JOHN FISKE (original) (raw)

Classics in the History of Psychology

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Christopher D. Green
York University , Toronto , Ontario
ISSN 1492-3713

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Herbert Spencer's Service to Religion

By John Fiske(1902)

First published in Essays Historical and Literary, New York , II, pp. 232-237_._
Reprinted in G. Daniels (Ed.) (1968). Darwinism comes to America. Waltham, MA: Blaisdell, pp. 106-110.

Posted May 2004

All religions agree in the two following assertions, one of which is of speculative and one of which is of ethical importance. One of them serves to sustain and harmonize our thoughts about the world we live in, and our place in that world; the other serves to uphold us in our efforts to do each what we can to make human life more sweet, more full of goodness and beauty, than we find it. The first of these assertions is the proposition that the things and events of the world do not exist or occur blindly or irrelevantly, but that all, from the beginning to the end of time, and throughout the furthest sweep of illimitable space, are connected together as the orderly manifestations of a divine Power, and that this divine Power is something outside of ourselves, and upon it our own existence from moment to moment depends. The second of these assertions is the proposition that men ought to do certain things, and ought to refrain from doing certain other things; and that the reason why some things are wrong to do and other things are right to do is in some mysterious, but very real, way connected with the existence and nature of this divine Power, which reveals itself in every great and every tiny thing, without which not a star courses in its mighty orbit, and not a sparrow falls to the ground. Matthew Arnold once summed up these two propositions very well when he defined God as "an eternal Power, not ourselves, that makes for righteousness." This twofold assertion, that there is an eternal Power that is not ourselves, and that this Power makes for righteousness, is to be found, either in a rudimentary or in a highly developed state, in all known religions.... I said, a moment ago, that modern civilized men will all acknowledge that this two-sided assertion, in which all religions agree, is of far greater importance than any of the superficial points in which religions differ. It is really of much more concern to us that there is an eternal Power, not ourselves, that makes for righteousness, than that such a Power is onefold or threefold in its metaphysical nature, or that we ought not to play cards on Sunday, or to eat meat on Friday. No one, I believe, will deny so simple and clear a statement as this. But it is not only we modern men, who call ourselves enlightened, thatwill agree to this. I doubt not even the narrow-minded bigots of days now happily gone by would have been made to agree to it if they could have had some doggedly persistent Socrates to cross-question them.... What men in past times have really valued in their religion has been the universal twofold assertion that there is a God, who is pleased with the sight of the just man and is angry with the wicked every day, and when men have fought withoneanother,andmurderedor calumniatedoneanotherforheresyabouttheTrinityor abouteatingmeatonFriday,ithasbeenbecausetheyhave supposedbeliefinthenon-essentialdoctrinestobeinseparably connectedwithbeliefintheessentialdoctrine.Inspiteof allthis,however,itistruethatinthemindoftheuncivilized man,thegreatcentraltruthsofreligionaresodenselyoverlaidwithhundredsoftrivialnotionsrespectingdogmaand ritual,thathisperceptionofthegreatcentraltruthsisobscure. Thesegreatcentraltruths,indeed,needtobeclothedina dressoflittleritesandsuperstition,inordertotakeholdof hisdullanduntrainedintelligence.� Butinproportionasmen becomemorecivilized,andlearntothinkmoreaccurately, andtotakewiderviewsoflife,justsodotheycometovalue theessentialtruthsofreligionmorehighly,whiletheyattach lessandlessimportancetosuperficialdetails.

