General View of Positivism — Chapter 6 Conclusion. The Religion Of Humanity Part 2

Thus Positivism becomes, in the true sense of the word, a Religion; the only religion which is real and complete; destined therefore to replace all imperfect and provisional systems resting on the primitive basis of theology.

For even the synthesis established by the old theocracies of Egypt and India was insufficient, because, being based on purely subjective principles it could never embrace practical life, which must always be subordinated to the objective realities of the external world.

Theocracy was thus limited at the outset to the sphere of thought and of feeling; and part even of this field was soon lost when Art became emancipated from theocratical control, showing a spontaneous tendency to its natural vocation of idealizing real life.

Of science and of morality the priests were still left sole arbiters; but here, too, their influence materially diminished so soon as the discovery of the simpler abstract truths of Positive science gave birth to Greek Philosophy.

Philosophy, though as yet necessarily restricted to the metaphysical stage, yet already stood forward as the rival of the sacerdotal system.

Its attempts to construct were in themselves fruitless; but they overthrew Polytheism, and ultimately transformed it into Monotheism.

In this the last phase of theology, the intellectual authority of the priests was undermined no less deeply than the principle of their doctrine.

They lost their hold upon Science, as long ago they had lost their hold upon Art.

All that remained to them was the moral guidance of society; and even this was soon compromised by the progress of free thought; progress really due to the Positive spirit, although its systematic exponents still belong to the metaphysical school.

[With the discovery of sociological laws, a synthesis on the basis of Science becomes possible, science being now concentrated on the study of Humanity] When Science had expanded sufficiently to exist apart from Philosophy, it showed a rapid tendency towards a synthesis of its own, alike incompatible with metaphysics and with theology.

It was late in appearing, because it required a long series of preliminary efforts: but as it approached completion, it gradually brought the Positive spirit to bear upon the organization of practical life, from which that spirit had originally emanated.

But thoroughly to effect this result was impossible until the science of Sociology had been formed; and this was done by my discovery of the law of historical development.

Henceforth all true men of science will rise to the higher dignity of philosophers, and by so doing will necessarily assume something of the sacerdotal character, because the final result to which their researches tend is the subordination of every subject of thought to the moral principle; a result which leads us at once to the acceptance of a complete and homogeneous synthesis.

Thus the philosophers of the future become priests of Humanity, and their moral and intellectual influence will be far wider and more deeply rooted than that of any former priesthood.

The primary condition of their spiritual authority is exclusion from political power, as a guarantee that theory and practice shall be systematically kept apart.

A system in which the organs of counsel and those of command are never identical cannot possibly degenerate into any of the evils of theocracy.

By entirely renouncing wealth and worldly position, and that not as individuals merely, but as a body, the priests of Humanity will occupy a position of unparalleled dignity.

For with their moral influence they will combine what since the downfall of the old theocracies has always been separated from it, the influence of superiority in art and science.

Reason, Imagination, and Feeling will be brought into unison: and so united will react strongly on the imperious conditions of practical life; bringing it into closer accordance with the laws of universal morality, from which it is so prone to deviate.

And the influence of this new modifying power will be the greater that the synthesis on which it rests will have preceded and prepared the way for the social system of the future; whereas theology could not arrive at its central principle, until the time of its decline was approaching.

All functions, then, that co-operate in the elevation of man will be regenerated by the Positive priesthood.

Science, Poetry, Morality, will be devoted to the study, the praise, and the love of Humanity, in order that under their combined influence, our political action may be more unremittingly given to her service.

With such a mission, Science acquires a position of unparalleled importance, as the sole means through which we come to know the nature and conditions of this Great Being, the worship of whom should be the distinctive feature of our whole life.

For this all-important knowledge, the study of Sociology would seem to suffice: but Sociology itself depends upon preliminary study, first of the outer world, in which the actions of Humanity take place; and secondly, of Man, the individual agent.

The object of Positivist worship is not like that of theological believers an absolute, isolated, incomprehensible Being, whose existence admits of no demonstration, or comparison with anything real.

