fashion. Here, however, as is usual with him, we find a good deal more of self-complacent phrase-jugglery than of serious philosophy.
How Herr von Schelling finally distinguishes reason from cause, may be seen in his "Aphorisms introductory to the Philosophy of Nature," [1] § 184, which open the first book of the first volume of Marcus and Schelling's "Annals of Medecine." Here we are taught that gravity is the reason and light the cause of all things. This I merely quote as a curiosity; for such random talk would not otherwise deserve a place among the opinions of serious and honest inquirers.
§ 14. On the Proofs of the Principle.
We have still to record various fruitless attempts which have been made to prove the Principle of Sufficient Reason, mostly without clearly defining in which sense it was taken: Wolf's, for instance, in his Ontology, § 70, repeated by Baumgarten in his "Metaphysics," § 20. It is useless to repeat and refute it here, as it obviously rests on a verbal quibble. Plattner[2] and Jakob[3] have tried other proofs, in which, however, the circle is easily detected. I purpose dealing with those of Kant further on, as I have already said. Since I hope, in the course of this treatise, to point out the different laws of our cognitive faculties, of which the principle of sufficient reason is the common expression, it will result as a matter of course, that this principle cannot be proved, and that, on the contrary, Aristotle's remark:[4] λόγον ζητοῦσι ὦν ούκ ἒστι λόγος.
- ↑ "Aphorismen zur Einleitung in die Naturphilosophie."
- ↑ Plattner, "Aphorismen," § 828.
- ↑ Jakob, "Logik und Metaphysik," p. 38 (1794). [Ludwig Heinrich Jakob (1794). Grundriß der allgemeinen Logik und kritische Anfangsgründe der allgemeinen Metaphysik (3rd ed.). Frankfurt. ]
- ↑ Aristotle, "Metaph." iii. 6. "They seek a reason for that which has no reason; for the principle of demonstration is not demonstration." [Tr.'s add.] Compare with this citation "Analyt. post." i. 2.