Havingthusseenwhatismeantbytheessentialtruthsof religion,itisveryeasytoseewhattheattitudeofthedoctrine ofevolutionistowardtheseessentialtruths.Itassertsand reiteratesthemboth;anditassertsthemnotasdogmashanded downtousbypriestlytradition,notasmysteriousintuitive convictionsofwhichwecanrendernoaccounttoourselves, butasscientifictruthsconcerningtheinnermostconstitution oftheuniverse--truthsthathavebeendisclosedbyobservationandreflection,likeotherscientifictruths,andthataccordinglyharmonizenaturallyandeasilywiththewholebody ofourknowledge.Thedoctrineofevolutionasserts,asthe widestanddeepesttruthwhichthestudyofnaturecandisclosetous,thatthereexistsa powertowhichnolimitintime orspaceisconceivable,andthatallthephenomenaoftheuniverse,whethertheybewhatwecallmaterialorwhatwecall spiritualphenomena,aremanifestationsofthisinfiniteand eternal Power.Nowthisassertion,whichMr.Spencerhasso elaboratelysetforthasa scientifictruth -- nay,astheultimatetruthofscience,asthetruthuponwhichthewhole structureofhumanknowledgephilosophicallyrests -- this assertionisidenticalwiththeassertionofaneternalPower, notourselves,thatformsthespeculativebasisofallreligions. WhenCarlylespeaksoftheuniverseasinverytruththestardomecityofGod,andremindsusthatthrougheverycrystal andthrougheverygrassblade,butmostthrougheveryliving soul,thegloryofa presentGodstillbeams,hemeanspretty muchthesamethingthatMr.Spencermeans,savethathe speakswiththelanguageofpoetry,withlanguagecoloured byemotion,andnotwiththeprecise,formal,andcolourless languageofscience.Bymany criticswhoforgetthatnames arebutthecountersratherthanthehardmoneyofthought, objectionshavebeenraisedtotheuseofsucha phraseasthe Unknowable,wherebytodescribethepowerthatismanifest ineveryeventoftheuniverse.Yet,whentheHebrewprophet declaredthat"byhimwerelaidthefoundationsofthedeep," butremindedus"Whobysearchingcanfindhimout!"he meantprettymuchwhatMr.Spencermeanswhenhespeaks ofa powerthatisinscrutableinitself,yetisrevealedfrom momenttomomentineverythrobofthemightyrhythmic lifeoftheuniverse.

Andthisbringsmetothelastandmostimportantpointof all.� Whatsaysthedoctrineofevolutionwithregardtothe ethicalsideofthistwofoldassertionthatliesatthebottom ofallreligion?Thoughwecannotfathomthenatureofthe inscrutablePowerthatanimatestheworld,weknow,never theless,a greatmanythingsthatitdoes.� Doesthiseternal Power,then,workforrighteousness?Istherea divinesanctionofholinessanda divinecondemnationforsin?Arethe principlesofrightlivingreallyconnectedwiththeintimate constitutionoftheuniverse?Iftheanswerofsciencetothese questionsbeaffirmative,thentheagreementwithreligionis complete,bothonthespeculativeandonthepracticalside; andthatphantomwhichhasbeentheabidingterrortotimid andsuperficialminds--thatphantomofthehostilitybetween religionandscience--isexorcisednowandforever.Now, sciencebegantoreturna decisivelyaffirmativeanswertosuch questionsasthesewhenitbegan,withMr.Spencer,toexplainmoralbeliefsandmoralsentimentsasproductsofevolution.� Forclearly,whenyousayofa moralbeliefora moralsentiment,thatitisa productofevolution,youimply thatitissomethingwhichtheuniversethroughuntoldages hasbeenlabouringtobringforth,andyouascribetoita value proportionatetotheenormouseffortithascosttoproduce it.� Stillmore,whenwithh4r.Spencerwestudytheprinciples ofrightlivingaspartandparcelofthewholedoctrineofthe developmentoflifeupontheearth;whenweseethatinan ultimateanalysisthatisrightwhichtendstoenhancefulnessof life,andthatiswrongwhichtendstodetractfromfulnessof life -- wethenseethatthedistinctionbetweenrightand wrongisrootedinthedeepestfoundationsoftheuniverse;we seethattheverysameforces,subtle,andexquisite,andprofound,whichbroughtuponthescenetheprimalgermsof lifeandcausedthemtounfold,whichthroughcountless agesofstruggleanddeathhascherishedthelifethatcould livemoreperfectlyanddestroyedthelifethatcouldonlylive lessperfectly,untilhumanity,withallitshopes,andfears,and aspirations,hascomeintobeingasthecrownofallthis stupendouswork -- weseethattheseverysamesubtleand exquisiteforceshavewroughtintotheveryfibresoftheuniversethoseprinciplesofrightlivingwhichitisman'shighest functiontoputintopractice.Thetheoreticalsanctionthus giventorightlivingisincomparablythemostpowerfulthat haseverbeenassignedinanyphilosophyofethics.Human responsibilityismademorestrictandsolemnthanever,when theeternalPowerthatlivesineveryeventoftheuniverseis thusseentobeinthedeepestpossiblesensetheauthorofthe morallawthatshouldguideourlives,andinobedienceto whichliesouronlyguaranteeofthehappinesswhichisincorruptible -- whichneitherinevitablemisfortunenorunmeritedobloquycanevertakeaway.I havebutbarely touchedupona richandsuggestivetopic.Whenthissubject shalloncehavebeenexpoundedandillustratedwithdue thoroughness--asI earnestlyhopeitwillbewithinthenext fewyears--thenI amsureitwillbegenerallyacknowledged thatourgreatteacher'sservicestoreligionhavebeennoless signalthanhisservicestoscience,unparalleledasthesehave beeninallthehistoryoftheworld.