The evidence of the Being here set forward is spontaneous, and is shrouded in no mystery.

Before we can praise, love, and serve Humanity as we ought, we must know something of the laws which govern her existence, an existence more complicated than any other of which we are cognizant.

[Statical Aspects of Humanity] And by virtue of this complexity, Humanity possesses the attributes of vitality in a higher degree than any other organization; that is to say, there is at once more intimate harmony of the component elements, and more complete subordination to the external world.

Immense as is the magnitude of this organism measured both in Time and Space, yet each of its parts carefully examined will show the general consensus of the whole.

At the same time it is more dependent than any other upon the conditions of the outer world; in other words, upon the sum of the laws that regulate inferior phenomena.

Like other vital organisms, it submits to mathematical, astronomical, physical, chemical, and biological conditions; and, in addition to these, is subject to special laws of Sociology with which lower organisms are not concerned.

But as a further result of its higher complexity it reacts upon the world more powerfully; and is indeed in a true sense its chief.

Scientifically defined, then, it is truly the Supreme Being: the Being who manifests to the fullest extent all the highest attributes of life.

But there is yet another feature peculiar to Humanity, and one of primary importance.

That feature is, that the elements of which she is composed must always have an independent existence.

In other organisms the parts have no existence when severed from the whole; but this, the greatest of all organisms, is made up of lives which can really be separated.

There is, as we have seen, harmony of parts as well as independence, but the last of these conditions is as indispensable as the first.

Humanity would cease to be superior to other beings were it possible for her elements to become inseparable.

The two conditions are equally necessary: but the difficulty of reconciling them is so great as to account at once for the slowness with which this highest of all organisms has been developed.

It must not, however, be supposed that the new Supreme Being is, like the old, merely a subjective result of our powers of abstraction.

Its existence is revealed to us, on the contrary, by close investigation of objective fact.

Man indeed, as an individual, cannot properly be said to exist, except in the exaggerated abstractions of modern metaphysicians.

Existence in the true sense can only be predicated of Humanity; although the complexity of her nature prevented men from forming a systematic conception of it, until the necessary stages of scientific initiation had been passed.

Bearing this conclusion in mind, we shall be able now to distinguish in Humanity two distinct orders of functions: those by which she acts upon the world, and those which bind together her component parts.

Humanity cannot herself act otherwise than by her separable members; but the efficiency of these members depends upon their working in co-operation, whether instinctively or with design.

We find, then, external functions relating principally to the material existence of this organism; and internal functions by which its movable elements are combined.

This distinction is but an application of the great theory, due to Bichat’s genius, of the distinction between the life of nutrition and the life of relation which we find in the individual organism.

Philosophically it is the source from which we derive the great social principle of separation of spiritual from temporal power.

The temporal power governs: it originates in the personal instincts, and it stimulates activity.

On it depends social Order.

The spiritual power can only moderate: it is the exponent of our social instincts, and it promotes co-operation, which is the guarantee of Progress.

Of these functions of Humanity the first corresponds to the function of nutrition, the second to that of innervation in the individual organism.

[Dynamical aspects] Having now viewed our subject statically, we may come to its dynamical aspect; reserving more detailed discussion for the third volume of this treatise, which deals with my fundamental theory of human development.

The Great Being whom we worship is not immutable any more than it is absolute.

Its nature is relative; and, as such, is eminently capable of growth.

In a word it is the most vital of all living beings known to us.

It extends and becomes more complex by the continuous successions of generations.

But in its progressive changes as well as in its permanent functions, it is subject to invariable laws.

And these laws considered, as we may now consider them, as a whole, form a more sublime object of contemplation than the solemn inaction of the old Supreme Being, whose existence was passive except when interrupted by acts of arbitrary and unintelligible volition.

Thus it is only by Positive science that we can appreciate this highest of all destinies to which all the fatalities of individual life are subordinate.

It is with this as with subjects of minor importance: systematic study of the Past is necessary in order to determine the Future, and so explain the tendencies of the Present.

