul tura.l plan e . Increas ing

c ommand ove r the phys ical em."ironmen t oan

not serve as a t.,ri ter i on of growth :for Toynbe e alnoe i t r epr e s ­ ents mer ely another emanation o f the ego-o en trio

delusi on .

In

s tage of We s tern c ivilization, a c oncep ti on of hi s-

tor y as a uniform developmen t of increasing t echnical too p r ec i s e ly the p r e j udicel'.I of

mas tery

th e age to b e o'b j ec tivel:r

'!his ia , of course , in direc t c ontradic ti on t o the doc trine of the a timulun of new ground • . For the danger of arguing from phyeical phenomena see p os t

C onc lusi ons . Ti�1a leans ra ther heav i ly on Spangler .

- 172cons idered :.

Moreover , the divi s i on of h i s t ory i n to p er i ods

di s ting�i shed by technologic al lab els I such as !)r onz e a�e 1 Iron ac e , e tc . , has no s tanding in empiri c al da ta .

A t every s ta g e

the new te chni qHe can only have b 0 e n the proper ty o f the c. r e e. t ­ lve fe w , from whom 1 t wa � a c q_uir ed JJY. the r e s t of mank ind through mime s i s and by a v ery gradua l proce s s . probably nev er axi s ted a Pa looli thlc age .

'll1us there

Mor e ov er , no sup -

p or t can b e f ound i n his tory f or a n e c e s s ary connec ti on b e tween techni cal p r of i c i ency and a. c ivi liza ti on' s growth .

'fue tran s i ­

ti on fr::im the Pale oli thio t o thEJ Neall th1 c a g e rl tne s s ed an im­ pr oveme n t in te chni que occ ompani ed by a degeners. ti on of wi sdom, .3 idea tion and a tyle . 'Ihe interre gnum b e tween the co llaps e of the appare n tod and the app eara.n c o ot the af1'1 11a ted oivili za ti on a l s o exhib i ts a ;3.efi c i ency in inward a te. tire de�pi ta a superior techni que . Such wa s the c a s e or R oms .

1he impr ovemen t in agri cul tural

techniques made large - s c ale agrioul ture prof! tab le and r e aul ted in the introduc ti on or · p lan ta ti on- slavery in the Hellenic world . fue des truc ti on ot the tree p eam m try and the c onsequen tial rise of a paraai te prole taria t i n Roma s erved. al!I an 1ncubll3 whiqh in tin e a trangle.d the Ilellenio c iv iliza tion .

Finally the te chno­

logi0Rl improv eme n t in mil l tary weapor\s ia rela tive ly c ons tan t ,

l,

Th ough thi B ar gumen t 11ml t a infe:t•enoe .from l!Iliv ereal a s s en t , i t can h�rdly b e u t i l i z ed t o d i sprove the the a i e o f uniform

progre ss .

'ihis arguinon t , holds good only f or the ol"iginati on of the tec hni que and ::mys no thing ab out the c ondi t i on af ter 1 ta gene ral a c c ep tano e . ·roy nb ee op . cl t . Vol . I I I . P � 173 .

I

- 173-

I

i

i pr o c e edln6 in inv er s e r a t i o to the c ivillzu ti on• s gr o w th .

I

tJ !

Increa8ing c orlll11B.nd over the envir onrne n t do ea no t di s -

i clos e any cri terlon f or progre s s , b u t i t doe !'! r ev eal the c ondi-

j ti on precE;d ent to t e chn o l o gi cal advance .

I 1" tho l•w ol' progres s ive s imp lU i ca tl on ,

1

Toynb e e :finds this

which s ta tes tha t

'.!he op era t i on

i �owth a tt ends a c ontinual e c onomiz ing of �eana .

Ii of D

th l s law can b e ob s erv ed in the devel opmen t of s crip t which

proc eeds :from the pic t o r,rama of Chine se to the h i sr oglyphics or

I Egyp t ,

I

culmlna ting :1 n the A lpha.b e t .

In this Syr.!ac inven t i on ,

i the intr oduc tion of auxiliary word s has enab led We s tern lang-

'..LB.foes to s1ll'pB S 5 i n aimpllcl ty _ while e qualling 1n expre s s ive I � pawe:r , t."1. e Arab verb of many asp e c ts .

1

'Ihe progr s s � ive s implif i c a t i on of fa shi ons parallels

�e e c onomy of

i

I!

i

\1·

J

o:::ena .

hyp o the s i s for

the

·exp l.una tior.

of

na tural phen­

'!!'le C opern ian ays t era roplace e the P to lcmai l , a c c ounting

in fur simp ler terms for th e same range

ain has provided s. theory whic � � : i::,. avi ty , radia ti on and Magne t i sm .

or

phenomena .

ayn theaizea

the

Elna tein,

laws of

'Ih:ts simp l 1f'1 ca t i on doe s not , how-.ver , reveal a nega -- ·

i tlon or om1a s1on, but the llb era ti on of energy f"CJr higher tasks .

1_ I ts human

i 1

repr eaen ta ti ves are S ocra. te s who in a P l-a tonic dialogue

transfers hi s a. tten ti o�,ii 1':i: vui the phys ical to l,

:',_:! t

3

the p :!iychi c sphere

'l"oynbee , op . ci t . Vol . II I . p . 174 . Toynb e � , op . c i t . Vol . III . p . 18 1 . 'lhl n i s 6.nother i llus tra t ion of Toynb e-e • s norma tive pa t t ern .

-174by

mean s of an inner experi ence

and Ghandl wh ose

appeal f or t..b.e

re turn t o handiwork expres s e s the s ymb o li e.-.u of' a spiri tual plane . 1:1 1 ts d e ep e s t s en s e the proc e s s of e therea. liza tion exhib l ts

11 sliif t of this f'i eld or ac tivi ty 1'r om the ma croc osm t o the

microc osm .

Toynb ee ' s cri ter i on of gr o w th then applies to a.

progr e 3 s ive i n t erna l!za ti on of the f i e ld in which and-r esp ons e o c curs .

ch allenge-

'Ih e growing c iv i li z a ti on tends to b e c ome

i ts own env ir onmen t and the s ub s e quen t ord�tt.l tak e s p lac e wi th­ in i ts own b ody ..

'Ihus in Hellonic hi s t ory the earli e s t cha llenges wer e

r ffered b y an exte rnal envir orunen t ., the A cha emeniun s and the 2 'lhracian b arb arians . But wi th the dec i s ive def e a t or the las t

Syriac p owor , Car tha ge , and the s ub s equen t c onques t of the �rropean

barb arians , the external fac tor grew ev er leas i�p or­

ta.nt .

The conf lic t nhlf ted t o the internal f i e ld where t...�e

slave s

and th eir R O'..nan maa ters e qualled in intens i ty tha :;assiona

bi ttern e s s of the an tagoni sm b e twe en the Or i en tal plan ta tion engend ered by the Pun!o wars .

S imi larly in the Wes t the ex ternal challenge ot the

NorseCTen , prooeded the dome5 t ic problem of' the repla.cemen t or lli.e Feudal sys tem by an organizo. ti on of' S cwer e ign s ta te� .

The

t r e c en t s tage of We s t ern h i s tory exhib i t s in the phen oruena

of B olshevi sm the ult l:ma te · pr o of of' i t3 ab s orp t ive p ower .

Phaedo 9'6-7 . Toynb eo op . ci t . ·.r ol . I I I . p . 197 . '!his c on trnd i e t s the earlier as s er ti on tha t ov erp opula t i oh , an i nterna l fac tor 6 con s t1 tut6s earli e s t challenge .

- 1751 •,ra. r:i::i s n rlhi ch transfe:rred Hus s ia. s cap i tal !;o 1fos c ow as a. eyn­

boli c r epud i a t i on uf' th: \'!es t , hae b e en f or c ed by i ts er:i.phns i a o:: \; c chnique and e lec tr i f i c a t1 on into the pa t t ern of Wes t e rn civiliza ti ons

9

'lb.us the cha l l ene;o o.t' C or:unun i s m , a s a l s c, Gandh i ' a

who eveI' draws hi s insp1ra tion .f or economic .s elf - suffici ency fro:1 :;::ur op e , is an int ernal pr ob l oE1 of th e W e s torn ci v l l i z n 1 :io:1 . Gr owth , f' or Toynb e e , c ons ti tilt e s n p a t t ern of the pro­ cr es s ive e the r eall zati on oi' challenge-and-r e sp ons e .

'Ille ex ternal

fac tor c ons tan tly dimini she s i n lmp or tanc e , the ne c e o a i ty of self-ar tlcula ti on b e c omes m or o pronounced .

Gr owth is a p r oc e s s

:if increas ing the range of a eil-d e termlna ti on , o f u trans f er

of L�e field of ac tivi ty from the macr oc oam to the microc osm. 2 li1a tory repre s �n ts the chr onicle of tha t ef!'ort ..

If growth exhibi ts an in cr eas e or s elf -de t ermina ti on by

l'lha t mechanism doe s 1 t a c c ompli sh i t s e lf 'l

Toynb ee exam..1.nes , two

conm on arguments .11 the theory of the a tom.i s ti c independence 01' bdividua ls and the c oncep t i on of' s ocie ty as a biol ogical organ­ ism ,

Ile r e!'ute a the .former b y referr i ng to the Odys s ey ' s

d e 3 c r lp t i o n or the Cyclop s and th e p o s tu.la te tha t language and ,.,eref ore thought c an b e deve l op e d only in .o oc i e ty .

