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T h e P hi l o s o p h yo f
'As if'
r\ S.l'stcut
of tlrc Thcor.tic:rl, Itr':r.'ti.'ll .tnJ Religi.rusliietiotts
,rl' I\'l;rnkin.l

lly

H. VAIHINGER

'fr:rrrslrk'd
lry
t,t C. K. OGDEN

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NEW YORK
HARCOURT, BRACIi & COMPANY, INC.
I-NDON: I(EGAN PAUL. TItllNCl{. TII.UBNE,R & CO.. Ll'D.

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 OEXEBAL INTRODUCTION

('tlAl'1'l1R I

Thoughtnconsideredfrom the poiot of view of a purporive'

organic Fuuctiou
term
Sctr:NrIrtc thought is a furtctiortrrf thc ps1'chc" lly the
" psychc" rvc do not urtdcrstarttla sttbstarrcc'but thc organic
" " thcsc
,*,t.,ot.of all so-catled mcrrtal actiorts atttl rcactiorts;
brrt havc to bc partly
trever come undcr cxternal otrscn'ation,
infcrrccl from plrysical sigrts,partly observc<lby tlrc'-so-called
cvcry
inttcr setrse. i'ryahi..l actions and reactions are' likc
that is to say' thcy
event known to us, neccssaryoccurrenccs;
conditions and
result with compulsory regularity from tltcir
with some
causes. If we would .otp"t" psychical proccsscs
group of cxternal phcnomctra,the llhysical and in a narr)wer
,"enrcmcch"nical proccsses
'This arc less suitable than thc functions
of the organism. statcment is conf rmcd by the fact that
so.called"empiricalutilityisfoundinthepsychica|functions.as
-functions
well as in tLe organic of the bodily sphere'- This
to
utility is manifestld here as there in a ready adaptation-
e
circumstancesand environmentI in the maintenance of
striving and successful reaction of thc physical or psychical
the
organiim to external impulses and -influences; and in
oi the rcpulsion of new elements' ln
ad"optionand acceptan".
the psyche thcre iakes place not m:I:ly t mechanical play of
of idcas fulfits to a grcat extent the
ideas,but the movement
demandsof utility by its continualmodification' All psychical
processes^re osc/ti in thc sense mentioncd ; above all the
so-called theoreticat Processesof apperception' - Scienti6c
thought consists in such apperception-Processes and is there-
fore to be considered from the point of view of an organic
function.
Thus we woutd compare the logical or thought-Processes
that
with the organic creative processes' The appropriateness
and regeneration' in
we observe in growth, in propagatton
A
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70 PART I: IIASIC PnniCil'LDS
analysis,this must rest uporr a fcw fundarnental mechanicel
ptoclrr.r of psychical life. If when once this mechanism
has been disclosed it is still claimed that these construct!
arc rcal, we can only rccall the well-known story of th9
pcasant, who aftcr hiving had a steam-cngine explained
io trirn asked if he might sce thc horsc which drew the
locomotivc.
The rncchanisnr of a lrr'omotive can certainly not bc
understoo<l without a knowlcdge of the purpose it ful6ls.
Irr the s:rme way the tnechartism of thought is not in-
telligible without a knowledge of the PurPose it serves-
Thii- pu.pose can only bc that of facilitating con-ceptud
- of effccting a safe and rapid cotrncction of sense-
activity,
tions. What rve hive to shorv, therefore; is how fictiond
methods and constructs rcndcr this possible ; for that is
cxactly thc naturc of the mechanism of thought, and in
the end its goal can only be tlrat of facilitating thc intcr'
relation of scnsations, i.e. of rcndering action easy. We
rnust slrow, then, how action is made easy thereby, end
remember in this connection that the whole mechaniso
of thought is arr articulated systcm of cxpedients whicb.
mutually support one another, so that- fictions scrvi-ttg
primarily to'pcrfect the instrument itsclf become in dtr,
course an accessory of this very instrument.
pp. t76-t77: TI{E USE OF CATEGORIES

