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     I know of no evidence that German philosophy was an
outgrowth of Lutheran theology.  On the contrary, I am under
the impression that Lutheran theologians consistently
disparaged secular attempts to rationalize the world.
Nontheless, it appears inescapable that German thinkers, call
them philosophers, if you wish, felt and obligation to
acknowledge and to come to terms with the universe as it had
been laid out by the Protestant church.  This circumstance is
clearly evident in the writings of Leibniz.  (Monadologie)

     Think of German philosophy like a compass needle, a
plumb line; one end of which points downward to the self (das
Ich), the other upward to God, to the eternal to
transcendental reality, das Ding an Sich.  There are few
places where one cannot identify that direction.  few places
in the thicket of language where you cannot orient yourself
by it.

     The German philosopher is like Jacob wrestling with
language.  imploring language to demystify mystery and
getting hopelessly entangled in the process.  I think I
understood this anew last night when I reread Leibniz
Monadologie.  Consider the student's task to cut the Gordian
knot, or to unravel the thread that leads out of the
labyrinth.  The agaony of philosophical diction stretches at
least from Leibniz to Heidegger.  And he who is lucid, like
Schopoenhauer or Nietzsche is not taken seriously by the
professionals and academics and is, so so speak drummed out
of the fraternity of spiritualists for being "superficial".

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Copyright 2006, Ernst Jochen Meyer
