THE MEANING OF HISTORY (Reflections on Spengler, Toynbee and Kant) Henry A. Kissinger |Tible of Contents Introductory Note I Te Argument (Introduction and Sumery) Page 1— History - as - Intuition (Spengler) Introduction "32 Metaphysics n 35 the Development of the Culture" 45 Te Soule of the Culture 62 Politics, Zeonoaice, The Machine 90—~ Conelusicns "lie History -as-an- Eupirical-Selence (Toynbee) Introduction Poge 132 Hetaphysic 136 — The Nature and Genesis of Civilizations " 145— The Growth of Civilivations " 165 The Breakdown of Civilizations" 183 Schism in the jody Social " 198 Schism in the Soul = glg— Conolusions ® History and Man's Expertence of Morality (Kant) same Tue Problem of Freedom andNecessity in the Philosophies precegaing Kant Page 260 Metaphysic e272 Moral Philosophy "277 The Philosophy of History Derived from the Catecorical Imperative 289 Te Philosophy of History Conseived as a Teleological Systen Page 300 Tho Sense of Responsibility ame Introduction Page S23 Freedom and Necessity Keconciled = A Clue from Pootry & 330 Appendix Introduction Pege 349 Assertional Logic "352 re~Acsertional Logic " 366 The Theory of Systems "371 Bibliography Page 384-I- Introductory Note. An introdustiog to an undergraduate henor thesis may seen presumptfous, but I believe that its tnor@inate length and unorthodox method require an explanation. As a general reason, the length is due to the fact that I did not realize the implications of the subject when I started to work on the thesis, As it grow, I have mede several efforts to cut it down, euch as omitting the chapters I had written on Jegel and Schweitzer. Sinee this still did not succeed in reducing this thesis to a more manageable size I have pointed out, at the end of this intoductory note, those portions which I believerto be the nucleus of my analy- sis and which may be conaidered my honor thesis. The methodology results from my dissatisfaction with the critical treatments of Spengler, and to a lesser degree, of Toynbee. I had the impression that merely analytical criticism of Spengler falsifies the real essence of his philosophy. Just es in the case of Nietzsche, part of Spengler's impact resides in the poetio Imaginativeness of his desoriptions. I have therefore made a consolous effort in my expository passages to capture as much a8 possible of Spengler's style. This hao entailed rather lengthy quotationa snd in one or two places olose reliance on the text. To present Spengler's philosophy es fairly as possible I have kept such clauses aa. "Spongler argues", “according to Spengler" eto, to 4 minimum, The expository passages are to be understood as con- taining Spengler's arguments. My coments are concentrated in discussions at the end of each section, wy basic analysis is to be found in my "Conclusions" on the Chapter, "History - as = Intul= tion",jo aed Gok acted -II- I have followed easontially ths seme methodology with ‘Toynbee. Here too purely analytical oriticism falsifies the stately empirical approach. I have discussed each of Toynbee!a main headings at sufficient length to indicate his method, though, except for a very few instances, I have omitted all his 1llustra- tions, Again, all my comments are contained in an introductory paregraph and in a concluding seation to esch heading. Againg my fundamental criticisms are to be found under the title "Cone clusions" at the end of the Chapter "History-as-an-Eupirical Soience®. In each case the expository passages are preceded by @ @iscussion of the author's metaphisical assumptions, to explain their structuring effect on the subsequent philosophy. Since many excellent treatments of Kant's philosophy exist, my discussion of his philosophy is orthodox. My lest Chapter 1g intended to explain the general position from which I approached the philosophy of history, Needless to say, this ia a still tentative view-point, The Appendix was written after listening to a seminer paper by a logical positivist, in order to ola.r ify my own thought on the ineaning of "moaning, and also to indicate what oriteria of validity logic offera to philosophy. It 1s based on a course with Prof, Henry Scheffer and also personal consultations, The philo- sophicel interpretation of ‘the: logical systems 1s my owns Though thie analysis was written ae a unit, the readermay, 2f he wishes, consider only the following seotions as my honor thesis: ‘the Argunent (Introduction and Summary) Spengler (Hlatory - as - Intuition) etaphystes Politics, Zeonomtes, The Machine Gonolustons sais Toynbee Metaphysics The Nature and Genesis of Civilizations Schism in the Soul Conclusions Kant (Entire Chapter) ‘The Sense of ResponsibilityTHE ARGUMENT (Introduction and Sumary)ee eee 1. The Problem In the life of every person there comes # point when he renlizes thet out of oll the seemingly limitless posst~ bilities of his youth he hea in fact become one sctunlity. No longer is life a brosd ploin with forests rnd mountains beckoning ell-sround, but it bscones apparent that one's journey across the meadows has indeed followed a regular path, that one cen no longer go this way or that, but that the dix rection 1s set, the limits defined, Fech step once taken so thoughtlessly now becomes fraught with tremondous portent, each advance to be made ap- pears uneltersbdle. Looking back across the psth we ere struck by the inexorability of the roed, how every step both limited ané served cs 8 condition for the next rnd viewing the plain we foel with x certeinty approrching kmowledge that mony roads were possible, that many incidents shepod our wandering, that we are here becouse 1t was we who journeyed end we could be | in a different spot hed we wished. And we know further that : whatever rosd we hed chosen, we could not have reiscined sta- fi tionary, te were uneble to avoid in any menner our being now in fact somewhere end in some position, Wo hevo come up against the problem of Necessity ond Freedom, of the irrevocability of our actions, of the éirectedness of our life. | What is the meaning of necessity and where does it arise? Necessity 1s en avtribute of the past, Events viewed in-2~ ~ retrospect appear inevitable, the fact of occurrence testi- fies to irrevoenbility, Causality oxpresses the pattern which the miné 1mposes on a soguence of events in order to make their 1 appearence comprehensible, It 1s formulated cs s law, which revorls a trend of recurrence and an assortion of comparability. ow over fights ogainst tho unique, ngeinst the personel ox- vertence, the inward bliss. Hecessity recognizes only quanti tae tive @ifferencea, and conceives of eurvivel na its sole toot of biatoricel fitness, Necessity discovers the typical in man, the inexorable in events, the inevitable in existence, Its doc- trine is the philosophy of Fternsl Recurrence of which the devil tolls Ivan Keremazoff," But our present carth may have been re= peated a thousend times, Why 4t hae become extinet, been frozen, cracked, broken to bite, disintegrated into its elements, agein the water cbove tho firmament, then again a comet, egain a sun, egain from the sun it becomes sarth and on eerth the seme sequence may have been repoated endlessly and oxactly the same to every detail...” Yet every event is not only on effect but also an inward experience, As an effect it is ruled by necessity, as an ex- perience it reveals the unique in the personality. ‘Tho desire to reconcile an oxperience of freedom with a determined environ- nent is the lament of poetry ond the dilemma of philosophy. Ra- tlonalism attempted to solve this problem by considering its pur- poses os the objective pattern of occurrences nnd equating frosdom 1, This follows Kant'a «nalysis of tho categories, See post,with necessity, The Pritich sceptics, perticularly Hume, oub- mitted these notions to rigorous criticism end denied necessity 29 well as purposiveness, ‘hey srcuod that perception involves the Impact of empirical entities on a wax-like mind, whose sen= sattons of plarsure are largely passive, whosa concept of necos~ sity describe @ constent conjunction end to which freedom 1s nomningleas, ‘The Umita of thought can not be established by thought, however, Hume's scepticism caused him to abandon phi- losophy while still a young men ond Descartes was forced to in- voke God aa @ guarantor of external reality with the aid of the very feculty the accuracy of which he hed seriously questioned. Kant realized that only en inward experience can transcend the inexorability of completed action, He "limited ‘mowledge to msde room for boliof." ie affirmed that the reality that 18 sub- Ject to the laws of causality 1s given by sensuous experience end exhapsted in the phenomenal world, But beyond that man has a transcendental experience of freedom which elevates him above the realm of necessity into a higher world-order which conditions ¢11 appoarences, Freedom 1s an inward state, en attitude that accompanies ell action, This disproves Hume's assertion thet nothing can be definitely known, since one can always imagine the opposite of any thought, Our experience of freedom testifies to a fact of existence which no thought-procees can deny and for the 2, See post. Ch, "fistory and Man's i erience of Morality.” 