The author points to a duality in Masaryk’s immensely influental thought between his scientisti positivism and the spiritualism of his human longing for God. The partisans of Masaryk’s scientific emphasis (F. Krejčí, F. Drtina and especially Josef Tvrdý developing conceptions of induction, emergent evolution and humanism) needed to overcome the limitations of Masaryk’s positivism. That was also the task for Masaryk’s philosophical opponents who drew on Driesch’s neovitalism and Bergson’s intuitivism (Kantian F. Mareš, transcendental idealist V. Hoppe, personalist F. Pelikán) the author offers an overview of such authors, emphasising especially the neognosticism of Karel Vorovka as an important contribution to the overcoming of positivism. T e author considers the negative attitude against all things catholic then prevailing in Czech society as the common obstacle to a fruitful dialogue between the opponents of positivism with Masaryk’s religiously open-minded supporters as E. Rádl and J. L. Hromádka. Only much later is an increasingly ecumental openness helping overcome that obstacle.