Crisis

Since philosophy itself does not consist in the static possession of a finite body of knowledge, but in the infinite exploration of a likewise infinite field of truth, subject in turn to a constant form of self-criticism, the resulting picture is that of a humanity that evolves toward an ideal that itself evolves. The totality of theoretical cognitions, once properly elucidated within the unity of philosophy, brings with it a kingdom of values whose correlate is what Edmund Husserl calls “Erkenntnisfreude”. The notion of crisis of European humanity is developed at length for the first time in the Vienna Lecture delivered in 1935. Since Europe is defined by the teleological idea of a humanity guided by philosophy and science, the crisis of philosophy implies the loss of faith of European humanity in what defines its true being, the crisis of European culture.