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HENDRIK VANMASSENHOVE
der Organismenwelt) in 1868. Although Darwins On the Origin of Species came
out in 1859, it took some time before his ideas were fully accepted in the aca¬
demic world. Lotze did know of Darwins evolutionary theory, and spoke of it
during his course of lectures. Although he did not criticise it, he emphasised
the spiritual origin of man. According to Max Wentscher (1862-1942), Lotze
accepted that in the lower species there must be changes in the genes caused
by the necessity to survive and procreate.” Even now new varieties come into
existence. But he also pointed out that for the higher organisms, such “illegiti¬
mate” forms were never observed. His statements are very cringing. On the one
hand he does not contradict scientific data, on the other hand he attempts to
save as much as possible of his religious premises. Merz remarked that Lotze
did not do full justice to the philosophical ideas contained in Darwinism,”’ or
that he did not rightly estimate the importance of it. He termed Lotze pre¬
evolutionary. Moreover for Lotze the validity of a statement is not dependent
upon temporal but on logical evidence”®.
CONCLUSION
It would be merely speculative to transfer the thoughts of Lotze into the twenty¬
first century. Would he be able to maintain a non-Positivistist conception of the
sciences in accordance with Protestant or, more generally, religious thinking?
Moreover, the Idealistic premises of his system would not charm contemporary
scientists. Nevertheless, it is clear that Lotze had a huge influence and that this
influence has not yet been extinguished.
2° WENTSCHER, Max, Fechner und Lotze, Miinchen, Ernst Reinhardt, 1925, 101-102.
2? MERZ, History of European Thought, Vol. 4, 227.
28 Ibid., 753.
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