>\,

I ••

Toynb e e

Toynb ee op . o i t . Vo l . I I I . p . 216 . FOJ' the weakne s s o-r thi s a��.rm.en t see p ps t C onclus i ons . Toynb ee he re c onfus es an Rlien i nspira ti on wi th an area or a c tiv i ty . 2 · }Io t e the dependeno e of thi s c onc ep t on Hegel .

-176do:vm tically den i es S p eng le:r ' s c on c ep H on o.f Lrie C ul ture a s a s:.1iJe r-or gani sm ., wi th ou t adduc in g nny s up p or ting da ta excep t ::'le a s ::.i er ti on tho. t man c an a c t only as an lndiviJual , n o t s.s ;nir t of 2.n or ganism . P or Toynb e e , s o cie 'ty r epr e s en tB a c cr.:rr:1uni ty of' ind lv­ ldm1 l s , each of whom c ons t i tu t e s a d i s cr e te r�i eld of ac t ivi ty .

r 1�

areu:3 a t whi ch the -V&ri ous f i e ldD of ac ti on i n t er s e c t con­

tain th0 p oll ti ca.l and a ocis.l i n3 t i tut i ons cf each c iv i liza­ tion .

A f i e ld of a c ti on , obv i ous ly cnn n o t s erve as a s our c e

o f ac tion .

A rela t i o n :mer ely p·r ov i des the c ommon gr ound f or

t�1e enc ou;:i ter of s everal .for c e s .

S oc i o ty a erv es a s the medium

of co�!'nunication .f or t..1-i.e interac t i on of i te c omp onen ts . Toynb e e c on s i d ers crea t ivi ty the a t tr ibute of' suddenly insp ired i ndlvid.uals .

'Ibey ari s e wl th. 1.mp r edi c tab le rari ty and

ex:;ir e::is the e s s enc e of evolution , the f orce thn. t changes the s ta te of Yin i n t o the ac tivi ty of Yang .

Tu.es e men �f g eni:µ.s p ush

back the vi s tas of human inte lli g ence and s erve as the guidepos t s on the r oad o:f hi s t ory .

'lheir i llUJ1"Jna tion ls a chi eved

!.n a mys ti c ecs tac y whi ch tra.n aforma the e s s ence of their s oul !!nd indica te s .the nec es s i t;y for fr e 8h c r ea ti on .

T.1 e y re p res en t

�e future s tate o f Yin , and an in trins i c s up e riori ty c o�p arable eminenc e of the c iviliz a ti ons ov�r � r imi t ive s o c i e tie s . 1

l.

'lhe appearanc e of the s e

It

saint s :! ' n geniuses" ' or " sup er­

pr e s en ts s o c i e ty wi th a di l e:mrna .

Toynb e e op . c i t . V o l . I I I . p . 243 .

'Jhough they are the

I

- 177-

�

I leaven \mi ch galvan izes s oc i e ty in to ac t1v1 ty , i, r.nj ori ty can f o llow them but wi th dif'f i cul ty .

the unc r aa tive

'Ihe mcs t s a ti a -

1 fac t(lry laader ship would rely o n the di r e c t illll!llina tion o f the

i nass by

I

contac t wi th the s a i n ts .

Tu.l s . however , can be ach1 eved

on ly a t the end of the proco:r n , at the now level of in tegra ti on .

1

Thus s oc i al dr ill , m1me a 1 a , r ep lac e s insp ira tion util-

iz ing an exi s t ing facul ty by merely chs.nging 1 ts orlen ta. ti o n .

I 'Ihls generi c fea tur e o f s o cial l ife l s hen c efor th dire c ted to­

wards the crea tive minor i ty , no l onger rea tralned by the " c ake

of cus ton;" .

Mime s i s , c ons ti tu t e s a. ohor t - cu t fr aught wi th dan­

ger for the mechan i caln es s of 1 ts dri ll mi gh t be channe l l ed in to

br.i.oral direc ti ons .

Ye t i t reveals the only c ond i ti on for s oc i al

growth , 1 ta r i sk the pr oblem of mor ta. 1 1 ty .

' ho11ever .

"Ihe Saint can n o t ach i �ve h i s mys tic ecs tacy i n s oc i e ty , Only i n s ol ! tude c an be & t ta. 1 n

thr ough suffering tha t

clar1 ty of' v i s i on , tha t i nner ter.ip er lng r.n ich enable a him t o lead h1s p e ople out of the wi ldern es s into the Pr omi s ed Land .

'Ihis

b n'i thdra'.\\'-al -and-R e turn , the plo t of th e .fabl es of many c lvll­

lze. tl ons , �he s tory of the fdundl1ng who grew to gre atne s s • the, Lale of the re ....bir th of the a gr i cul tura l God , Chr i s t ' s s o j ourn

!n th e WJ. lderness .

'Ihe intui t i on th� t the wl thdraw�l ob tains i ts moral

sanc tio n fr om the r e turn to this world exhib i ts Chr i s tiani ty ;

n�ral sup er i or! ty over Helleni sm .

Lif e l s A c ti on ., and a

l, No t 6 c orr ('lep ondence wi th Dan te 1 5 c oncep t .

S e e pos t .

I

i �ransf orma ti on of the mi crocosm mus t work 1 ts el.f out in the

I

I Elfl,cr oc osnt.

l

'!he Greek philos opher s c ons ider ed withdrawal a s

P la t o ' s cap tive s r e turn t o the i tte ul tima te s ta t e o f b l i s s . i l cave wi th a heavy hear t . Chr i s ti ani ty , on the o ther hand , s e e s

!

1 t..11. e tt:1 s t o f the ordeal in the quali ty of the re turn ; tha t w111

Ij lead

the cap ti v e s t o wards th e ligh t .

I I� re curs .

Hc�e Tuynb e e ' s mythol ogy of the genes i s of c ivi liza ti ons '!h e s ta t e of Yin i s d i s turb ed in the nicr o c o sm, which

I suff ers 1 ts c r 1 s 1 a in 3 0 1 1 tude and who s e inner r e c onc i li a t i on

I enable5 the mac r o o o am to p a r t i c i p a t e in crea t 1v1 ty..

I

Growth ex­

hib 1 ts b ea t s or the universal rhy thm of' which wi thdrs.wal-and-

:1 re turn r e p re s en t sub s idiary puls a ti ons .

P e a c e resul ts from

· ac t lvi ty , rec onc !l i e. t i on f r om .suf f ering , harmony from di s c ord.

'Ihia is th e oeaning i'or Toynb e e of the lifes ot' D a n te , 2 Hindenbur g , S a i n t Paul and a lmo s t a ll c r e� tive p er a onal 1 t1es . �1la , too , d e s c r ib e s the r o le played by A them, in the s e cond

ar t of Hellenic hi s t ory and by England in the third chap ter of f Wes tarn dev e l opmen t . A t a t ime , wh en moo t Gr e ok p olis were

f"

�t

e�;ag�d in ov er s ea s exp ans i on , A thens w1 thdrew into

!

i a ola tlon

1 and the r e devel op ed a s o lution to the �o s t s e r i ous Hellenic

l irob lmn , tha t ot: overp opula ti on .

, ·

Bas ing h er grea tne e s on a com­

erc e a ch ieved by s p e c ia l ! z a t i on a nd manufa c ture ., A then,i s i gnaled j• : . "er r e turn to the Gr eek s c ene by throwing down the gaun tle t to j

1i:

i

T Jynb e e op . G i t . bl . I I I . P • 235 . Toyn':) e e op � c i t . Vol . I I I . p . 2 17 -333 ; For the e s s ential inc orrm ens ur ab ili ty of moa t of Toynb e e 1 a :l llua tra t i ona s e e � o a t " G onc l ua l ons" ( D i s cuo s i on o f Me thodo logy ) .

I;,

f

I

:1 the Archaemenian Emp ire .

!

-17 9 -

F or ove r two hundr e d years A then ' 8

� �ole was the exac t an ti the s i s of' 1 ts p r evi ous c ond 1 t l on of' ap­ ��i . The i ns ti tu t i o:ns dev e l op e d duri ng the wi th.: paren t hlb erna t i on �

, jra wa l p r ov ed th e i r s uper i or i ty over th e ir Spar tan c ount erpar t � 18:1. ch had b r oken d o wn while A t..riens b e camE the " e duca t i on of'

i

� Hellas " .

i�

I

S imi lar ly England ' s insular p o s i t i on enabl ed her to

& fbd th e s olu t i on t o the mos t s er i ou s chs. llenge of the 17 th

; c en tury W e s tern c i v i li z a t i on .

!

�

wi thin her domai n and sub s t i t u ting d emocra. tic governm6n t for

j e.ris toc:ra. tio

l ugi•icul tural

! I:,_ ,

I iJ

j1·-

By breaking d own feudal b a rr i e r s

dominan c e , she achiev ed the tran a f orma t i on of an to an indus trial s oc i e ty .:

When the G l or i ous Revol­

uti on br ough t England • s r e turn to the Eur opean s c ene , the C on­ t�ne: ntal p owers f'ound th ere a :mode l :f or their ad p ta tion or !

I talian 'Transalp ine eff i c iency to na t i on s ta te e .

Thia , Toynb ee b el i ev e s , mgy b e Rus a i a 1 s role i n the

�;e s t e rn wor ld .

