ThepracticewhichobtainsamongsttheAmericansoffixingthestandardoftheirjudgmentinthemselvesalone,leadsthemtootherhabitsofmind。Astheyperceivethattheysucceedinresolvingwithoutassistanceallthelittledifficultieswhichtheirpracticallifepresents,theyreadilyconcludethateverythingintheworldmaybeexplained,andthatnothinginittranscendsthelimitsoftheunderstanding。Thustheyfalltodenyingwhattheycannotcomprehend;whichleavesthembutlittlefaithforwhateverisextraordinary,andanalmostinsurmountabledistasteforwhateverissupernatural。Asitisontheirowntestimonythattheyareaccustomedtorely,theyliketodiscerntheobjectwhichengagestheirattentionwithextremeclearness;
theythereforestripoffasmuchaspossibleallthatcoversit,theyridthemselvesofwhateverseparatesthemfromit,theyremovewhateverconcealsitfromsight,inordertoviewitmorecloselyandinthebroadlightofday。Thisdispositionofthemindsoonleadsthemtocontemnforms,whichtheyregardasuselessandinconvenientveilsplacedbetweenthemandthetruth。
TheAmericansthenhavenotrequiredtoextracttheirphilosophicalmethodfrombooks;theyhavefounditinthemselves。ThesamethingmayberemarkedinwhathastakenplaceinEurope。ThissamemethodhasonlybeenestablishedandmadepopularinEuropeinproportionastheconditionofsocietyhasbecomemoreequal,andmenhavegrownmorelikeeachother。
Letusconsiderforamomenttheconnectionoftheperiodsinwhichthischangemaybetraced。InthesixteenthcenturytheReformerssubjectedsomeofthedogmasoftheancientfaithtothescrutinyofprivatejudgment;buttheystillwithheldfromitthejudgmentofalltherest。Intheseventeenthcentury,Baconinthenaturalsciences,andDescartesinthestudyofphilosophyinthestrictsenseoftheterm,abolishedrecognizedformulas,destroyedtheempireoftradition,andoverthrewtheauthorityoftheschools。Thephilosophersoftheeighteenthcentury,generalizingatlengththesameprinciple,undertooktosubmittotheprivatejudgmentofeachmanalltheobjectsofhisbelief。
WhodoesnotperceivethatLuther,Descartes,andVoltaireemployedthesamemethod,andthattheydifferedonlyinthegreaterorlessusewhichtheyprofessedshouldbemadeofit?
WhydidtheReformersconfinethemselvessocloselywithinthecircleofreligiousideas?WhydidDescartes,choosingonlytoapplyhismethodtocertainmatters,thoughhehadmadeitfittobeappliedtoall,declarethatmenmightjudgeforthemselvesinmattersphilosophicalbutnotinmatterspolitical?Howhappeneditthatintheeighteenthcenturythosegeneralapplicationswereallatoncedrawnfromthissamemethod,whichDescartesandhispredecessorshadeithernotperceivedorhadrejected?Towhat,lastly,isthefacttobeattributed,thatatthisperiodthemethodwearespeakingofsuddenlyemergedfromtheschools,topenetrateintosocietyandbecomethecommonstandardofintelligence;andthat,afterithadbecomepopularamongtheFrench,ithasbeenostensiblyadoptedorsecretlyfollowedbyallthenationsofEurope?