Let us then pass from the conception of Humanity as fully developed, to the history of its rise and progress; a history in which all other modes of progress are included.

In ancient times the conception was incompatible with the theological spirit and also with the military character of society, which involved the slavery of the productive classes.

The feeling of Patriotism, restricted as it was at first, was the only prelude then possible to the recognition of Humanity.

From this narrow nationality there arose in the Middle Ages the feeling of universal brotherhood, as soon as military life had entered on its defensive phase, and all supernatural creeds had spontaneously merged into a monotheistic form common to the whole West.

The growth of Chivalry, and the attempt made to effect a permanent separation of the two social powers, announced already the subordination of Politics to Morals, and thus showed that the conception of Humanity was in direct course of preparation.

But the unreal and anti-social nature of the mediaeval creed, and the military and aristocratic character of feudal society, made it impossible to go very far in this direction.

The abolition of personal slavery was the most essential result of this important period.

Society could now assume its industrial character; and feelings of fraternity were encouraged by modes of life in which all classes alike participated.

Meanwhile, the growth of the Positive spirit was proceeding, and preparing the way for the establishment of Social Science, by which alone all other Positive studies should be systematized.

This being done, the conception of the Great Being became possible.

It was with reference to subjects of a speculative and scientific nature that the conception first arose in a distinct shape.

As early as two centuries ago, Pascal spoke of the human race as one Man.

[11] Amidst the inevitable decline of the theological and military system, men became conscious of the movement of society, which had now advanced through so many phases; and the notion of Progress as a distinctive feature of Humanity became admitted.

Still the conception of Humanity as the basis for a new synthesis was impossible until the crisis of the French Revolution.

That crisis on the one hand proved the urgent necessity for social regeneration, and on the other gave birth to the only philosophy capable of effecting it.

Thus our consciousness of the new Great Being has advanced co-extensively with its growth.

Our present conception of it is as much the measure of our social progress as it is the summary of Positive knowledge.

[Inorganic and organic sciences elevated by their connexion with the supreme science of Humanity] In speaking of the dignity of Science when regenerated by this lofty application of it, I do not refer solely to the special science of Social phenomena, but also to the preliminary studies of Life and of the Inorganic World, both of which form an essential portion of Positive doctrine.

A social mission of high importance will be recognized in the most elementary sciences, whether it be for the sake of their method or for the value of their scientific results.

True, the religion of Humanity will lead to the entire abolition of scientific Academies, because their tendency, especially in France, is equally hurtful to science and morality.

They encourage mathematicians to confine their attention exclusively to the first step in the scientific scale; and biologists to pursue their studies without any solid basis or definite purpose.

Special studies carried on without regard for the encyclopædic principles which determine the relative value of knowledge, and its bearing on human life, will be condemned by all men of right feeling and good sense.

Such men will feel the necessity of resisting the morbid narrowness of mind and heart to which the anarchy of our times inevitably leads.

But the abolition of the Academic system will only ensure a larger measure of respect for all scientific researches of real value, on whatever subject.

The study of Mathematics, the value of which is at present negatived by its hardening tendency, will now manifest its latent moral efficacy, as the only sure basis for firm conviction; a state of mind that can never be perfectly attained in more complex subjects of thought, except by those who have experienced it in the simpler subjects.

When the close connexion of all scientific knowledge becomes more generally admitted, Humanity will reject political teachers who are ignorant of Geometry, as well as geometricians who neglect Sociology.

Biology meanwhile will lose its dangerous materialism, and will receive all the respect due to its close connexion with social science and its important bearing on the essential doctrines of Positivism.

To attempt to explain the life of Humanity without first examining the lower forms of life, would be as serious an error as to study Biology without regard to the social purpose which Biology is intended to serve.

Science has now become indispensable to the establishment of moral truth, and at the same time its subordination to the inspirations of the heart is fully recognized;

thus it takes its place henceforward among the most essential functions of the priesthood of Humanity.