'Iha early C ormnuni a t tendenc ies o f ab s olu te i s o-

la tl on may we ll c ons ti tute tha t wi thdrawal whi ch f i nds the p roper

· res]J ons e to the all-pervas ive W e a tern challenge of na ti ona l i sm .

l. Brough t by t e chnology into the We s tern pa ttern , Rus s ia wi ll per­

lhaps r e turn to a e rve aa the c r e a t ive min or i ty in the next s tage 2 of. '"ne s t ern develop:Cl.en t . ¼

tJ

Gr owth ao o omp lieh e a i ts e lf through tha agen cy of a crea tiv�

Toynb ee op . cl t . Vol . I I I . p . 37_7 e t s e q . I t i s d irfi cul t t o s e� h o w P.ua a i a can s erve n s the c r ea t ive lllin or i ty of a. civilizn t i on 1,'f.': i ch meA ta ·roynb e e ' s every . cri terian f o r d i r d n te gra t i on . S e e pas t " C onc lua i ons . 11

-lBQJ'li.;iori ty the wi thd.rawal of :whi c:h re s ulta in e.n inward t empering and whi ch b e c ome a ef'.f e cti ve through i t s return.

It let!.ds by

cl�esi s , a s o ci al dri l l , in the ab s ence of the direct ins pi ra', lon ..rJ. ch will b a at taine d at the next l�vel oi integration .,

Li.fa pre � eri,t.s a., s er:t e a of p?:'ol:ilems , each a cha:Ll eng� t_o 1.mds:rgo

e11. ordeal .

Ya t each problem i s e s s enti ally uni que , eaclL ro a -

?'.J,1s e s ine;ul ar�

Mo re o,...e r the a uc ce s s .ful s olu ti on o f one problem

ex::-0ae s the ci vi 11 z11 ti on to a. new cha.11 enge , the nature of whl ch

� i;

largely de termi ned by tho prevl oua raa ponac .

S pengler e.s�

ir nrted that each Culture po s s e s s e d a s oul , which r eveal e d lta elt' 1n ��e eelection

or i te approp�iate aymbo l! sm and whi ch cont s.i nod

Toynba e denie s .

He opt s fo r a. wi l lod dire cti on, bas e d on n s eri ea

tha key to the tu1.de ra t anding of' the cul ture ' s hi s t ory .

Thi a

ot ove:rbal anc e s , e ach suc c e s sful r e a pona e cr eating a fre sh ch&ll enge .

Diffa1•antiati on is achi eved by growth , no t through a de termined l i.mraar.e:ice .

The Grow�� or civili &�tions , in Toynbe e ' s s cheme . e:xhibitm

the.t p-J.rPosiveno s a whi ch his me t aphysi cal as sumpti ons po stulate . Toa dependence of Toynbea 1 s concepts on Da...�te 1 e s trlkiug .

Tuyn­

bee ' a precipe ro semblas no tbinz e a much as Dante ' s Mount Purga.­ bry.

T'ne direct mutual i llumination in the new s t ate or Yi!l

��nllels the abi lity of the deni r.on of Dant e 1 a Paradi s e to read enc h other I a thought s .

Ye t a.g ain the empiri cal m�thod leads to tl1e logi cal 1n­

c on 3 i s ten cies and philos ophical dii'!'i cul ti ea ob s erve d previoul'l ly •

......... _______

--

..._

________ _

1, rroynb e e op ., cl t .. Vol . III . p. 377 ,.

- 18 1If e ther ealiza t i on e.xhib i ta the l ib era t :l.. on o:f energy f or hi gher t:a 31 r n then thi s a s s er ti on f i nds na warr anty in h i s tor i c a l da ta . Hig her and lo·n er - a s Kan t a lr eady point ed o u t in his Refutation of E thi cal iie donism

- do not c on s t i tute ca t e gori es of em-

piI'1cal exp er i enc e , b11 t n orma t iv e patt erns of' ra t i onal i ty ..

On

the o ther hand , er.:tp ir i c l sm a e .a s e thereali?.& tion ag mer e ly a te ch­ nical tran sfer o:f a f i e ld of a c t1-:rt ty b r ought ab ou t by the phy s i ­ e d exp ans i on o f the c l v l l l z a t l on . In fac t . Toynb e e s ways unea sily b e twe en h i s theo logloa.l concepti cn of' inner :, e lf - d e t ermina t i on and tho ethereali z a tl on m!ch la merel:y a produc t of the c lvlli z a ti on 1 s growth ( Environ, men ta l ) .

Toynb e e the emp i r i c i a t se"r n the p r ob lems of Wes tern

clvi liza tl on a a c ons e quen c e s of' a technologi cal mas t ery , ( though the inc ons i s t ence 1.mp l i c l t in a I; one p oint p o a tule. ting tha t an b;irove:nen t in t e chnolo gy a.cc omp an i e a ::i lmp lif' i c a ti on and a t ariother cons i d e r ing Gandhi t s r e turn t o the s p inning wheel a s a sµp tom of a yearning f or s 1mp l l o 1 ty can no t b e over l o oked ) .

Toynbee tne the ologian vi ews the cri teria of growth a a ema na ti ons cf a s oul ' s s e l.f-ar t icula t i on .

Wha t l a the conne c ti on b e tween

these r ealms o:f nece s s i ty and fre edom.?

Do arras ted c iv iliza-

. tions reaul t from an ins up e rab le chal l enge or a defi c i en t r e s 2 ponse'l Toynb e e ' s cri t i c i sm o f Spengler l s cur i ously i nep t . Sp engler ' s a s s er t i on of' a Cultur e a s an or gan i sm did n o t

Kan t - C r i tiq�e of P ra c t ic a l R ea a o n . op . c i t . p . 111 . See· p o s t C onc lus i ons for further dev olopmen t a of thi s p oin t .

-JB2ir.i;:ily tha t the cul ture and i ts c omp on en t indiv idual c ons ti tu te d t;;;a nm tually exclus ive enti ties .

Sp engler would not deny tha t

all ac ti-vi ty :�n. e suppo � ':ls individua l voli t i on . 1

lhe cruc i a l que a ­

:lon i s , however , whe ther this p er s onal v o li ti on r epr e 3 ents an

L-oonen t , inexorable Des tiny which imp l i c i tly s truc ture s thought

or

1'1h0

Den t .

ther ! t s erv es as the caus e of' a Ci v111za tion 1 s devel op ­ Toynb e e offers n o def i ni t e an s wer t o thi s que s tion .

He

denie s the c oncep t of a. C ul ture ' s s oul � but his differen tia ti on

by gro'.ith resemb le s th e qu ibble o.f p sychologi a ta of whe ther a

chi ld ' EI p er s ona l! ty is f ormed b ef o r e b i r th or b egins to develop

fr orJ the firs t days .

I t seems th& t af ter the f'irs t cha llengea

are surmotmted . the sub s equen t pr oblema. t ion, in Toynb ee ' s terms , 1 is s e t in ever narr ower 11ml t . 'Ille di l�w-na of n e c ea s i ty a.nd f'r eodom e tands "..UU' e s olved .

�e inade quacy o.f utilizing hi s tory as a technical proof of nor­

ms. tl ve c oncep ts has b'3cor:1e more appa.r.en t .

1. rae fac t tha t Toynb e e ' s m.tme s i s i s very c l o s e t o a c onc ep t of th e e oul will b e developed s e e p o a t 11 C ona lus i ona " .

- lB:3:'iie Ere akdown of C i vi liza. tions . 'L�e br eakdown of C iv i li z a t i ons cnn nev er f or Toynb ee con �ain the sanc ti on of an unavo idab le f n tali ty .

If gr owth i s

a pro c e s s o f p r o gre s s ive e th erealiza t i o n , breakd ovm mus t r e s ul t from a :failur e of s e ir- d e t ermina H on ..

A chalienge the. t does n o t

evote a s uccessful r e spons e , c ons tan tly fac e s a. f a i l ing c l v i l iza­ tion wi th i ts threa tening pr e s enc e .

Under i ts impac t t:le r e ­

ac tive capa c i ty of the c iv i l lz a t i on b e c omes ex..� us ted ; the crea tive ma j ori ty l o s e s 1 t s charm f or the W1ins p ir e d ma j ori ty . 11.me s i s br eaks down and s oc i e ty degenera. t e s i n t o an tagoni s t i c c las s o B .

T o os cape th e s e tens i ons o:f the now d or.i.lnan t minori cy ,

deve lops a univ ers a l s ta te a s an !ns trume n t

repre s s i on ..

'Iha

internal pro l e ta.ria t giv e s expre s s i on to the f'rus tra. ti on 1 n 1 ts .. . soul by the crea t i on of a universal church , the rep o s i tory o:r �e mean!ng of h i s t ory.

H i s me taphys i c al dilemma ever a c c om­

Toynb ee on h i s j ourney through h i s tory.

'.!'h e dirrioul ty

of uni ting normat iv e o oncep ta w1 th emp iri cal d educ t i on b ecome 3 !"lcre pronounc e d .

If all c 1v iliza t i on s have c ollap s ed or e:x.."11b i t

symp toms of breakdown h ow can the neces s i ty of a s oc i e ty ' s de­ cline be c ons i s ten tly denied?

Why is Chri s tiani ty of ab a-o lute·

Val id i ty 1n a c o smology which produce s hi gher r e ligi on s as thf:I acc id en tal c ons equen c e of s oc 1 s.l breakdown?

