 What were these halves? On the one hand, Fechner had deep positivist proclivities, which made him advocate the strictest standards of observation and measurement in science, and which led him to adopt early versions of phenomenalism and verificationism in philosophy. On the other hand, Fechner also had a desperate longing for metaphysics, for a complete vision of the entire cosmos, which his piecemeal scientific work could never satisfy. The problem facing him was daunting: How to be both a cautious and sober scientist and a daring and imaginative metaphysician?