nger, whether it will really lead forward in a lasting way, or
whether it will soon demand a reaction, will probably depend in the
first place on the soberness and thoroughness of the discussion. If the
movement is carried on under the control of science, it may yield
lasting results. If it keeps the features of dilettanteism and prefers
association with the antiscientific tendencies, it is pre-destined to
have a spasmodic character and ultimately to be harmful.

The chaotic character of psychotherapy in this first decade of the
twentieth century can be easily understood. It results from the fact
that in our period one great wave of civilization is sinking and a new
wave rising, while the one has not entirely disappeared and the other is
still far from its height. The history of civilization has shown at all
times a wavelike alternation between realism and idealism, that is,
between an interest in that which is, and an interest in that which
ought to be. In the realistic periods, the study of facts, especially of
the facts of nature, is prevalent; in idealistic periods, history and
literature appeal to the world. In realistic periods, technique enjoys
its triumphs; in idealistic periods, art and religion prevail. Such a
realistic movement lies behind us. It began with the incomparable
development of physics, chemistry, and biology, in the middle of the
last century, and it brought with it the achievements of modern
engineering and medicine. We are still fully under the influence of this
gigantic movement and its real achievements will never leave us; and yet
this realistic wave is ebbing to-day and a new period of idealism is
rising. If the signs are not deceitful, this new movement may reach its
historical climax a few decades hence, when new leaders may give to the
idealistic view of the world the same classical expression which Darwin
and others gave to the receding naturalistic age. The signs are clear
indeed that the days of idealistic philosophy and of art, and of
religion, are approaching; that the world is tired of merely connecting
facts without asking what their ultimate meaning is. The world dimly
feels again that technical civilization alone cannot make life more
worth living. The aim of the last generation was to explain the world;
the aim of the next generation will be to interpret the world; the one
was seeking laws, the other will seek ideals.

Psychotherapy stands in the service of both; it is the last