ISBN: Ostalo
Godina izdanja: 1900 - 1949.
Jezik: Engleski
Tematika: filozofija
Kulturno dobro: Predmet koji prodajem nije kulturno dobro ili ovlašćena institucija odbija pravo preče kupovine
Autor: Strani

The American philosopher Josiah Royce (1855 -- 1916) delivered two sets of Gifford Lectures at the University of Aberdeen which collectively are titled `The World and the Individual`. The first set, subtitled `The Four Historical Conceptions of Being` was given in 1899 and published in 1901. I have reviewed the volume earlier here on Amazon. Royce gave his second set of lectures, subtitled `Nature, Man, and the Moral Order` in 1901 and published the lectures in a much revised, expanded form in 1904. I am reviewing this second set here. Together and individually these books are daunting and difficult. They are not much read in contemporary American philosophy. But they are important to readers who want to try to think systematically about philosophical questions, including questions about the relationship between science and religion.

The broad aim of `The World and the Individual` was to provide a religious philosophy based on reason. In the first set of lectures, Royce explored what he termed the philosophy of being. He developed four possible approaches to what it means to be, the first three of which were realism, mysticism, and critical rationalism. He argued that each of these three proved deficient and internally inconsistent and maintained that there was a fourth conception of being -- constructive idealism -- under which to be was to be part of a whole. Under this conception of being, to be is to be part of a spiritual Absolute and the actions of individuals are directed towards finding their path within the absolute.

The second volume explores a broader range of questions centering on the nature of human individuality within Royce`s philosophical absolute idealism. Royce`s approach is heavily indebted to Kant and his successors. There are also indications of the increasing influence of the American philosopher Charles Peirce and of the influence of Royce`s dear friend and colleague, William James. The book makes extensive use of Royce`s own books and essays from prior years.

The book shows a tension between a logical, highly rationalistic form of argumentation on the one hand and a deeply personal, individual approach to thinking philosophically on the other hand. This tension pervades Royce`s writings. In the Preface to the second part of `The World and the Individual` Royce states this tension clearly.

`[T[hese lectures have tried to be not a perfunctory defence of the faith, and not a mere repetition of the common tradition of modern Idealism, but the expression of an individual experience of the problems at issue. I do not want to make mere disciples; but I hope that I have helped some fellow students toward a clearer knowledge of God and of themselves. Such knowledge, however, they can never get by merely accepting my views. They must use their own labor.`

The book is in ten broad chapters. With his focus on religious questions, Royce was remarkably eclectic and drew on many kinds of sources. The book begins with a development of a theory of knowledge in which Kant`s work forms the basis, but Royce also draws heavily on some complex theories, recent in his day, of series and mathematical logic. He also tries to keep a strong focus on practicality and human experience as the basis for his position, but this focus sometimes can be obscured by the writing. The dividing line between philosophy and psychology is not sharply drawn, and was not sharply drawn during Royce`s time. On occasion, his argument straddles both. Royce develops a distinction between knowledge by description and knowledge by appreciation. The former is shared and includes primarily the world of science. The latter is the world of individual meaning which, for Royce, underlies and is more basic than description and science while not contradicting the result of scientific inquiry.

Royce develops a theory of nature based on his distinction between description and appreciation and based on his fourth conception of being. He then develops a view of what it means to be a person. He does not understand individuality as substantial in the manner of Descartes. Rather, to be an individual is to have a will and goals as part of the absolute. It is a process not a thing. A person learns what one is, logically and empirically through interactions with other persons. Royce maintains that personhood is social and develops with other persons. He argues that individuality is social at the outset and that solipsism is an absurdity. In later writings, Royce would expand this position into his view of community.

Royce is a heavily voluntaristic thinker and he sees world of appreciation and social life as logically prior to the world of science. He tries to develop a theory of the ethical basis of the self. Royce argues that his theory allows adequately for human individuality and action, as opposed to determination by an Absolute. Many readers will not be convinced. He argues that the basis for human life and knowledge is predominantly ethical before it is scientific. He tries to explain how his form of absolute idealism captures the insights of religion and the knowledge of science. He tries valiantly to address the problem of evil which is common to idealistic and theistic systems, and he concludes the book with some difficult thoughts on the nature of immortality. At the close of the book, Royce summarizes his conclusions as follows.

`Despite God`s absolute unity, we, as individuals, preserve and attain our unique lives and meanings, and are not lost in the very life that sustains us and that needs us as its own expression. This life is real through us all; and we are real through our union with that life. Close is our touch with the eternal. Boundless is the meaning of our nature. Its mysteries baffle our present science, and escape our present experience; but they need not blind our eyes to the central unity of Being, nor make us feel lost in a realm where all the wanderings of time mean the process whereby is discovered the homeland of eternity.`

`The World and the Individual` is an impressive, systematic work of a type of speculative philosophy that is no longer widely practiced. The writing style varies from eloquent and beautiful to hortatory to polemic to logic chopping. Terms are not always used consistently and clearly. While Royce appeared to believe he was arguing in favor of theism in his concept of the Absolute, my reading of the book makes the Absolute more consistent with a pantheism than with a God as an entity and personality separate from creation. The notion of creation makes little sense in this context. There is also a great deal of tension, to say the least, in the book between the broad all-inclusive Absolute and Royce`s almost equal insistence on the voluntarism of individuals.

The difficulties in `The World and the Individual` as well as the beauties of the book were recognized early by perceptive readers including Royce`s colleagues. In subsequent works towards the end of his career, culminating in `The Problem of Christianity` (1913) Royce would develop a philosophy based on community and on individuals in the community interpreting themselves to one another. Most students of Royce today focus on the latter books, and they discuss the extent to which Royce`s philosophy changed to minimize the role of the Absolute. `The World and the Individual` remains the central writing of Royce`s life, and it is a large achievement. In recent years, there has been a modest rise of philosophical interest in Royce, and I have learned from reading and studying him. This book is central to understanding Royce and the issues about science, religion, and philosophy which so moved him. The Josiah Royce Society has been digitalizing Royce`s books, including both volumes of `The World and the Individual` to make them more accessible to interested readers. Thus, the books are readily available online.

Robin Friedman