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SOCIOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY 67
nothing but give none the less a first orientation in the
manifoldness of the historical occurrences. But an inquiry
aiming at exact knowledge cannot be satisfied with a correlation
 between phenomenological complexes formulated
in terms of a historical law. It cannot accept the presupposition
 of a special momentum for a particular social institution
 or for a special aspect of social life, nor can it assume
 a unitary force for those institutions which is different
 from and independent of the sum of the forces of its
elements. It has to continue its process of analysis and
differentiation of phenomena until it approaches the actually
 effective laws of the single elements. It has to explode
the artificial unity of the complex, restore the independent
efficacy of the elements within the complex, and take cognizance
 of the efficacy of elements outside of the complex.
In this approach toward the actually effective forces
and factors, the specific concept of “historical law” will
finally dissolve. This is only natural. The formulation for
relations between occurrences within a special field must
lose all validity when it becomes recognized that this special
 field is in actuality not separate from and independent
of the composing factors within and the cosmic circle without.
 Human history does not occur as a separate, selfcontained
 chapter of which only the beginning and end are
influenced by cosmic forces. It develops in continual endosmose
 and exosmose with these cosmic forces. It is continually
 influenced by forces from the outside which cannot
 be determined from preceding history, and, as these
forces and factors are not constant, the so-called historical
law cannot give an adequate explanation of historical development.
 This inadequacy of the historical law is most
clearly visible in the laws of the development of the special
fields of socio-historical life.
A history of art which aims at a full and fundamen-