2. See post, for full discussion Ch, "History end Men's Fxdericnce of Morality.” ajemonstration of which Descartes" cogite ergo sum wes not really fame necessary, Whatever conception one may form about the inovit= ity of ations, thelr eccomplistment occurred with sn inward ‘iction of choice. Freedom 1s the cousality that motivates nan,"- To conceive s men heving no freedom ig impossiblo xcept as e man deprived of life," says Tolstoy. What 4s the solution to the parsdox of irrevocable action accomplished with tke conviction of choice? iow can we reconcile the oxperience of freedom with our kmowledge that our intentions so frequently issue forth into totally incommonsurate consequences? What 19 the meaning of a causality that sccomplishes itself under the modo of freedom? The philosophy of history has addressed itself to these pro~ bloms, It testifies to humanity's yearning to understand the fated- ness of life,te a nystic drive for en absolute, to an attempt to give neening to the besic questions of existence. For this reason tho philosophy of history ie indissolubly connected with mote. physics; 41s indeed motaphysics of a very high order. Tho next 1, See post Ch. Fistory end Men's Experionce of Morality. 2, For this reason I have avoided the usual classification of philosophies of history into cyclical end progress theories, It seems to me, that a classification in terms of metephys olcal assumptions presents vider possibilities. Yoreover, tho philosophers discussed do not lend themselves well to such a classification, Toynbee combines the cyclical end the progress concepts. Spongler 1s 1 cyelical philosopher in Vico's tradition, Kent has a theory of progress, echieved vy confiict wiich in its implications 1s very similar to Toynbee. (See post Ch. History and Man's Experience of Morality).section will exonine whether history can in fact five an snswor to these problems, 2, Is There a Meening to Biatory? cal History, eccording to Popper, has no meaning, It 1s the chronicle of international crime ond mass murder and takes no sccount of the tears end suffering of monkind. It 1s up to us, however, ho states at a later point, to give meaning to history by assisting the open society to triumph in its eternel struggle with the closed society. Aside from the inner contrediction of this argument, - for 1¢ history hes no meaning, the eternal conflict tetwoon freedom and rationslity ageinst mysticism, historicism and tyranny can not be its motif - the passage illustrates the aiffteulty, and confusion, inherent in the word “weaning.” It implies: 1, Miotory has no meanings 2. Blstory hes a meaning, but thet meening 1a unacceptable to Popper. . History hes no meaning, but if freedom end vetionelity triumph, 1t will aucdenly acquire content. These implications contain the dileuma of the problem of the meaning of history. Is history on open book, a sot of theorens that conteins in iteolf «11 the aspirations of man- kind, as well as the koy to the world's purpose? Or does 1. Popper - he Open Society and its Enemies Vol. 2 p. 256. 2, Fopper = Opscit. Vol. 2 Ds 2644history reveal a sories of monningiess incidents, a challenge for our nommtive concepts, only through conformity to which 4t can obtein significence? Is meaning, in short, sn attri- vate of rerlity or a metephysical construction attendant on our recognition of significance? ‘he locienl positivists accept the former elternatives Heaning results from verifying statements with empirical facta. whe researches of cnthropolocist have, however, dispelled the nope that the moaning of assertions could be given a firmer basis by making the physical world their criterion, It has been denonstreted that each culture ond to o certcin extent eech individual constructs his own image of "reality", and thot "fects" are in ne manner es absolute cnd unshokeeblo es assumed. the history of modorn physies moreover, has been a continuous process of dissolving external reality end loying bare such mysterious end incompatible prime date os energy that works under the aspect of mass, es light that 1s demonstrably « wave, vut equally certainly contains all