is not his intention to discuss,
and have failed to appreciate what special problem it is that he
attempts to solve.

Eucken's special problem is that of the reality in the universe, of the
unity there exists in the diversity of things. In so far as he makes
this his problem, he is at one with other philosophers in investigating
what may perhaps be considered to be the most profound problem that the
human mind has ever conceived. The fact that distinguishes Eucken from a
large number of other thinkers is that he starts where they leave off.
At a rule, philosophers begin their investigation with a consideration
of matter, and proceed by slow degrees to attempt to explain the reality
at the basis of it. Some never get further, and dispense with the
question of human life and thought as mere aspects or manifestations of
the material world. But the problem of life is for Eucken the one
problem--he seeks to find the reality beneath the superficialities of
human existence, and he has little to say concerning the world of
matter. And, after all, it is the problem of life that urgently calls
for solution, for upon the solution that is accepted, the life of the
individual is to a large extent based. It is, of course, very
interesting to meditate and speculate upon the material world, its
origin and evolution, but the question is very largely one of mere
theoretical interest--a kind of game or puzzle for studious minds. It is
the question of life itself that is ultimately of practical interest to
every human soul. And this is the problem that Eucken would solve. Hence
those who expect to find a closely reasoned philosophy on matter and its
manifestations must look elsewhere, for Eucken has little for them.
Eucken's philosophy is a philosophy of life, and he only touches
incidentally those aspects of philosophy that are not immediately
concerned with his special problem. He refuses to be allured from the
main problem by subsidiary investigations, and perhaps rightly so, for
one problem of such magnitude would seem to be enough for one human mind
to attempt. Eucken is a philosopher who lays foundations and deals with
broad outlines and principles; it must be left to his many disciples to
fill in any gaps that exist on this account, by attempting to solve the
subsidiary problems with which Eucken cannot for the present concern
himself.

If Eucken's problem differs fundamentally from that of most other
philosophers, perhaps the pu