t this be a paradigm of the processes and development of the world
at large, and even of evolution in the domain of history? Here, too, all
ideas of guidance, of endeavour after an aim, &c., which philosophical
study of history or religious intuition seems to find, make shipwreck
against the fact that every attempt to demonstrate their nature, fails.
All these theories of influx, concursus, and so on, whether transcendental
or immanent factors be employed, immediately become wooden, and never
admit of verification in detail. But precisely the same is true of the
dominance of the "idea," or of the "law of evolution," or of the
"potential of development" in every developing organism. Yet
incomprehensible and undemonstrable in detail as this "dominance" is, and
completely as it may be concealed behind the play of physical causes, it
is there, none the less.

CHAPTER X. AUTONOMY OF SPIRIT.

The aim of our study has been to define our attitude to naturalism, and to
maintain in the teeth of naturalism the validity and freedom of the
religious conception of the world. This seemed to be cramped and menaced
by those "reductions to simpler terms" which we have already discussed.

But one of these reductions, the most important of all, we have not yet
encountered, and it remains to be dealt with now. In comparison with this
one all others are relatively unimportant, and it is easy to understand
how some have regarded the problem of the relations of the naturalistic
and the religious outlook as beginning at this point, and have neglected
everything below it. For we have now to consider the attempt of naturalism
to "reduce" spirit itself to terms of nature, either to derive it from
nature, or, when that is recognised as quite too confused and impossible,
to make it subject to nature and her system of laws, or to similar laws,
and thus to rob it of its freedom and independence, of its essential
character as above nature and free from it, and to bring it down to the
level of an accompanying shadow or a mere reverse side of nature. The
aggressive naturalism which we have discussed has from very early times
exercised itself on this point, and has instinctively and rightly felt
that herein lies the kernel of the whole problem under dispute. It has for
the most part concentrated its interest and its attacks upon the
"immortality of the soul." But while this was often the starting-point,
the nature of soul, and spirit, and consc