Thes e are the que a­

t1ons tha t d ominat e Toynb e e • s s.naly81 s of the breakdown o f c iv il­ iza ti ons .

A l l c ivili za ti ons tha t hav e here torore exi s ted have e i ther

-184-

down or exhib i t ol l symp tom of deca7 .

An emp irical

can no t draw c onc lus i ons f'rom fu !s phenomena un til al l

? Jssible the or i e s }:,_a ve b e en e xamined .

Toynb ee r e j � c t s the argu­

;;ha t t,ho dec line ol' c i v i l i � a ti ons resul ts fron a :::; er:. eral

of the ear th ; wi th an asser ti on of the :rela·t;-:tve yo1..1t1i of

the sp eci e s in t orms o.f i ta 1 1.f' e spa n .

·nie rac ial the ory pr esen t s n o grea t ar dif ficult ies .

BE1sec. on Pla to :::.nd Aris t o tle , i t ins is ts tha t all cr ea tive nd­ vo.nce re sul ts from the infus i on oi' viri le b l o od into s ta ti c

civil_i z a t i onB , a l l decl ine f'r om the de genera ti on oi' th i e ra c e .

Jaus the Rena i s sanc e is c an c e l ved as due to the L o...ilb nrd i nvas­ lons , the b enei'ici a l eff e c t s of \'Vh i ch to ok several c e ntur i e s to appe ar .

Never thele s s , a c c ording t o Toynb e e ., emp ir i c a l da ta

fails to s upp or t this the s i s .

The b loom

or the Ris or gimen to

occur red wi th out any pr eceding barbar ian i nva s ion . ttba t of the cyclic al the ory ?

2

�o c s the rep e ti tive move­

t.en t �f the s tars .find i t s c ountcrpe. r. t i n human hi s tory?

At

firs t b lus h , Toynb e e ' s as surn.p ti or.. 01' en elemen tal rhy thI:J. tho. t

expr e s s e s i ts elf i n al terna t e s ta te s of Yin ond Yong , a.nd Wi th­ drawa l-and-Re turn lends supp or t to thi s the s i s . that Ghis c ons t i tute s a c orrec t infer enc e .

Toynb ee deni ea

Though tb.e shut tle

that '7eave s the web of time moves up and down , i ta move!tlen ts

serv o as t...'i. e cond i ti on f or the creati on or 1 meaningful pa ttern. na,e whe e l mus t tum in or der to advan c e ..

Wi lli.drawal-and-R e turn .,

3

Toynb e e wavers o n the que s t ion of Wes tern c iv i l i z a t i on b u t nn th e who le seem.a L o include l t among the j ec3.ying socie tiee- . 1hi s s e ems an u:nhnppy ch oice .for th e r e futa ti on o :r tha v ery likely , un t� nab le ra c e the or y . The R is orgime n to i s hardly co:,,:parab l e in crao. ti v e eff e c t! v en e s s t o the Renata i:ian c e . "J'oynb e e op . c i t . Vol . IV . p . 3 5 .

-185Yln nr.d Yarie do no t d i s c l os e sene el ea a cycle s b u t· requ l s i tea l for the l lb e ra tion of the Pr 01:1othean Elnn of. cree. tivi t-y . Br ealirdowns of C iv i liza ti ons do no t :re sul t from the op era­ tio n of c o s m ic f or c e s then but fr om f a c tor s within hu,nar. c onYet v.ha t c-r i teria f or the evnlua t!:on of' decl:ine · exb:1 t? ,0y11:) . th e rela t i on of' the c iviliza ti on to i ts - ' eo a.17,al n ax.a.mines 2 ;,;hys i c a l and human envlr orr:1ent . Lo s s of c o n tr o l over the phy s ic al onv ir on_�e nt d oe a n o t cau s e th e breakdo·RC o f a c iv il i z a t ion.

On th e c on trary tech­

nique mar lmpr ovo in many fle lds l ong af ter fue de cline has 3 e t Where-ver the c ommand over the ph::,s 1cal envir onment d oes

!n .

dbini sh , i t e.xhlb 1 ts t..'i.e c on s e quen ce a n o t th e c au a e o f s oc 1-al brea1 rdoml .

The ab i l i t;y t o c on s truc t r oads did n o t d e c line

ef ter 1fiar cus Aurelius , b u t R or.1an wi llingness to do s o d e gener­ ate d .

'lhe techn ical knowledg e fC'r draining s wamps exi s ted

thr oueJ:iout R ome ' s hi s t or y , ye t the capaci ty to r e sp ond to this continuing chal l enge au.ffered and so the campagnn b e oame , in time 1 ma.laria-ridden . Los a of co:nm:iand over the human e nv i r onmen t also fai ls to qua li.fy a s a c r i teri on :fo r the breakdown of c lv i liza t 1 ons in 'I'oynb ee ' a scheme .

Indeed thn early a ta.ge of dec line revea ls

a ,sr en t increas e ln the ma a tecy of the hUtilan environmen t .

As

Thi s argumen t does n o t h owev er , r efu t e the n ec e s 13 i ty o f a c lv:U i z s tion• s decline . Ifowever p urpos �!ul the moveme n t of t'-le shuttle in oo j eo tive term:3 , sub j e c tively i t involves the growth e.nd decline of c1viJ.iza t i ons . S e e poa t C onclu­ si ons . Tho s e ar ;rumen ts are p r e s en t ed a t such len g th b ecaus e wi th ou t S t.'IJ. a t "s tandardiz.a ti onn ,

f' or th e appreh ensi_on of which an emp irical

a 1proach l s ideally sui ted .

A ll d i s i n tegrs. t ion proceed.e through

of' a dominan t mi nor i ty , a. s ec eding in terna l pr ole­

invadlng b arbarian war-bands .

1ne s ch ism in the body

bec omes ever wider , the rrus tr a ti on in the s oul unbr idge­ 'Il.1e p ossib le reac tions to this di lem:na are l imi t ed and to al ternat ive violGnt or gen tle res p onses .

However

gen tle reap orui es con tain the s e eds of crea tiven es s , only Univers a l Church pos s e s s e s a future . Ye t even her e Toynbee • s n orma t ive p a tt ern and i t s irre­

CGn:: ilab ili cy- wl th the hi a t orlcal da ta emerges .

The truth of the

lini versul Church s eemo i n the final annlye ls merely founde d on

its fu ture , the ev ll of the r epr e .s s i ve measure a of the universa l sta te on their fu tility .

l'IHonea ty 1 a the b�a t p oli cy" b e comes

l· "'.1.oynb e.e op . ci t . Vol . V . p . 13 .

-211-

in Toy nb e e ' s in t erpr e ta t ion oi' the Quakers p r imar ily a maxim of

pruden t c onduc t.

I t i a n o t appn re n t �e ther an inner a t ti tud e

or a phy s i cal loca t ion cha r ac t erizes the i nternal pr ole tarla t. ;'Jou::-,h Toynb ee t .s empr.LB s l s on pu.rp o s iv en P. s s mak es him op t for

a.cc 1den t .

supp or ts the

'lhe mi r a c l e o f Chris tl tlili ty :may c a.us e i ts emb od imen t

.tn the Un iversal of a .s e c ond decaying cl v l l i z a tion b u t thia can

tav e n o b ear ing o n th o f'a t e of the Wea tern C iv illza ti on .

For

the e s s enc e of a Un iv ers a l Chur ch is th e sup ra-mundane p lan e of

rerrlity ,

I t s full m6anlng ia o nly renliz ed af ter d i s i n t e gr a ti on

has run i ts c ou.r a e nnd b arb arian war b an ds t op_pled t,he C ity of Des truc ttort .

Chri a t ian i ty c ould the n b ec omo the chrysali s - in

'bynb e e ' s s cheine- or a new c1viliza tiom, .

Bu t i t s c oncep ti on as

2ie ma t er l a l s a. l v a t1 on of 1h e Wes t x-epea t a tha t very sin :for

rhic.'-1 '.t'oynb ee ca e tlga t e a A thens , the idoli z e. tl on of an ephomeral

Self .

.ihe Dis 1 n tegr a ti on of �-

-212C iv i liza t i ons-S chism in t.he S oul .

'lhe mere d e s c rip tion of the insti tutional man i f e s ta ti ons

of di s i n tegr a tion can n ever , f or Toynbe e , exhaus t the ess enc e of �roces s .

Jus t as growth was revealed a s a rhythm of pro-

ov e1· the enyironmen t , j us t as breakdown resul t ed from

the c ap ac i ty to r e s p ond suc c es sfully to recurrent

chalienge s . s o dls i ntegr a t i on hides a despe1• moan i ng .

The s ch i sm

social repr e s ents merely a symp tom of tha t pr of ounder

schism of the s oul Tl\.iich is the re o.l caus e of s ociety • a collap2 a . Qe growth pha s e of the civiliz a tion had witne ssed a cons istent

d irec tedness in all fields or behav i or , feeling and life.

i:11:b disin tegration the p os s ible r eac t1 ons become polariz ed

But

. btc inc onc lusive a l t ernative s . A choic e be tween the active and

. :he pas s ive op tion l a tha only fre edom lef t to the s oul which ba a los t i t s creativen e ss a nd which par ticipates , e ither a s villain 2 or vie tim , in the soc i al di sin tegra tion . This aspec t of' Toynb ee ' s philos ophy r esul ts i n o.. total

heakdown of his me thod .

'Iha s tate of a s oul is approachab le in

terms of emp 11'1cal analysis only in 1 ts i ns t l tutional emb od1-

cer..t3 .