Thephilosophicalmethodheredesignatedmayhavebeenengenderedinthesixteenthcentury—itmayhavebeenmoreaccuratelydefinedandmoreextensivelyappliedintheseventeenth;butneitherintheonenorintheothercoulditbecommonlyadopted。Politicallaws,theconditionofsociety,andthehabitsofmindwhicharederivedfromthesecauses,wereasyetopposedtoit。Itwasdiscoveredatatimewhenmenwerebeginningtoequalizeandassimilatetheirconditions。Itcouldonlybegenerallyfollowedinageswhenthoseconditionshadatlengthbecomenearlyequal,andmennearlyalike。
ThephilosophicalmethodoftheeighteenthcenturyisthennotonlyFrench,butitisdemocratic;andthisexplainswhyitwassoreadilyadmittedthroughoutEurope,whereithascontributedsopowerfullytochangethefaceofsociety。ItisnotbecausetheFrenchhavechangedtheirformeropinions,andalteredtheirformermanners,thattheyhaveconvulsedtheworld;
butbecausetheywerethefirsttogeneralizeandbringtolightaphilosophicalmethod,bytheassistanceofwhichitbecameeasytoattackallthatwasold,andtoopenapathtoallthatwasnew。
Ifitbeaskedwhy,atthepresentday,thissamemethodismorerigorouslyfollowedandmorefrequentlyappliedbytheFrenchthanbytheAmericans,althoughtheprincipleofequalitybenolesscomplete,andofmoreancientdate,amongstthelatterpeople,thefactmaybeattributedtotwocircumstances,whichitisessentialtohaveclearlyunderstoodinthefirstinstance。
ItmustneverbeforgottenthatreligiongavebirthtoAnglo—Americansociety。IntheUnitedStatesreligionisthereforecommingledwithallthehabitsofthenationandallthefeelingsofpatriotism;whenceitderivesapeculiarforce。
Tothispowerfulreasonanotherofnolessintensitymaybeadded:inAmericanreligionhas,asitwere,laiddownitsownlimits。Religiousinstitutionshaveremainedwhollydistinctfrompoliticalinstitutions,sothatformerlawshavebeeneasilychangedwhilstformerbeliefhasremainedunshaken。ChristianityhasthereforeretainedastrongholdonthepublicmindinAmerica;and,Iwouldmoreparticularlyremark,thatitsswayisnotonlythatofaphilosophicaldoctrinewhichhasbeenadopteduponinquiry,butofareligionwhichisbelievedwithoutdiscussion。IntheUnitedStatesChristiansectsareinfinitelydiversifiedandperpetuallymodified;butChristianityitselfisafactsoirresistiblyestablished,thatnooneundertakeseithertoattackortodefendit。TheAmericans,havingadmittedtheprincipaldoctrinesoftheChristianreligionwithoutinquiry,areobligedtoacceptinlikemanneragreatnumberofmoraltruthsoriginatinginitandconnectedwithit。Hencetheactivityofindividualanalysisisrestrainedwithinnarrowlimits,andmanyofthemostimportantofhumanopinionsareremovedfromtherangeofitsinfluence。
ThesecondcircumstancetowhichIhavealludedisthefollowing:thesocialconditionandtheconstitutionoftheAmericansaredemocratic,buttheyhavenothadademocraticrevolution。Theyarriveduponthesoiltheyoccupyinnearlytheconditioninwhichweseethematthepresentday;andthisisofveryconsiderableimportance。
Therearenorevolutionswhichdonotshakeexistingbelief,enervateauthority,andthrowdoubtsovercommonlyreceivedideas。Theeffectofallrevolutionsistherefore,moreorless,tosurrendermentotheirownguidance,andtoopentothemindofeverymanavoidandalmostunlimitedrangeofspeculation。
Whenequalityofconditionssucceedsaprotractedconflictbetweenthedifferentclassesofwhichtheeldersocietywascomposed,envy,hatred,anduncharitableness,pride,andexaggeratedself—confidenceareapttoseizeuponthehumanheart,andplanttheirswaythereforatime。This,independentlyofequalityitself,tendspowerfullytodividemen—toleadthemtomistrustthejudgmentofothers,andtoseekthelightoftruthnowherebutintheirownunderstandings。