Th€c catcaorier rre not forms with rny corrcrponding

obictive rcality. Thcy are merely combinations of thought,
formed in responrc to some typc of objectivc retatlonrhipbut
of purcly subjective origin and of no vatue for understanding
This grouping of cvents under categoriesrepresentsone oi
those circuitous devices which, though indifferent as regards
truth itself, are yet indispensablein investigation (Lotze).
The world of ideas thus formed makes action more and
morc easy. We must ho'*'ever note that these constructs--
object,attribute, causeieffect-drop out as soon as their purposc
has been attained. Their aid renders action easier and makes
the operationsof thought possible; but as soon as the desired
sensationshave occurred,the conceptual forms lose their value.
Man does not want " things " but the occurrence of certain
sensations. Fictions, even though thcy remain theoretically,
drop out as far as practice is concerned, as soon as thc desired
result is attained. But it cannot be denied that thought
obtains its practical success only at the price of its logical
purity. The logical function-which consists of just these
proccsscs-is not afraid of the mistakcs and contradictions
which result.
Thus thought moves forward through contradiction as we
have already repeatedly observed. The conceptual constructs
inhere in the psyche even after their purposc is achieved; and
though these logical processes have attained their practical
resutts,their forms persist as residuesand husks. These forms
constituted thc subject-matter of phitosophy until thc theory
of knowledge proved them to bc mere forms of fictional origin
and value
Logically considercd, these psychical constructs are fictions
and not hypothescs relating to the nature of reality, as many
phllosophers rupposcd until thc contndictionr thcy contelncd
proved that ttcre was nothing objcctive corresponding to
them. For our " critical " standpoint thcy are only fictionr, l,e.
conceptual and ideational aids.
And here are some excerpts frqr the autobiographical introduetlon:

xxxvlll During the lettcr part of the year 1876, for my inrugunl
disscrtation, I wrote down my thoughts in e lergc menurripq
to which I gave the title 'Logical Studies. Pen I: Tbo
Thcory of Scicntific liictions." As I had becn orefully
collecting the material for sevcral years and had gwre into it
most thoroughly many times,the writing of it did not trkc me
long. I handcd in my MS. in the Ncw Year end et the cnd
of Februaqy ft77 | rcceivedmy acnia hgcdi. Thc work which
reccivedthis recognition from the Faculty is exactly the seme
as what was publishedin r9t r as thc " l'art I: Iiasic Principles"
of Thc Phihsolhy o/ 'As i/'. ln it I developed thc wholc
systemof scientificfictions,that is to say the' As if ' trcatment,
applicd practically to the most varied aspects of scicnce,and
I tricd to give an exhaustive,theory of this menifold'As if'
Proccslr.

xl In 19o6,in the midst of all thesc curious complications and

crossingsof my original intentions, a misfortunc unexpectedly
brought a happy solution,and enabled me after twenty-scven
ycars to return to my original plan, which I had given up in
'I'he
rBZ9. misfortune was the weakening of my eyesigbt,so
that it becameimpossiblefor me to continue my lectures,or the
specialclasseswhich I particularly enjoycd. So I had to givc
up my official duties. The eyesight still remaining to rne war
just sufficient to allow me to publish my MS. t got my
Dissertationof t876 copied,and introduced a number of small
editorial alterations. This comprehensivc MS. now forml
" Part t : llasic Principlcs " of The Philosolhy o1l,,
As i/,. I
also completed the revislon which I had made between $77
and the beginning oI tETgon the basis of the reviews of that
time, and thir forms thc Part Il (Spccial) of the complete work.
'Ihis
part took me two and a half years becauseof my bad
eyesight,and Part lll (Historical) took me another two and
a half )'cars. Between t877 and t87g I had made a note of
the most important 'As if ' passag$ in Kant,s works, and I
norv cornpleted this in an exbaustive manner, so that I was
able to produce a monograph on Kant's . As if , theory of nearty
one hundred pages. The exposition of Forberg's religion of
'As if ' also took me a long
time, and so did the development
of F. A. l-ange's " Standpoint of thc ldcel,' with which I had
much in common. tsut whrt tool longer ttill wu thc fnat
rcdorr o NlCacbc,r thory of Fia&n* rbicb bc brd oon
d.n d ho I lr gr, It ru thc Spring of rgrl bcfore
ttG n*.pprd.
 xlv

I will cnd by *rmrnariring e[ the conctusions shich

rrc
expresscdin thc Philosophy of ' As if', or which form
its besis
or ariseout of it, as follows:-
(t) ?hilosophical anatysis leads e.rrcotuaily,from an epistemo-
.
standpoint, to sensationatcontents, and from a psycho-
l"g:""!
logicalto sensations.feetingsend strivingsor actions. scienti6c
analysisleads to another concept of rility, to matter
and the
smallest constituents and motions of matier. Naturarty
it is
impossible fior the mind such to bring thcse two spheres oi
-as
reality into a rational relation,atthough in intuition "nd
cxperi-
encc they form a harmonious unity.
(zl T.nestrivings which probably exist in the most
. elementary
physical processcs devetop in organic bcings
into impulsel.
In man, who has sprung from the animat (and io a
certain extent
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