carries with it the strongest consciousness of dependence, and human
freedom is only made possible through the absoluteness of the spiritual
life in whom it finds its being.

English philosophers have dealt at length with the question of the
possibility of reconciling the independence of personality and the
existence of an Absolute. From Eucken's point of view the difficulty is
not so serious. When he speaks of personality he does not mean the mere
subjective individual in all his selfishness. Eucken has no sympathy
with the emphasis that is often placed on the individual in the low
subjective sense, and is averse from the glorification of the individual
of which some writers are fond. Indeed, he would prefer a naturalistic
explanation of man rather than one framed as a result of man's
individualistic egoism. The former explanation admits that man is
entirely a thing of nature; the latter, from a selfish and proud
standpoint, claims for man a place in a higher world. There is nothing
that is worthy and high in the low desires of Mr. Smith--the mere
subjective Mr. Smith. But if through the mind and body of Mr. Smith the
Absolute Spirit is realising itself in personality--then there is
something of eternal worth--there is spiritual personality. There will
be opposition between the sordidness of the mere individual will and the
divine will, but that is because the spiritual life has not been gained.
When the highest state of spiritual personality has been reached, then
man is an expression--a personal realisation of the Absolute, is in
entire accord with the absolute, indeed becomes himself divine.

This does not rob the term personality of its meaning, for each
personality does, in some way, after all, exist for itself. Each
individual consciousness has a sanctity of its own. But the
being-for-self develops more and more by coming into direct contact with
the Universal Spiritual Life.

Here, then, we arrive at something that appears to be a paradox. We have
the phenomenon of a being that is free and existing for itself, yet in
some way dependent upon an absolute spiritual life. We have, too, the
phenomenon of a human being becoming divine. How is it really possible
that self-activity can arise out of dependence? Eucken does not attempt
to explain, but contends that an explanation cannot be arrived at
through reasoning. We are forced to the conclusion, we realise through
our life and action that this is the real state o