its physicol properties in an elemental particle, tho photon, ° Woreover, on this theory, 98 classical logic has well renlized, not only 611 value judgments, but all quelity judg- nents ore moaningless, The difference between affirming an odject's worth, or its color, is a difference in achieving = + For full discussion of the concept of "meaning" see Post Appendix A "Sho Concept of Meaning.": consensus, but not of empirical vorifiability, Graditional loric, at any rate, wes better aware of this problem, In its concepts each proposition had as its subject ultimate reality. A judgment, of which the proposis tion constitutes the expression in words, 1s the act of dis- tinguishing a particular element, the precicate, in the being of @ subject that could not be thought of unless it contained some other than the predicsted character, The distinguishing charactoristie of s judgrent te its truth or falsity, However, and this 4a the cardinal point, only true judgments uatter, for unless e mon says what he does not really think he 1s af firming the truth of his essertion, 411 propositions, there- fore, besides affirming or denying the predicste of a subject Amply existence, Reality ts thus implied by, not requisite for judgnenta, The existential import theory of propositions presented too mony difficulties, however, Though logicisns could always argue thet statements about square circles did not imply exist- ence since they involved mutually exclusive terma, or contrast logicsl construction which only have a mode of being with real existence,” the reconciliation of definitional reality end all possible judgments proved impossible. 1, Joseph - Introduction to logic -p. 166, 2, Russell - Principles of hathematics - py 449, acmmemearcunceeren1 Sententiel logic abendoned the concept of the exist= ential import of propositions, Its logical primitive 1s a sentence, which exhibits but a grouping together of symbols which in theif general charecteriatics represent but ompiricel entities, Only by being brought into relation with other physienl objects, facts, do those sentences acquire meaning, Sines a detormination of truth ond falsity obviously does not precede every stotenent, aententiel logic was forced to in- yoko snother predicate of propositions, truth-weight, This, however, 13 a purely psychological relation, But even this theory stumbled on the problem of just what constituted a fact and on the difficulty of reconciling truth-volue end weight. Russell, in his letor writings, and Prof. Schetfer,” hove echieved a formlation which attenpts to give the greatest possibility of determining the essonce of meaning, Statements become replies to pure hypotheses which, moreover have to be endorsed by the prozer criterion, The statenent "Scott 1s the outhor of Waverly" 1s the affirne- tive ansver, empirically »ndorsed, to the questionst 1, Pid at least one men write Waverly? 2. Did only one Man write Waverly? 3. Was this mon Scott? 1, Based on Rejehenbsch "Experience snd Prediction.” 2, Prof, Scheffor hos not published his theory, (Sea Prefsce).‘The range of mesningful propositions is, however, not exhousted by the empirical reclm, Proper criteria cen be obteined for value theorems or esthetic judenonts, This sveory recognizes the verisbility of metaphysical assumptions es 2 condition of meaning. NMesning becomes the function of threo factors: the logical expressed in the most precise the psychological inherent in formation of the hypothess the act of judging, the philosophical oxpressed in the endorse- 1 ment, Universality depends on the consensus which this as= eription of necning enjoys ond not in tho first instence on its ompiricel verifiebility. ‘Thus meaning represents the emanation of o metephysical context, Just as every men in e certain sense creates his picture of the world, Just es the sclontist con find in nature only whst he puts in dt in the formulation of bis hypothesis, st ea every question determines et least the renge of onswors, so history does not exhibit the samo portent to everybody but yields only the meenings inheront in the nature of our query. Therefore, too, the philosophy of history ts inseparable from metaphysics, end involves a deep awarenoss of the mysteries The endorsenent in turn is composed of a metephysical (the criterion) and an epistemological (the sssertion, not the judgment of trath snd falsity) element, See post - Appendix ~ The Concept of Meening.end possibilities not