'Ihe interp r e tati on or their inner meaning mus t remain

a rue taphys ical cons tr·uc tion . lal13

An att emp t to derive his torical

fr om a ca tegoriza ti on of a ta ta s of mind whi ch are r e ally

l. Toynb e e op . n1 t . Vol . VI . p . 375 . 2. F'or discua a i on o:f this arn.bi gul ty 3ee p o·s t ·n c onclusionn " . l, See nppendi:x A • 'Ihe C oncep ta of Meaning .

- 21.3-

��n� t iona of the o lobi c a l view-p o ln t a � can n o t

claim to b e s �

i ts el f o n the surfac e :m.B. nifes ta ti ons o f phenomenal a.ppea:i:'ance . :i1e full implica ti ons of Toynb e e ' e c oncep t of the Pr ome thean them.s elv e 'l .

I ts immanen t working had a lways

s eemed

��,i;Q.,J:\W:lJt""';J;i':���.-·,.�Al':VJ.l. ..PUXM�iv�a.a �n.oa:tulaf;ed,��1.enge-allG­ appear a tha t any

c ons.c iou3 a t t emp t t o change

c ondi t i on c ons ti tuto s the s i n of archai sm or fut-ur­

the p enal t:,r f or which i a di s in tegra t 1 on .

iiegel' s " Vlha tav er i n , is r i gh t"' ..

S;,engler .

W e are b a ck \"tr1 th

Vie have n o t re ally tran s c e nded

'Ihe prob lem of fre edom and n e c es s i ty r em.a.ins um:rnlved .

l

D i a i n t e gra t i on r ef lee ts the s chi sm in a s oul , which haa

de i::troyed i t a crea tivi ty and wh o s e c o llap se 1 s approa::hing amids t

nouri ting f'rus tra ti on .. dilemma ,

Ev ery a sp e c t of l ii'e exhib i ta thi s ! mm.rd

no par t of' s oc i e ty can es ce.pe i t .

Ye t s inc e the prob ­

lems fac ed by each eomp onen t vary , the schism will r eveal i ts elf a

different form in the typica l r eac tions of each cla s s .

Toynb ee dis tingui shes s ev eral symp toms of inward frus-

on the plane s or b ehavior , feeling and 11.i"e .

On the p lnne

the l o s e of crea tivi ty evokes the al terna tives or

and s elf -�ontr ol , eaeh a·a a tt emp t t o coax out of' na t1.1re been wan t only des troyed..

7lhile the

min or 1 ty endeav or s t o recap ture the oh�rm of i ts y ou.th ,.

by giv i ng r e i gn to tlie p a s s i ons or by their s tr i c t c ontrol , Por f ul l di s c us s i on e e e po s t C ,:mclusi cne .

-214-

the in terna l pr o l e taria t s eeks a sub s ti tu te f'or the les t a r t of

'Ille lack of' lea.dersh.lp a c c en tu.a t e s the innei' he lp l e s s ­

of the ma a s .

I ts a l terns. tiv e s a.re truan c y and mar tyrdorn ,

a shi ridn e; of respons ib i li ty made p os s ible by the b r e akdown of end all uncer tainty ..

On the p lane of' feeling the rea c t i ons oc cur to a !'aversal 1 of the Frome thean elan by whi ch growth had ac c omp li shed 1 ts elf . ;!;e s ense of drif t exhib i ts the passive :rc,.sp ons e , n re 3 i gna t i on

to :;he eniBIJ1e. t 1 c Univ er3 e wh ich under e i ther the s.apec t of chanc e

or He c e a s i ty a.cc en tua tes the i::np o t enc e of' Man .

When the f'a1 lure

1s vi owed sub j e c tively the sense of' sin appe ars , a r e c o grt i t1 on

of an inwa rd fa ilure to mas ter llfa • an admi s s i on of' inad e quacy 1 the condi tion for salva t 1 cn . The b reakdown

or

growth is ac c ompanied b y a c e s s a t i on

or

,be differen tia tion which hG.d produc ed the c iv i liz a t i on' a s tyle .. s i ck s oul loses i tn s ense of form and give s vent to a r e e l­

ins of proctiscui ty , exp res se. d 1n the blending of incompa tible , the elner gence of a cosmopo li tan lnnguage z the s:;ncre­ rellgion and philos ophy .

Ye t the pr of ounder s ouls of

sen s e a pro.found meanin g ln the l o s s of' a tyla p

or

an

uni ty b ehind the g row th and decay of ephe!lleral

The a enaa of uni ty c onjures a C osmos of' e ternal

out of the ohao tio appearenc e of the phenomenal world . ro:,-nb oe op . ci t . Vol . V . p . 38 0 .

-215 -

O n th e p lan e of life , th e trans1'er 0 1' th e f i e ld o f ac t i on

the !facr ocoam to the J,!i croc osm , the e therea li.za tion , i.s re­

?lace :l by two p airs 01' a l terna tive mod es of b 1Jhovior .

On �his

��ne , however , there exi s ts an op ti on b e tween o p a ir of v i o le n t fot� n;1e 1 s as p ira ti ons o n the ms. terial l ev e l or the ap p r ehension

of

deep er tru ti'. tran scendin g mere ap pe arance .

Archa i sm and

ruti.:rism cons titu te the vio l e n t op ti ons , a p ro j ec tion of lon ging 6

i:J Time , the ques t f or a U t opia wh ich evad os th e challen ge pr esen ted 1) :, the change in sp ir itual c l.i!:18. t e .

'Ill e d oom of thi s

endeavor caus es a v iolen t erup tion of tho p e n t-up frus tration

nn:i sea ls the d oom of' the s ocie ty .

mi.en all ma ter ial hop es a.re

disapp ointed the g en tle r e sp onse re-em er g es � the r e c o gni t i on by

mm of his l iml ts • tha humili ty which tran s c e nds i ts e U' , the 2 faith tha t moves m ountains. De tachmen t and Transfigura t ion ,

the bliss 01' c on temp la tion and the s a lva tion thr ough G od ' s love

a;.ip ear , the gua ran tee . at the eleven th hour , of' the con tinua tion or the meaning of l if'e .

Any s o�ie ty c on tains crea tive personali ties , a gents or ac tiv i ty . emb odimen ts of th e new lev el of Yin.

s oc i e ty o.fi'er a no obvi ous f ield

But a

or ao tivl f:j1

ror

Mime s i s ha.a broken down and a t temp ts a t revi tal iza­

b ounci to be ten t a t ive and unc ertain .

Toynb ee op . oi t. Vol . V . p . 383 . foynb ee o p o ci t . Vol . V . p .. 391.

As the s chism ln

-2 16 -

the s ou l of th e c l vilizat i on b e c omes Tiider 1 the insp ir ed indiv-

1�:ials a ppear in

the role of S avi ours I their effec tlvensa a

de termi ned b y th e a t tl tude of l ife they r e p r e s en t .

For Grm tle-

ness w:Ul a lways triumph over V1o l enae , p ea c e ovbr dis c ord ,

Jni'lers e , shines a s a b eac on of merc y through the g loo:,i of' c o l­ lar., sa .

Abandon and s el.f'-con trol con s titute Toynb ee ' s c oncep tion

of the reac tions of' a. soul which a t t emp ts to c laim the sanc tion of ni;i ture for the absence of 1ts cre a tivenes s . �he los s of its ins p ira ti on

Abo.no.on ascribes

to the inner sep ara. tion from a s ta te

of no. turo and a t temp ta to recap ture i ts y outh by rcl rsn to all spon taneous apptt ti te.s . �ns ]!!B.chu.s

g1ving free

Its r epreisen ta tives aro

and Alcib iades in the Hellenic c iviliza tion, Rous seau

and Machiavelli

in the Wes t ..

S elf-C ontrol, to o , clilrns the sanc ti on of Naturo .

S a lva­

tion from the in tol erab le presen t is s oup;h t in dis oipliming the

bas e emoti ons , in the melancholy re j e ct i on A urelius an d Truancy

lead erless t! on th e

of the world , of 'Which

Savonar ola furni sh the outs tanding examples .

2

and lllllr tyrdom rep �e3 en t the al terna tives by whioh

masa s eeks to find e eub s ti t>.1. te for the loss of

induced by the c oll ap s e of mlme a ia .

Jus t as in an

relaxa tion of dis cipline o�f'ers a moral excuse for the

To ynb ee op . c i t . Vol . VI . p . 175 . ro;rnb e e op . ci t . Vol . v . p . 403 .

-2 17sh.ir;d n3 of danger s o tru.an:Y in a di sin

tine s oc i e ty ap -

?�ars aa nn al t e rna tlv e to th e purp os iveness which ha s lJec ome

ta and A then!:!. a t a tlne

oxn' e s s ive . 'Ibis waa the r ea c t i on of

,,!Jen only uni ty could pr even t a. H oman h eg emony ov er Greece .

1h1s ,

;c ic::i has cut i ts e lf off £r om i t s sp1r1 tual herl tage and s ub s t1�,1ted a s ecular i d ol in the .form of th e na ti onal s ta ta for th o

siJ:ri tual bas ls of 1 ts grea tness.

Ye t the s cep tre of d ef ea t may caus e o ther minds to a t temp t

to salvnge their ideals by cour ting dea th with ou t nny hope of'

nn terinl reward .

S ocra tes refused all chances t o p lay truan t

and ne t a mar tyr ' s d ea th .

