Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 115

Chap.

FALLACIOUS THEORIES

§ 41.

I]

91

the disturbance by sin, to represent science to this day as an

absolute power, and are thereby forced either to limit science to the " sciences exactes," or to interpret it as a philosophic

system, after whose standards reality must be distorted.

The first tendency has prevailed in England, the second in Germany. The first tendenc}', no doubt, arose also in France, but the name of " sciences exactes^'''' as appears from the added term exactes, lays no claim to science as a ivJiole. In England, however, science^ in its absolute sense, is more and more the exclusive

name

while the honorary from psychological invesan honest intention, which deserves

for the natural sciences

;

of "scientific" is withheld

title

tigations.

Herein

appreciation.

It

lies

implies

the

confession

which can be weighed and measured

that

only

that

sufficiently escapes

the hurtful influence of subjectivism to bear an absolute,

i.e.

an universal and necessary character; even in the sense that the bare data obtained by such investigations, by repeated experiments, are raised to infallibility, and as such are com-

—

all

may

science ought to be.

be intentioned,

it is

—

And

pulsory in their nature.

such we by no means deny But however honestly this theory

nevertheless untenable.

First in so

even the most assiduous students of these sciences never confine themselves to mere weighing and measuring^ far

as

communicating their thoughts and of upon reality and common opinion, formulate all manner of conclusions and hypothetical propositions tainted by subjectivism, which are at heart a denial Only remember Darwinism the funof their own theory. damental opposition which it meets with from men of repute shows that it has no compulsory character, and hence does not comply with the demands of the sciences. But also in but, for the sake of

exerting an

influence

;

the second place this theory

is

untenable, because

it

either

ignores the spiritual, in order to maintain the ponderable,

world, and thus ends in pure materialism, or

it

ignores every-

organic relation between the ponderable and the spiritual

world and thereby abandons the science of the cosmos as such.

The second tendency stands much

higher, and,

by reason

of

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