24 Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path
A curious variant of idealism is the view of Friedrich
Albert Lange, as represented in his widely readHistory of
Materialism.^2 Lange takes the position that materialism is
quite right when it explains all world phenomena, includ-
ing our thinking, as products of purely material processes,
while, conversely, matter and its processes are them-
selves a product of thinking.
The senses give useffects of things, not faithful
pictures, let alone the things themselves. But these
mere effects include the senses along with the brain
and the molecular vibrations within it.
That is, our thinking is produced by material processes,
and these are produced by the thinking of the “I.” Lange’s
philosophy is thus nothing but the conceptual version of
the story of the brave Münchhausen, who holds himself
up in the air by his own pigtail.^3
A third form of monism sees both essences, matter and
spirit, as already united in the simplest entity (the atom).
But here too, nothing is achieved except that the ques-
tion, which actually originates in our consciousness, is
- F. A. Lange (1828–1875) was Professor at Marburg where he
established a long-lasting tradition of Neo-Kantianism. Lange intro-
duced Darwinism and philosophy of history into Germany. See also
Rudolf Steiner, The Riddles of Philosophy, pp. 323–330.
- Baron Münchhausen (1720–1797) was a German soldier who
served with distinction in the Russian campaign against the Turks. A
noted raconteur, famed for exploits and adventures, his name became
associated with absurdly exaggerated stories. A collection of such
Münchhausen tales was published in London in 1785 by Rudolph
Erich Raspe (1737–1794), himself a scholar and adventurer.
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