In i ts hour o:f tr ial , the Chr i s tian

church s tes.dfas tly re.fused the very t emp ting and very easy e s c ape of formal nlleglance to th& Divua .

ni shed ths condi t i on of h e1•

·.

'Th.a blood o!' her mar tyrs fur· even tual triumph .

A s an

on tha t �he s p ir i t of the mar tyrs is ye t wi th us � Tiolsey

Moore chos a dea th rather than the i gnomini ty of truanoy .

l

Toynbee turns nex t to an examination of the impac t of

dislntegration on · the plane of feeling.

'lhe los s of. the Prome ­

tbean elan of growth i'ac es tha soul with the vecy negat ion or

td.a te nc e * from whi ch t he s ense of drif t and the sens e oi' Sin

l'eprs 3 ent an t1. tho tical me thod s oi' re.fuge .

'Ille feeling of drif t

as the consequenc e of s.n idol.a try or Uece s a i t;y or Chance ,

1 • ?o�mb e o op . c 1 t . V ol. V . p . 411 . F or n dl s cusslon of' these illu9 tro. t1ona s e e pos t C onclusions .

e sin whi ch inevi tab ly l eads to b reakdavm .

·. n

!foces s i ty and Chance

11.!·e c o:rrela tive as the expr e s s i ons 01' a s cJul which repres er! ta : ;s Jcf o a ts sub j ec tively as b lind d isorder and i t s ob j ec tive

li ot:ra tion under

the aspec t of inev i tabili

The Wes t ha.a V70l'-

s�i;:i?ecl•c(fu:anee ainee lal'Stiilz-faire was 'i:llevated into 'e:n �eth!ces.cl ·="�"c

t} :irlnci:p l� . � ::1 e

But Fa te , t o o , baa been the sub je c t of' adora tion .

C al-,r tnis t doo tr ino o.f ·pred0s tina tion 1 the c oun t erl'.)a.r t of

�e Hellenic Tyche , in troduc ed de t erminism in to the live s and 1 for tune;; of huma.n b eings .

Bu t whl le a.n tdola try of Fa te may serv e a s an_ opia te in

in!! tilling in the s oul nn ac quie s c ence in a diaas ter as sumed to

have i ts root ln ext ernal c i r cum3 tan c es , i ts coun t erpar t , the aenae of s in ac ta a.s a powerful s ti:mu111.e .

Man tui•ns inward :f'6r

an ex�lana ti on of hi s failure and a tt emp ts to make hims e lf l"or thy of rec eiving God � s era.o e .

'Ih e road from an un c onquer­

n:ile Ueces 5l ty to a conque rable S i n l s the saving truth which t

t ;

Jrev,mted Judo.ism f rdm rushing headlong int o disaster thrc,ugh th, !r ac tic a l u t111 ty l i>ermanen c e c onst1 tu tes his ul t ima.te t e s t for hi s torical endeav or . Immor t�li ty , j 1 : ] however , l a n o t a da ta or h i s t or y b u t a n inward re s o lv e . 'l'he

conc ep t o.f evolu ti on con trndi c t3 i ts a t tainab ility . An unfold­ ] :. lng of growth and decoy has chnract eri zed al l his torical exi s tr

1

n

n

:r::�d :::: · :.: :::�::. ::� : :: ::: ::: 1:: . am:::::: : �

r s tage of developmen t , ev en 1n his terms , has las t ed . �; �"

:

Every c ivil- '

lie. ti on ha s ei ther c o llap aed or exhibi tai; e.11 the symp t oms o:r

. �scline.

'.!llough th� univ ers al s ta te pr ec edes dia in tegra tlon ,

ethereali zati on precedes the univ ersal s tate . and b ir th e thereal­ lza tlon .

Can temporal auecea sion con tain the causali ty of his tory?

ls lif e the cau s e of dea th . or night or day?

Toynb o e ' a causali ty reoogni �es no mys teri e s .

I t tends to

ll'es t it a a e euranee of imraor ta li ty ou t of phenome na by con juring !}\elr a;ip earauc e .

lts tool is an a'f! ser tiv e eyll ogiam , tha t a t­

\tnp t s t o r ead D:tvine purp os e s i nt o hi s t orical even ts and sub!:li ts

-255-

eV'en God to normativ e cri t i c ism .

!:Iis tory e:xhib i t.s uncl::um g in g

1aws , i t a rhy thm apparent to the dis c erning , i ts moral i ty suc c e s s . Toynb ee ' s ap pr oach to my thology i llus tra te::i the c laims of a

ra ti ona l i ty ths. t den1 t:1s th� exi s tence of any r eal i ty out s i d e o:f Fi c tion J His t or i cal tr e s tmen t an d Ns �.ir al s c i en c e , r epr e s ­

qua l i tatl;;r ely equivalen t mod e s of apprehending a n e qual ly

obj e c tive reali ty .

Their S1ll t ab i li ty for the descrip ti on of

phencmena i s de termined by t..1-i e quan ti ty of da. ta .

Thus na tural

s c i ence w i th the m anageab lli ty of' 1 ts ca lcula ti ons f ormula tea

la ws , mile the m ani f old p os s ib i li t i e s of everyday exi s t-

al l o w but the pre s e n ta t i on of repre s en t a t i v e typ es in the

of ri c ti on .

Hi a t ory , e a the mean , ba s as i ta mo s t ap p�ic­

a tyle the c ompara tiv e s tudy .

Thi a exp lains Toynb ee 1 a ap -

proach to the Now Tes tamen t e.nd Mythology .

A s r ep r e s en ta t i one

of ob j ec tive oc curr enc e s they c on ta in not only analogios , 'b ut

. a.c tual msxims derived from r ea l e v en te .

'Ih.u.a Eden repr e s ents a.

lovel of in t egrat i on which t hrougp the in t erv en t i on of the Devil ls changed to tha ac tivity of Yan g . the neme sis o i'

Therefor e , S abba th p:rov e s

c r ea t ivi ty , whe n G od in the perfec ti on or the

tQr ld fotmd no fur th er outle t f or His ac tiv i ty .

For this r ea s on ,

Toynbee has t o engage in extended argument t o prove th e e s s enllo.l

11

fairn es a 11 of G od ' s wager wi th th€! de-vil .

Lov e s.s the

�o t ive- force of the nniv ers e , mue t b e a Div ine a t tr i'b ute , for lt 3 ab s en ce would ind i ca te a defic iency in God .

----------'-

!, . ':'oynb e e op w ci t . V o l . I . p . 441 ( Annux t o IC )

Chr i s tiani ty

-256-

till 'b e s e.,red be caus e God' s n a ture has to ex...11.ib i t a t leas t the l ss.me c ons tan cy as Man I s . Ye t m:iat is Toynb ee really d oing?

'lb.is i s th e m1:tgi c

at: i t..1.d e tha t '\'ri lls t o e s c ap e th e tran s i torln e a e of i t s exi s t­

pa t t ern of ob j ec t 1 v8 real i ty .

Gcd ob eys wel l-under.s to od laws ,

t o e t erna l happ ine s s .

of " fa1rne s s 11 , of " c on s tan cy" an d of " love" . Hy mean in s uch e. c on t ex t ?

Goe th e s ai d: " 'lhe n ob l e s t manifes­

tation of Mankind is shuddering awe" .

,lem:i the wor ld a s a machine

Wha t doe s humll-

Toynb ee ., on th e other hand ,

capable of m.anipula ti on thr ouE}"l a

knowledge of the levers Chall�ng e -and-Respons e . Wi th­ 11

and lUma s i s ...

My thology , however , des cribes an inner s ta te , not an

c tive condi tion. it.

It repre s e nts ma.� 1 s a t t emp t to spp r ehend

of l if e and in tha t re c ogni t i on or ne ce�sity to

I t e.xp rea s e s humani ty' s hope and n o t i t s ac tual-

' ma.n • a c rea t iv e es s e nc e not the mat er ial c ond i t i ons of

In a world of determin ed phenome na dis t ingui shed by mar t­

man con give oxpre s s i bn to his exp er i ence of dir ec ted

only by keeping b ef or e hims e lf cer tain g oals , not depen dent 2 ill'l.'ne -•-===�==••==·'·"· ····· ···········,====�==·�-=•==··�= 'fue nature of Kan t 1 s philosophy c9.n n o t b e made inte ll­

i gible wi thout a discus s i on of the doctr i ne s tha t p receded him . 1he 17 th century wi tnessed the final disi n te gr a tion of the two

p i llar s of the medieval c oncepts of un1versal1 ty:

. ChUJ' ch and the Holy R oman Er:lpire . .

�

the Ca thollo

Under the 1.rnp a.c t of the Re-

1 fo:rm::i ti on , through the reli g ious wars nn� s e t t lements of the

16 th c entury • the C a tholic C hurch had apl1 t up a.nd g iven bir th

�i to s everal

!_".-

fl stead i ly 1

Porte s tant soots .

'Ihe Holy R om.an Emp ire , gr_ow:1ng

weaker ev er s!.nce the c ollapse of the llohenstau.rfen

dynaa ty . r �nd violently b y the Reformati on , was ruined in every. !hlns but name b:,- tho Thirt:,- Year • s ,mr . A new ora waa d•-wnin g

i ln Eu.:r op e J an era of' abs olu te sovere i gn ty, dynas tlo mor!B.r'lhy and na t i onalism.

'.lll.is era needed philos op hic j ust1flca t1on .

