ABSTRACT
BY THE second half of the 18th century, the struggle for the independence of man, which the Renaissance had begun, seemed crowned with complete victory. In the period of the Enlightenment all the mind's activities were thought of as coming within the realm of the intellect, so that they were cut off from matters outside the purely human nature of man. For the intellect recognizes as valid only what can withstand the test of reason, what man can understand, explain, and prove, that is, when he keeps strictly within the limits of his own powers. It seemed possible at this time to give a direction to life in this way, and to understand it.