The supremacy of true Feeling will strengthen Reason, and will receive in turn from Reason a systematic sanction.

Natural philosophy, besides its evident value in regulating the spontaneous action of Humanity, has a direct tendency to elevate human nature; it draws from the outer world that basis of fixed truth which is so necessary to control our various desires.

The study of Humanity therefore, directly or indirectly, is for the future the permanent aim of Science; and Science is now in a true sense consecrated, as the source from which the universal religion receives its principles.

It reveals to us not merely the nature and conditions of the Great Being, but also its destiny and the successive phases of its growth.

The aim is high and arduous; it requires continuous and combined exertion of all our faculties; but it ennobles the simplest processes of scientific investigation by connecting them permanently with subjects of the deepest interest.

The scrupulous exactness and rigorous caution of the Positive method, which when applied to unimportant subjects seem almost puerile, will be valued and insisted on when seen to be necessary for the efficacy of efforts relating to our most essential wants.

Rationalism, in the true sense of the word, so far from being incompatible with right feeling, strengthens and develops it, by placing all the facts of the case, in social questions especially, in their true light.

[The new religion is even more favourable to Art than to Science] But, however honourable the rank which Science when regenerated will hold in the new religion, the sanction given to Poetry will be even more direct and unqualified, because the function assigned to it is one which is more practical and which touches us more nearly.

Its function will be the praise of Humanity.

All previous efforts of Art have been but the prelude to this, its natural mission; a prelude often impatiently performed since Art threw off the yoke of theocracy at an earlier period than Science.

Polytheism was the only religion under which it had free scope: there it could idealize all the passions of our nature, no attempt being made to conceal the similarity of the gods to the human type.

The change from Polytheism to Monotheism was unacceptable to Art, because it narrowed its field; but towards the close of the Middle Ages it began to shake off the influence of obscure and chimerical beliefs, and take possession of its proper sphere.

The field that now lies before it in the religion of Humanity is inexhaustible.

It is called upon to idealize the social life of Man, which, in the time of the nations of antiquity, had not been sufficiently developed to inspire the highest order of poetry.

[Poetic portraiture of the new Supreme Being, and contrast with the old] In the first place it will be of the greatest service in enabling men to realize the conception of Humanity, subject only to the condition of not overstepping the fundamental truths of Science.

Science unassisted cannot define the nature and destinies of this Great Being with sufficient clearness.

In our religion the object of worship must be conceived distinctly, in order to be ardently loved and zealously served.

Science, especially in subjects of this nature, is confined within narrow limits; it leaves inevitable deficiencies which esthetic genius must supply.

And there are certain qualities in Art as opposed to Science, which specially qualify it for the representation of Humanity.

For Humanity is distinguished from other forms of life by the combination of independence with co-operation, attributes which also are natural to Poetry.

For while Poetry is more sympathetic than Science, its productions have far more individuality; the genius of their author is more strongly marked in them, and the debt to his predecessors and contemporaries is less apparent.

Thus the synthesis on which the inauguration of the final religion depends, is one in which Art will participate more than Science, Science furnishing merely the necessary basis.

Its influence will be even greater than in the times of Polytheism; for powerful as Art appeared to be in those times, it could in reality do nothing but embellish the fables to which the confused ideas of theocracy had given rise.

By its aid we shall for the first time rise at last to a really human point of view, and be enabled distinctly to understand the essential attributes of the Great Being of whom we are members.

The material power of Humanity and the successive phases of her physical, her intellectual, and, above all, her moral progress, will each in turn be depicted.

Without the difficulties of analytical study, we shall gain a clear knowledge of her nature and her conditions, by the poet’s description of her future destiny, of her constant struggle against painful fatalities, which have at last become a source of happiness and greatness, of the slow growth of her infancy, of her lofty hopes now so near fulfilment.

The history of universal Love, the soul by which this Great Being is animated; the history, that is, of the marvellous advance of man, individually or socially, from brutish appetite to pure unselfish sympathy, is of itself an endless theme for the poetry of the future.