No long er

•ero l'ledleval doc trines of' te l eology , in -which Man and the uni­

. - ver se \Yere understandab le only through an end., int erp re ted by

t �e

? op e in Roma J su.f f1 ol ent .

'Ihe tremend ous 3 p ir1 t of acient1-

Uc d i s c overi es i n the early 17 th cen tury g ave ri s e t o a b elie.f' ln the fea a ib i li ty of an in qu iry in to ca.ue .oa .

'lb.us the::oe aro s a

-26 5 a new c oncep t of Ab s o lu.tene s a , a.n Ab 5 olu te de termined • . , . :

by i ts e s s en u e aa4 n o t by i ts end and mor eov er di s c overab l e by

'

anyb ody by the mer e app lies. ti on · of' the nm thema �ical me thod to

e1et aphysical pr ob lems .

Reas o n .

'Iht1 p i l o t of na ture waa no longer God

Des car tes wa3 t h e f' ounder

or

modern phil o s ophy , a G t ting

me s tage f or later phl l o s ophic al di scua a i on o

In his work " OD

the Me thod" he la id down the foll owing 4 rules for ab s trac t ap e o­

ula t i on .

( 1) To accep t no thing but wha t is sell- eviden t .

(2)

�' re a �lve each problem in to par t s en18.ll en ough t o b e individ-

�lly eX8I!lined . ( 3 ) To advanc e by a e er1es or s teps £rom s elf'­ j /\ evident premi s e t o cer tain deduc ti on . ( 4 ) To linger on each prob lem un til s.11 i ts p o a s ib i li t i e s are ezamined .

Ri a c en tral prob l em. can b e defined as an inquiry into

the v ery p o s s ibility o£ knowledge .

Wha t re la t i on e:x.i o ts b e twe en

ob jec tive raali ty and our idea. a ab out 1 t?

'.Ihere is da ily proot

of the !"allibili ty of s enae -1mpre a s i ons e.nd the p o s s ib il. i ty exi s ts

· tha t some mal i gnan t demon m1 Rb, t eo warp the o ogn1 t1ve f'a.oul tiea

tha t a rati onal. knowledge of reall ty b e c omes imp ossible ..,

De e ­

:ar t e s escap e s from tr...1 s to tal aolib i sm b y firs t as ser ting tha t ,.

, rhatever the p owar of the dec e iv er , t hough t 1n;ipl1ee a thinking 6 !lbs tan

or the " l" who thinks and doub ts i s � , \he reby· as sured . Moreover the interven ti on of an omnipotent God ,.

.

lho by def 1n1 tion oan n o t b e a dec eiver guarantees the r0a l1 ty < or the physi oal world . �s Cs.r t c9 s ia.n duali sm po5 i ta two fini t e

tilbs te hc e a , thii:udng and ex tended b o th o f ob j ec tive r es.li ty , wi th

-256-

; :: Qod , the Inf 1n1 ta Sub s tance aa the middle ground and the aa aur- · I ·4;1 . ty tain cer of ;':' Bnc e =

:I!

·t

Descar tes ' a t temp t to a t tain knowledge through mere

ne thodolo gy ra1 oed many d if'.fi c 1.1lties , ho.wav e� .

G od ' s exi s tence d

�::nd:::::::;•:r:�;:• i:�:::::-: :=�:�::::1: �," �-���

:j

j

"11

gua ran te e a

ob j e c tive reality , C og1 to ergo sum becomes a meaning-

less diale c tic exer o 1 s e .

Toe trend f)'f .sub::Sequen t phi los ophical

" discuss ion was . however . es tab lished . �

'lllaugh Des car tes m&in

concern was no t mora1 ph1 1 o a ophy , li, !'I trongly implied thll t Vir tue { � t � resul ted fr om the right Knowledge of an ob j ec t ive reall ty.

;•i

'Iha unsa tisfac torines s of the Car tesian dualiam 1ed to \

s trands or thought each more consis ten t than Des car te s , each �. \____

uti l izing one of Dei,c ar tes ' sub s tan�es aa the b as i l! of: its phil­ osophy: the Sp inoz i s t i c Panthe15lll and the British Emp iricism. S?inoza op ted �or t.'l e God.

He denied tha t d11'feren t subs tances

of !bought and :r::ia t t er exia ted .

'1h3 univers e in all i ts man1-

ren te.t1 ons merely reveals God as the uni ty o!' all na tur e and lts immanen t caus e .

cf

Ma t ter snd Mind dieclo a e, but a t tr 1butea

the Divine one viewed under the aepec t o!' extens ion , the } Olli.er as thought. In such a s c hemo the exp eirienoe of freedom

� bec omes the emana tlon of the Del ty as the only e ource of 2.ll • to tlvat1 on .

Causality 1n the Univer s e , purpos ivone s e in even ts

r· • tan never , for Spinoza, s erve ae an explane. tory principle. 'Ihere 1�e no ac tions , only happ enings . Every thing occure by inward

F-:;t .[}·./1�·

9Cesai ty , expre e a ed by conatus , tho t endency to per s e v �e in

-257one ' s own b e ing .

:Moral sanc ti on s. t taches to ac ti ons tha t sup­

efror t ., no other c onno ta tion of good and evil can be l

Vir tue as ths capa c i ty f or seli'-nlAintenanco a t tha high­ revoals God aa the uni ty of al.l e.xi3 tenc e ..

Re!'1-s on �lch

The wi se man will

�'::.er sf ore realize the t hi s advnn tage can bea t be �· s erved "; by

surrounding himself' ,.,1th en a tmosphere of p ea� o ., by rBpa.ying

, violon o e with kindn e s s • . An !nnor r e c onc i lia ti on ensue s a real­

ize.tlon tha t no t..l:iing divine deserves contemp t ., but e qually , tha t

Ac ting wi th

a��a thy 1s not re quired aa a s our c e of motiva tion.

I mli gh tened ego1 sm , the sage n,as ters the p a s s ions ffl11 eh te s tlfy ; to his exi o tence !n na turo and a tta1ns the power of' self-da ter­ mna t i on 1n the blis s of a res i gna t i on into God . · V i� tue i s thu3 a t tsined by knowledge . by unaers tanding

i

t:ia ine:r.:orab ill ty of' even t3 and by the oorreo t evaluation of

one • s tru e advantage .

'lhe si:rtllar1 ty to Spengler ( and to Hobb es )

ls s triking , however differen t tt.eir c onclus i ons .

B o th agree

tha t an 1nev1 t!i'ble neces s:'.ty rules e:xis teno e , fer whi oh oauaal-

1 � cons ti tutes a oh.ullow and inade qua te explana ti on .

Bo th find

�e key to COlllprehension i n an intui t ive grasp of the immanence t,a t producc, s all oc currences..

Spinoza - jua t ae Spangler -

onoe1vee the e ta te as enga ged in a f'ight i"or sheer ourvivnl f

Fried.eriahtn - Inevi table Peace - p . 149 e t . s eq . h.Y. a ohar­ � c teriz ed Spinoz a as the logical phllon ophy ef Calvini sm • .:ipinoza ' s s olocr1 teri on is inward cer tain ty . S e e Essay on Human Unders tanding .

I

i in r.hich

-268to ke ep pr omis e s on fanc i ed moral gr ounds r epre sents

t�e only real S in .

..

Freedom l a the appr ehen� i on of an ob j ec tive

nec e s s i t;y to which man impar t s b u t 1.1 t t le .

I

t1ve ins i gh t , backed mer e ly b y R eae on were t o o grea t .

An era

of new s c i e n tific d i s c overy , par ti cularly in phys i cs , s eemed t o demons tra te tha t the true s o urc e of knowledge v.raa n o t the mind but n a tur e , indeed tha t th e mind i s ins true ted by na ture .

Locke ,

founding the school of Br i t i sh Empir i c i a t s , c onceived of the mind es a b lank tab lt1 t endowe d wi th a wax- like capaci ty of r e c eiv ing sensuory impr e a a i ona .

'lb.us

the other imp lies tion or Des car tes

· ms dev e lop ed , :lnto an aa sar tion of the primacy of' the physical aub s tanc e , mtn'.a i' e j e c ti on o:f.' any i nna te ideas .

C sirried to i ts ul tima te o onclus i on by Hume , this led to

a to tal me taphysical s cep t ici sm .

Kno�ledge was b a s ed on exp er-

1cnce , r eafl oning reveo.led the hab i tu.al e.xpe c ta ti on of re ourren t a1t:.w. t1ons .

C aus e and eff'e c t c ons t i tuted but the r epr esen ta ti on

of a c ons tan t c onj un c t i on of even ts , so tha t the appearance of eve n t A , l'3ada to the an tic ipa tion of even t B .

Ye t one can no t

· poa tula to a neces sary c onnec ti on b e tween A and B . Space and time i M::.-ely exhib i t th e r e eul t of c er tain rogulari ties or j ux taposi) lion s of e!!!.p irical en ti ties ..

'Ihua inns. te ideas were non-eAi a ten t ,

the c cnc ep t of u1 tiraa te real1 ty meaningle ss .

4 1, 1

j

i �

Hume ' s e th i c s rerlec t hie me taphys ical a s a"i.1.mp ti ona .