only of neture but of kumsn natures In the reaction of the various thinkers to the problons of sn novessity and hunsn freedom, in their capacity to oz= | F perience depths inuccessible to rensen ulone, lier the enswer to the meaning of history. ‘vhorefore Popper's stetexuont that ietery presents merely a chronlele of erine end m aor, ith no awareness of the heertbrock of humanity, revoels his neruative concepts but does net represent a necessery attri- vute of events, That other levels of uecning exist, 18 shown by Dostojevski end Schweitzer, Homer end Shakospesre to whom history was a deeply felt experience of transcon- dental tmports Who is right then? Is history the self-reclization of the spirit of freedom aa Kegel held? Or doos 1t reprosent the rrowth end decline of organic cultures, their essence a uyetory, thoir moving force longing snd their menifestation power as Spengler argued? Is there a deopor purpose in all this onergence and decay of civilizations, a realization of selvation by faith as Toynbee implies? oos history amount to no moro than eternal recurrence, the stage for the Kon who surpesses hinself of Nietzsche or does 1t revenl the drane of A divine plon, greduslly unfolding end culmtnating in universal 1, Ses on this point, Alfred tieber, Farewell to European History,1 pesce, a3 Kent asserts? If weaning 1s the metaphysical context that ascribes significence does this preclude aifferentie by which to Judge validity? ‘These criteria exist, but they are not as obvious os the logics] positivists sssumeds Though the questions delimit the range of answers, we can require the answers to be relevant to the problem, Though each cultura, end perhaps ench individual interprets hia deta in en intensely personal wey, we can insist that the deta be edhered to. We cen analyse internal consistency. On another level we can judge the o¢equacy of the thinker's philosophicel rssumptions by their scope, by their grasp of the totality of life, instead of just its eereceenesate Newton sitting under the apple tree might have correctly concluded that epples fall when ripe. Tt 1s not # question of right or wrona, therefore, but of depth and shallowness, It does not suffice to show logically deduced theorens, as an absolute test of validity. There must also exist a relotion to the pervasivenoss of an inward oxperionce which transcends phenomenal renlity, For 1. Kent ¢id not sseribe the self-realization of peace toa ° divine plan, but to a nnturel unfolding, ‘The implication, Just as in Spinoza, 15 however of a divine order in the cosmos. 2. See post: Appendix A, Tho Concepts of Keaning. 3, This, however, involves utilization of unother set of assumptions. "Sea post Appendix A ~ The Concepte of Meening.though men 1a a thinicng beina, St does not follow that his being orhousts itself in thinking, The ultimate mysteries of live nro perkaps not approscheble ty dissection, but may re the poet's view who grasps the unity of life, which ic greater thon any, however peinsteking analysis of its monifestations, Tho Philosophy of Histcry exhibits therefore, in its metephysicel assumptions an ettitude towards the beste problens of existence, They revenl whether life 1s approached with reverence ond humility or with the sssertive tool of a rearon that sdmits no reelity outside itself, The resolution of the dileoma of histories] events serving es tho condition for a tranacendental experience or reality exhausting itself in phenomonsl appesrances discloses the ethical predispositions : ea of a personality, not a property of historicel data, eo post Chr ‘he Sense of Responsibility,<1 ‘che Philosophy of Iiistory os « Reflection of Beste Attitudes Birth is the beginning of death, life the process of mortality. Everything oxistine ia modified by tiue, history exhibits the unfolding of growth, fulfillment end outward 1 gtvives for imowledge snd having sttainea 1t can not bear 1t, All of literature contains an expression of this @ilomma end of mankind's loment at the shortness of their int. Nenlet becones paralysed by knowledge, Achilles purchases 1t at tho price of his deuth, Thus 1s the appearsnce of life but not necessarily its moaning. Tho magic attitude towards life seoks to oscape the trensitoriness of its existence by conjuring its data, It ettompts to find in history the necessary realizetion of its purposive concepts, to be classified as ettributes of events. But purposs ropresents the omenation of a