Everyonethenattemptstobehisownsufficientguide,andmakesithisboasttoformhisownopinionsonallsubjects。Menarenolongerboundtogetherbyideas,butbyinterests;anditwouldseemasifhumanopinionswerereducedtoasortofintellectualdust,scatteredoneveryside,unabletocollect,unabletocohere。
Thus,thatindependenceofmindwhichequalitysupposestoexist,isneversogreat,noreverappearssoexcessive,asatthetimewhenequalityisbeginningtoestablishitself,andinthecourseofthatpainfullaborbywhichitisestablished。
Thatsortofintellectualfreedomwhichequalitymaygiveought,therefore,tobeverycarefullydistinguishedfromtheanarchywhichrevolutionbrings。Eachofthesetwothingsmustbeseverallyconsidered,inordernottoconceiveexaggeratedhopesorfearsofthefuture。
Ibelievethatthemenwhowillliveunderthenewformsofsocietywillmakefrequentuseoftheirprivatejudgment;butI
amfarfromthinkingthattheywilloftenabuseit。Thisisattributabletoacauseofmoregeneralapplicationtoalldemocraticcountries,andwhich,inthelongrun,mustneedsrestraininthemtheindependenceofindividualspeculationwithinfixed,andsometimesnarrow,limits。Ishallproceedtopointoutthiscauseinthenextchapter。
ChapterII:OfThePrincipalSourceOfBeliefAmongDemocraticNationsAtdifferentperiodsdogmaticalbeliefismoreorlessabundant。Itarisesindifferentways,anditmaychangeitsobjectoritsform;butundernocircumstanceswilldogmaticalbeliefceasetoexist,or,inotherwords,menwillneverceasetoentertainsomeimplicitopinionswithouttryingthembyactualdiscussion。Ifeveryoneundertooktoformhisownopinionsandtoseekfortruthbyisolatedpathsstruckoutbyhimselfalone,itisnottobesupposedthatanyconsiderablenumberofmenwouldeveruniteinanycommonbelief。Butobviouslywithoutsuchcommonbeliefnosocietycanprosper—sayrathernosocietycansubsist;forwithoutideasheldincommon,thereisnocommonaction,andwithoutcommonaction,theremaystillbemen,butthereisnosocialbody。Inorderthatsocietyshouldexist,and,afortiori,thatasocietyshouldprosper,itisrequiredthatallthemindsofthecitizensshouldberalliedandheldtogetherbycertainpredominantideas;andthiscannotbethecase,unlesseachofthemsometimesdrawshisopinionsfromthecommonsource,andconsentstoacceptcertainmattersofbeliefatthehandsofthecommunity。
IfInowconsidermaninhisisolatedcapacity,Ifindthatdogmaticalbeliefisnotlessindispensabletohiminordertolivealone,thanitistoenablehimtoco—operatewithhisfellow—creatures。Ifmanwereforcedtodemonstratetohimselfallthetruthsofwhichhemakesdailyuse,histaskwouldneverend。Hewouldexhausthisstrengthinpreparatoryexercises,withoutadvancingbeyondthem。As,fromtheshortnessofhislife,hehasnotthetime,nor,fromthelimitsofhisintelligence,thecapacity,toaccomplishthis,heisreducedtotakeupontrustanumberoffactsandopinionswhichhehasnothadeitherthetimeorthepowertoverifyhimself,butwhichmenofgreaterabilityhavesoughtout,orwhichtheworldadopts。Onthisgroundworkheraisesforhimselfthestructureofhisownthoughts;norisheledtoproceedinthismannerbychoicesomuchasheisconstrainsdbytheinflexiblelawofhiscondition。
Thereisnophilosopherofsuchgreatpartsintheworld,butthathebelievesamillionofthingsonthefaithofotherpeople,andsupposesagreatmanymoretruthsthanhedemonstrates。Thisisnotonlynecessarybutdesirable。Amanwhoshouldundertaketoinquireintoeverythingforhimself,coulddevotetoeachthingbutlittletimeandattention。Histaskwouldkeephismindinperpetualunrest,whichwouldpreventhimfrompenetratingtothedepthofanytruth,orofgrapplinghismindindissolublytoanyconviction。Hisintellectwouldbeatoncein...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看:
第37章