The Non-religion of the Future: A Sociological Study

by Jean-Marie Guyau

No unity in the so-called universe.

What constitutes the charm of pantheism, for a number of its followers, is precisely this conception of unity in the world; but when one endeavours to make the conception precise, it proves so evanescent that it ultimately resolves itself into the absolute indetermination of Hegelian Non-Being. The more one examines it, the more one asks one’s self whether the unity that pantheism ascribes to the universe is not as purely a bit of anthropomorphism as is the design that pantheism attributes to the universe. The character of definiteness and of totality that the universe seems to possess may be simply a form that the human mind imposes upon the world of experience. Project on a wall—the wall of Plato’s cavern—shadows of numberless confused objects, of revolving atoms and formless clouds, and they will all fall into some certain figure; will look like the fantastic shadow of certain human constructions: will present the outline of towers and cities, animals and what not. The unity and figure of the world are perhaps simply of the same nature. Apart from our conception of it, the world is perhaps infinite, and infinity can never mean anything else to the human mind than formlessness, for we are, by the very nature of the case, unable to describe its contours. The unity of the world is perhaps realized only in our minds; it is, perhaps, only from our minds that the mass of things obtain such unity as they seem to possess. Neither the world nor humanity are totals except in so far as we think of them as such, and act upon them, and group them about our thought and action as a centre.

Summary.

To sum up, if the need of unity seems to justify pantheism, this need receives, at least, but an illusory satisfaction in the two principal forms of pantheism, and, in especial, in the deterministic form. Either the primordial and finite unity of the world is abstract and indeterminate and therefore purely subjective; or it becomes determinate in attributes which are as human as those of the god of atheism. The will which Schopenhauer makes the basis of his system is either the human will or simply force (which itself is human or animal), or the sense of effort, or, finally, pure abstraction. The same is true of the eternal force which Mr. Spencer regards as immanent in the universe. Such conceptions are more meagre in content but not necessarily more objective than those of the God of love, the World-Spirit, the World-Thought.

II. Pessimistic pantheism.

Pessimism.

Pantheism has travelled from Spinoza’s optimism to Schopenhauer’s pessimism; its most recent form, and in some respects one of its most ancient forms. The pessimistic interpretation of religions with death or Nirvâna regarded as the redemption, is making incessant progress in Germany. Pascal long ago said: “Of all creatures that inhabit the earth, the Christian alone avoids pleasure and willingly embraces pain.” Germany, after having resuscitated Buddhism with Schopenhauer, Von Hartmann, Bahnsen, is in a fair way to supply us with a sort of pessimistic edition of Christianity which will far outdo Pascal. But for evil and sin, religion would not have existed, Von Hartmann thinks, and as evil is of the essence of existence annihilation is the sole salvation possible. Bahnsen, in his philosophy of despair reaches an analogous conclusion. The most interesting representative of the new doctrine is Philipp Mainlaender, the author of the “Philosophy of the Redemption” (Die Philosophie der Erclösing). He was the son of parents of an exalted piety, and grandson of a mystic who died of nervous fever in his thirty-third year, and brother of another mystic who, on his arrival in India, was converted to Buddhism and died soon after, exhausted by the intensity of his mental life. Mainlaender found his Damascus in Italy; the heavens opened upon him in a bookshop in Naples where he discovered the writings of Schopenhauer. After having composed his system of pessimistic philosophy, he supervised the printing of the first volume, and the day he received his first copy (March 31, 1876) he hanged himself.[138] The sincerity of this pessimist’s conviction cannot be denied, nor the power of abstract ideas implanted on a brain prepared for them by heredity, and by the intellectual tendencies of the times. Mainlaender regarded philosophy as some day destined to replace religion, but the philosophy is to be pessimistic; Mainlaender declared himself a Christian even while he was founding a scientific system of atheism. Freedom to commit suicide is the modern substitute for the beautiful illusion of immortality. Salvation by death will, Mainlaender thought, take the place of salvation by eternal life. The tree of science will thus become the legendary fig-tree of Timon the misanthrope, the branches of which were weighted every morning afresh by the bodies of the dead, who had come in search of oblivion from the evil of life, and had found it in self-destruction.

Must find the causes of pessimism.

I. To estimate the value and probable duration of the pessimistic sentiment, which has in some cases at the present day been identified with the religious sentiment, one must first consider its causes.