S e e p o a t 'Ihe S en s e of R e ep ona 1b 1 li ty f�r i:Mplica t1 on of

Spinoza ' s c on c ep t of in t e llec tual l ov e of God which makee thi s analys i s :;;_)rov1 e i onal . 'Ih a fac t tha. t S p inoza op t e d f or )Jcac e a.nd Sp engler f or s tr l f e rev e s.ls their p e r s onal! t i e s bJlt b 1n no s en ::r n a l ogic a l ne c e s s 1 ty of their sys tem . S e e p o s t .

:io r ali ty wa s b a s e d on a plea s ing s ensib i l i t;y, th e faculty of

ben evo l ence whereby humane i!npul s e s receiv e inward ap:proba tl on .

: soc ial im:1 ti tu tions dep und in par t on habi t , in par t on the J 1,r.,ar e der iv ed from the ir utili ty . 'lhus mora11 ty h e came an 9 a t tr i:.mte of ext ernal r eal1 ty

th e only s olU'c e - of motiva ti on .

'Ihe s imi lar! ty in 'che c on c lu s ­

ions o f th e e:rnp ir i c i a t s �oynr., e e an1 Hum e i llua trn tes the eff e o t

of me taphysical a s sump tion s .

In each ca n e surviva l is given

noral san c ti on , conc eived as an 1nd1 ca ti on of' utili ty by Hume , as an emana tion of Divine grsce by Toynbee .

But where HU!!le 1 s

ne t2nhysical s c ep ti c i sm shrin!-c:s f'rom a. s cribing ul t ima te purpos e s t o phenom ena , Toynb e e ' s theological c onvi c ti ons enable him to

f1r.d o. divine imprin t in h!a t o!"i cal even ts .

Kan t ' s d i lemma then 1 s but a · l"e a ta taxnen t of our original

�rndox: i�a t !e the mean ing of this ne c ess i ty tha t acc omp li shes itself under the modQ of :fre edom?

'lhe ra. ti cnali s ta bad as serted

�e supremacy of reason , limi ting fre edom to th� rec ogni tion

objective nec ea.s i ty , c onceiving manipuJ.a tory knowledge e.e the

only e thical cri terion.

or

'Ih.eir the :iry of" knowledge was based

on analytic a pri ori judgments , in tui tiv e ly derived , whi ch con­ the whole truth wi thi n thems e lve s and c laimed their s e l.f ae the obj ec tive pa ttern of r eali ty .

Ye t the a t t emp t

S e e p os t 111\ppendix A" 'Ihe Concep ts of Meaning . !"or a di o i;inoti on bet'Ne on c� j e o tive e.nd s ub j e c tive or :tmmrd. n �c e ij s lty u ea p os t '' The S e ns e . of , Hespons i bi 11 ty" . Kan t calls thi s. a d e terroin'itive judgmen t in his " C ri t i que o1' Judgmen t .

-270-

to achieve ce.:>tainty by iu1. ana.lya i s of innat e ideas wa3 doo!Ilod

to fui lure � de s pi t e many great achi ev ements of internal consi s ­

tGr;c.y ..

The Rati onal i s t s were ev er forced to ab stract from the

m� quor:es s of expe ri ence in ordt:3 r to e.c'..1-tl eve the minimal foma

1

jecti. vo 0::1-1 a tenc e of ext e rnnl re ali ty and i t s relati on to innate

ideas wa3 in thi s formul a ti on ins olvable ,.

The irony of the ration­

ali st po s i ti on is b e a t expres s ed by the ir ul timate r11 cours a to on

inward experienc e , sub j e c tive certs.inty s a� the f'inal cri terio� of the val i di ty of the ir judgment s .

Empi ri c i sm, on the o ther hand, fac e d the di lemma that

despi t e tho e.cutene s s of i ts ane.lysi a or ordinary thoug_tit ., ! t i!

Judi:.,Tienta lacke d the un i vors uli ty whi ch forma the :foundati on of i deati on .

To bas e cogni t i on on �era experi ence i s t o

over throw o f ona 9 a concepts wi th e ach new experience .

m the field of ethi c e , conduct could ob t ain aanctt0n only through a cataloguing of plea s i ng preoapti ona .

Kant was thua faced with the alt ernati�es of fre edom ns

a function of a me chani � tio naturali am or morali ty a� an en­ light ened h� doni omG

How 1n a world obeying well-unders tood law s

�f cnu s �lity c an reason give ef'fe Q t to tha t�ana cendental expor­ of fre edom?

What impac t oe.n moral ms.xiu:is have on the un­

of political events ?

What 1 a the relation of hi s tory to

Kent dec1n.19d that the problem was ins oluble untl l the

of the realm of n�ces s i ty and f'reedom were defined.

i� ass erted tho.t o. 1nechani s tic de s cripti on of natura did not f:''3clude a concepti on o:f i tij trans cendental immanenc e , to bs

!e1'l vod, however, a.a a dat·um of' inward e.xpe r:i ence not a.a a

clite 6 ory of' reas on.

Be limi ted kno-\1/ledgl;) to me.ki:, �oom for be-

Npre s ent an en:.nna.ti on of' hi s moral ph..i l oaophy .

Kunt raconc1led

t11e antinomy between neces s i t:r and freedom by vra.y of an inward

sts.ta, a racogn1 ti on of li.fe as meaningful al terna.tives based on

an ex:pli c i t 11r:rl. tatlon o.f aero z·atiorrnl analysis .

Man can f'ind

e san�ti on ' for conduct only within hlma el�, not as ru1 attribute ct external reality.

Kunt ' s me taphyai c e , expN a a ed 1n hi s Critique of :?ur6

i r.eason 1 th1..1s s erve as the basi s !or an unders tanding of hia I philosophy .

I

-272-

Me taphys ica l 'Iheory...

Kan t addr e s s ed hi.ms e lr to hi e cen tral prob lem of the

�? l i a a ti on of the trans ce ndental exp er ience of rre ed om by re­

exar,lning the me taphysical pre aupp m1 1 ti ons of o a th the r a ti on1 reduc ed free-

perienc e .

b e caus e their

judgmen ts a pri ori h�d made imp o s s ible r e c our s e t o ex­

The emplrici a t a had approached morali ty s.s a prob lem

of ana lyz:tng the pleas ing percep ti ons of b enev olence or uti l i ty

beca.W3 e the ir eynthe tio j udgment5 s. pos teri ori had deni ed the pos slb i li ty of un1verae.l v a 1 1a1t:J .

Ye t 5ocperi enc e without c on­

cep t s la blind , ,mi le c onc ep t s wi thout precep t s are meanlnglee ei . Ks.nt solved thia dilemma b y wha t he termed h1 5 Coper­

r evolution.

P erhaps the pr ob lem of h ow to achiev� a rela­

ti on b e tween i dea s and external ree.11 ty . which had led Des c�r ts s

and Sp inoza to inv oke G od as the c onne � ting lin'!c , one in the

s ense of guaranteed r e liab i l i ty and the o ther in the s enee of

all-perv�slvenae s , and which , op. the other hand, had :rorced Hume; in to total a-0ep ti cl 13m , perhap s thi s pr ob lem was s o in tractable.

bec a UB e i t s baa ic epia temo:lo glcal assumpti ons were inc orroo tly sta ted .

.Jus t ae Cop erni;aus when. h e c ould not accoun t for ot,r tain

physi cal phenomena on the a s s ump ti on that the aun revolved around tile ea:rth was f ina lly f orc ed tl:l rever s e this .formula ti on , a o

riin t res ta ted the di lemma of bow the mind whi ch 1 a abs trac t can

----------

1, ihe Sens e of Rcap ons ib i l l ty wi ll d 1 acus s wha t le implied by a trana c enden tal exp er 1 a nc e .

-2?3 conf orm to c oner a te ex tern al real! ty .

Re revoluti onizad m� taphysics by ins is ting tha t ins tead

l of the mind c onf orming to ex ternal reali ty , pb:,s1cal ob j ec ts j can only b e undors tood if they conform t o cer ts.in pa t tern5 and in i t s en tire ty can nev er be c:: omprehendocL

howev er , tha t rea..li ty

Han 1 ii

tende only to phenomena in s enauo\1.5 oxp erience .

kriow!eage

ex­

Ul tima. te real­

i � , the things - in- thems elves, are not di sc l os ed to the c ogni­ tiv e fa cul tie1"1 .

If' thi s is true , then Cri tical phi los ophy by

�alyz ing the e s s ential s truc ture 0£ the thought proc e s s e s oan att6mp t a defini ti on of the forns by whi�h external r eal! ty is

ap,:>r €1hended by pur e r ea s on and synthetic a pri ori judgmen t wi ll

be pos a ib le .

'Ihe s e judgmen ts a ta t e no thing le s s than that all

phenome nal experi enc 6 mus t oonform to cer ta in pa.ttarn:s f'or the

cons ti tu tion o:f the human mind preven ts c ogni tion in any o ther conteA t.

Toe dis tinc ti on or reali ty into phen omenal ( apprehended

by pure reaa on ) and noum.enal ( things - in- theme elves and as such

, the ob j ec t of specula tive r eason ) doe s no t , however mee.n that bi.cwledge of noumenal :rea.11 ty i s imp o s s ible .

'lhough pure reason

is c onf,tned to phenomenal app earances , the nournena DIJ.Y' reveal thernsolves to ma.n by vqy of an inward exp erience .

':!he realm

of freedom. appears a.s the transcer.den tal oondi tion of tha realm of nec esai ty .

'lhus Kan t 11.mi ts knmdedge to achieve belief ;

thus he e s tab l i she a the pos s ib1 11 ty of' purp os eful mors.11 ty in