The Unconscious and Eduard von Hartmann (review)

236 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY The Unconscious and Edvard yon Hartmann. By Dennis N. Kenedy Darnoi. (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1967. Pp. 198) In order not to forget that "the unconscious" has not always been with us, it is important to read a study like this so that we can explore the philosophical background of that important concept. To learn of yon Hartmann's professional career, of course, is to discover once again how provincial, if not cruel, philosophers can be in dealing with any idea not popular. He took it as his aim to establish a metaphysical foundation for the unconscious, and, in developing a methodology, he became convinced that metaphysics would have to be satisfied with probability and renounce any hope for certain knowledge. Under these conditions, of course, "will" comes to be an important concept. In exploring the range of the principle of the unconscious, yon Hartmann does not confine it to man. There is an unconscious will in every living organism, since he is convinced that instinct is not the result of conscious reflection. As he passes on to consider the unconscious in man, he finds it important in the formation of character and morality, but he also passes beyond man into mysticism. "'... a mysterious and hidden power guides to a definite end and goal all the phenomena of the objective-real world (nature) as well as that of the subjective-ideal (mind)" (p. 50). Consciousness itself is to be explained as the result of the mysterious and mystical ~If-agitation of the ultimate particles of matter. The term "unconscious," for yon Hartmann includes the entire primordial foundation of all reality, and he sketches the levels and kinds and types in considerable detail. The problem of evil, as might be expected, becomes the center of his philosophical consideration, for we must solve that in order to know what the forces of the unconscious are like. However, yon Hartmann's goal becomes to shatter the individual's hope of attaining happiness in a life hereafter. His pessimism makes him basically opposed to Christianity. In its progress, the world will return to its proper and original state of rest. Men are doomed but God will also go along with us. The final call to morality is issued by pessimism. It is our duty to remain in life and to continue the human species in order to alleviate the misery of the absolute by our constant sufferings. The ultimate end unveils itself in the return of all existence into nonexistence. Obviously, this is a metaphysics with a grand sweep. Professor Darnoi gives us mostly a bold picture and very little critical evaluation, although such criticisms as he suggests are simply offered and not supported in detail. We are left with a voluntarist and a pessimist of radical proportions, and the book's value lies in its description of a little-known metaphysics. FREDERICK SON'FAG Claremont, California The Conflict in Modern Culture and Other Essays. By Georg Simmel. Translated, with an introduction, by K. Peter Etzkom. (New York: Teachers College Press, 1968. Pp. ix+ 140. $5) In the brief introduction to his translations, Professor Etzkorn points out that the selection he offers "represents only a small fragment of Simmel's total work," and that the essays have been chosen "because of their topical concern with the question of man's relation to culture." Quantitatively, of course, this is a small part of Simmel's writing, but its pervasive concern is not; on the contrary, it is central to Simmel. It is poorly ...