The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-10-28
POPULAR
Adapted from the German of Rev.
Peter Mikes, S. j., by Rev.
James Watcher.
XLVll. Haeckel's Authority.
(ConcIuded).

(Concluded).
81 Haeckel goes beyond his branch
and dabbles i'll philosophy, physics,
etc. Haeckel's ~world-Siew is according
to Father Wasmann, S. j.. a "philoso-
phical nuisance. CFor further cor
roboration of this see Stimmen Il
Maria Laach, vol. 63, 1902, p. PSI fl.
The infidel Berlin professor Paulsen
G 190S), philosopher and pedagogue,
says that it is with burning shame
that he thinks Of a philosophy as
Haeckel uses it. According to Paul
sen, Seeburg, Loofs, Dennert, and
others, Haeckel's Riddle of the Uni
verse is below contempt.
DR.. II. Mertens, who admires the
an a~nnihilating Judgment on the
philosopher Haeckel. In a review of
Haeckel's work "Lebenswunder" CWon-
ders Of Life), in which Haeckel wants
to trace back life to mere mechanical
causes and thus explain it, he writes:
One has to see with what a great
display of dialectics chat branch of
logic which teaches %reasoning) and
crafty logic Haeckel wants to explain
away the difference between the life
less and organic world, to establish
the unity of the world (Haeckel's
Monism, which denies spirit and
claims the whole world to be but mat
ter and force). Haeckel says: Be
tween crystals and the simplest forms
of life there is no great difference
In structure-yes! But alas the cell
lives, And the great difference is not
between the crystal and dead albumen,
that is a mere chemical difference
but between formed but dead protO-
plasm (Of the crystaD and the formed
but living protoplasm (of the GELD.
No amount Of ~pettifoggery will help
one out of this pinch. But the dogma
of Haeckel DEGREES: The crystal
must have life that is, irritability or
sensation" What is that? one can
ask with the same mockery with
which Haeckel makes fun of Luther's
Catechism. But that will not work.
OF course, we can deny the force of
life, If we define arbitrarily, the sim
pie, chemiCo-physical forces in such
a way that they include the properties
of life"
But that is ~arbitrariness and imag-
ination, but no science. If | once swal-
low the nonsense: The brick in the
wall lives and thinks" hen it is easy
TO claim that there is no essential diff
ference between man and a brick.
a. g. But not only the philosophical
but also the physical ideas and notions
of Haeckel (matter, force, energy,
etc., with which he tries to establish
his Monism, prove the almost incredi-
bic ignorance and confusion Of ideas of
Haeckel. The famous st. Petersburg
University professor Chwolson% in his
work "Hegel, Haeckel, Kossuth und
das II. Gebot" (Hegel, Haeckel, Kos
suth and the 18th Commandment
shows this in a crushing way. For
example, what HaeCkel says about the
essence of ether, about ~pycnosis, about
the alleged 'untenableneSS" Of the
kenetiC theory of substance, Of the law
OF mass, energy and entropy, all of
which is proved by Chwolson to be a
hotchpotch Of Observation-Disclosures, men
tai haZiness and shocking nonsense.
"Haeckel has not an .inkling of the
meaning of the law of energy; he has
not taken the trouble to inform him
self of this law; he has gained his
knowledge from the haziest sources.
All he says about the foundation
and the guiding star Of his philoso-
ply, is simply totally wrong, is found
ed on misunderstanding and fill
ed with the mania for phrases. :.
Woe to the grammar-school boy who
would in the same measure explain
falsely the law of energy"
Haeckel has COMPOUNDED superficial
lay talk with earnest science and has
been induced to write things which
outstrip the worst and most ridiculous
sayings of unscientific writer's. There
is no forgiveness possibly, only-for-
getting
What the learned Russian expresses
rather vigorously, is co%rroborated on
all sides by men of science.
Centuries ago the wild Vandal
hordes under Attila, the Seourge of
God" swept e. Europe to destroy
civilization and the Church saved it.
This picture a be applied to modern
times. God protects our Christian
civilization against the cousins of
apes" and their Vandal science by true
Christian science!
\ thorough refutation of Darwinism
and Haeckelism we find in the works
of Tilman Pesch, S. j., Gutberlet,
Hasert, and a popular treatise by Blu
mueller, Mensch oder Afe? man or
ape?l.