metaphysi« cal.context not a necessary deduction from phonomena. fo ethical value can be ascribed to tho mere survival which dstery oxhibits, Tor this reason the magic attitude de~ velops a philosophy of eternal recurrence, a8 a condition for its cognition, Leath becomes the result of fulft1iment, life exhibits morely mortality, history represents © machine continually re-producing new manifestations of power, Velues ere, ut bect, a mode of causality, ‘he uystery of life is Uimited by classifiable data; it exhausts itself in the riddle=14- ret cause, ‘The fect of occurence reveals tho only L eriterten of inward fitness. of the ‘The preyerful attitude, on the other bend, experiences life az a vision of reconeSI4ation as one views « vast plain Epon a mountain top. when the haze obsearss tho country~ orything merges in @ total impression of perce harmony, The Jnevitanility exhibited to retrospection ns @ deoper meaning through a transcendental por~ ‘The recognition of necessity becomes the condition © attainment of inwerd liberation, Resignation as to the purposes of the universe serves es the first step to- wards ethical setivity end the reeligation ensues that the neoning of history 1a not confined to its mere mentfestations and thet no ceusal enalysia can absolve Men from giving his own content to his ow existence. The philosophios of Spengler, Toynbse ond Kant contain expressions of these attitudes in’ the quest for the eppre- hension of the meening of history. Spengler escorted that prosreas was not a category of mesning for history, Lifs contains the problem of motion, 1, See discussion of ch III "Toynbee." 2, See post - Ch ~ "Tho Senso of Roypensibi lit Schweitzer "The Philosophy of Civilizetion, See also Pe SBNwaich results from the irrevocability of ow’ cetions snd pre- vents us in the olernel rlux of vhings to ever observe that which is in the act of observing itseli, to ever causally Octermine the inner connectednoss of events, ‘his direct« nesa of life is the source of tho dual qualities of world- lonalng end world-dresd thet erises from our consciousnosa of mortality and our loneliness in a vor]a in which wo oan never grasp the total inner meaning of others. ‘he riddle of time opens up for Man, not to be clessified a5 a ontesory ef Keason as Kant abteupted, Space 18 4 conception, but time reprosenta a denotetion for sonothing inconceivable. It expresses itself in the eternal becoming that 1a the essence of Kan and that attains pure being - pure space = only at the moment of his death, Ceusality applies to the stiff-forne of veings Lesting, fate dorinete oecoming, Destiny answere the question of when eausallty of how, ALL of life is permeated by an inner destiny thet can never be defined, history discloses a majestic unfolding that ono cin only intuitively porcolve, nevor causally classify, Txist- ence constitutes a mystic relotionship to the ‘extonded,es= pecielly weceseible to the artist ond the great atutcsnen, tho uystery and tho essence of which each culture perceives ino different fashion, And what coos Spengler sse with thie intuitive vision?"s boundless mass of immen Beings, floring in s stronm with- cut benks; up-strenm a dark pest wherein our time-sonse loses #11 powers of definition and restless or uneeay fency conjures up geological periods to bide eway en eterneliy unsolvable riddle, down-stream a future even so dark and 1 ~ such is Spencler's view of buman history. Over tinelesa this surface there suddenly emerge the forms of the rest cultures, orgenic beings with thelr own inner necessity end their deep logic of becoming, They go throuch all the stages of ormenic life, youth, maturity, decline end old ace. ‘Their youth 1s @ period of infinite yearning in which every action 19 en eugury of thins to come and in which ert, philosophy and politics unconscicusly embody the cosmic best, In the cradual maturity of srowth the mystery of life 1s dissipated, its ‘oblens answered, the questions thought throuzh, the great form lost. Irrovocably over the bodies of a humanity thet: can no longer but accept, Caesarism approsches embodying it= self in all the treditional trappings of life. znmenity flows into cities ond enidst bread ond circuses, anidst © repetition of coteclysmic wars the civilization petrifies end eles. Therewith dissppears not only its outwerd power, but elso its Inner meaning, of which eech culture constructs its om Spencler - The Decline of the West - Volume 1. p.105.