Metaphysics in Recent Philosophy

Abstract

We might roughly characterise the ancient, mediaeval and modern eras as those of philosophy, religion and science respectively. If, as some progressive thinkers maintain, these were the stages through which the human mind developed, philosophy and religion would only have significance as mere remnants of past civilizations. Such a simple progressivism is certainly untenable, not only because it demolishes the multiformity of human culture, but also because it unconsciously contradicts itself by presupposing the idea of progress as a metaphysical dogma or religious belief. Philosophy, religion, and science are in fact forms of culture rather than stages of progress. Perhaps they are universal and eternal forms parallel to each other. What changes from period to period is only the comparative importance of a cultural form. We must admit that neither philosophy nor religion is dominant in our age, but it does not necessarily follow from this fact that we moderns may or must live without philosophy or religion. Of course ancient philosophy and mediaeval religion cannot be applied without any modification. They can secure their positions only through a modus vivendi with science, which is a favourite of the present time.