Seminar Programme
KAROLI GASPAR UNIVERSITY OF THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LITERATURES AND CULTURES
dr. Beretzky Ágnes
2009/2010 autumn term
POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES and CHRISTIANITY in 18-19TH-CENTURY GREAT-BRITAIN
1. INTRODUCTION:
Overview of ideologies: view of man
Overview of Related Terms
2. ANTECEDENTS: ROOTS OF MATERIALISM:
The Historical Background
THOMAS HOBBES : Leviathan
In: The English Works, Vol III., 1651.
Chapter III.
Last §: from Whatsoever we imagine is finite... until we may honour him
Our understanding of God acc to Hobbes
Chapter XXXI
From That we may know what worship of God is taught... until Father, King, and Lord
The definition of God
http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=585&layout=html
3. HOBBES cont. ROUSSEAU:The Characteristics of Man and the State of Nature:
Leviathan:
Chapter XIII.
§ Hereby it is manifest...
§ Whatsoever therefore...
§It may seem strange to some man...
The natural condition of mankind acc. to Hobbes
Chapter XVII.
§ The final cause..
§For the laws of nature...
The motive behind the 'golden rule' (do as you would be done by) in societies
http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=585&layout=html
ROUSSEAU: On the Origin of Inequality
Part I:
§ Above all, let us not conclude...
§ There is another principle... until trample on living bodies.
§ Let us conclude then...
§ It is in fact easy to see...
Appendix:
§ That men are actually wicked... until the prosperity of another
§ Savage man, when he has dined...
Characteristics of man in the state of nature
http://www.constitution.org/jjr/ineq.htm
4. THE QUESTION OF RELIGIOUS TOLERATION:
ROUSSEAU cont. : Émile, or on Education. Chapter IV.
Book II: [267]
Book IV: [1053], [1087]
[1090] From I regard all individual religions until ...provided it is sincere
Rousseau on religious toleration
http://projects.ilt.columbia.edu/pedagogies/rousseau/
JOHN LOCKE: A Letter Concerning Toleration
From ...I esteem it above all things necessary... until ...places of their nativity.
The proper relationship btw government and church according to Locke
From ...Again: That Church can have no right... until... why they should not be tolerated.
List and explain the subjects exempt from religious toleration
http://www.constitution.org/jl/tolerati.htm
5. ROOTS OF RELIGIOUS SCEPTICISM:
DAVID HUME: Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, Part II.
From In reality, Cleanthes, continued he, there is no need of...Until .similarity to human mind and intelligence (pp.439-440).
Explain the argument from design maintained by Cleanthes
From ... Good God!......until ...opinions of Cleanthes? (p.442)
Demea's stance
From... I was from the beginning scandalized until ....I have made a fair representation of it. (pp. 444-445)
Philo's counter-argument
From ...secondly, you have no reason... until... who had never seen any other production? (p.469) +
§ In a word, Cleanthes...
arguments concerning God's perfection (p. 472)
From ... I am indeed persuaded... until ...melancholy could inspire. (pp.502.503.)
+ From ..and it is possible, Cleanthes... until... end at once of all religion (pp. 509-510)
+ § The only method of supporting...
+ From But allowing you what never will be believed... until end of chapter (513-514)
The problem of human suffering/evil and three answers given by the believer, mystic and the sceptic
From There seem to be four circumstances... until... part of natural evil depend (p. 518-525)
§ There may four hypotheses be framed... (p.527)
The true nature of God (cause of the universe) according to Hume
From .. How happens it then... until... deceived by him?.(pp. 538-540)
Religiousness vs. secular morality
http://files.libertyfund.org/files/1482/0221-02_Bk.pdf
On Miracles.(excerpt) In: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, L. A. Selby Bigge, ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902.)
Hume's attitude twds miracles
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/hume-miracles.html
6. THE EMERGENCE OF SECULAR RELIGION: POSITIVISM:
AUGUST COMTE: Course of Positive Philosophy
Read from 'In order to understand the true value' until 'from the theological system to the positive'
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/comte_cpp.html
Explain the three methods of gaining knowledge
& A General View of Positivism, Chapter VI, Positivism is the Successor of Christianity...
p.372- Paragraph But while bearing in mind....
The relationship between Catholicism and Positivism
p. 378. paragraph All the points then...
Explain the new (positive) subject of worship
http://books.google.com/books?id=SgaHpaeZAewC&pg=PP2&ots=iubuk2ztrh&dq=%22A+General+View+of+Positivism%22#v=onepage&q=%20Grand%20%C3%8Atre&f=false
Catechism Of Positive Religion, Third Part, Conversation X.
p. 311. from 'The Priest.-Your instinct, my daughter...' until 'duty will necessarily coincide'
p. 217 Paragraph 'Positivism alone becomes at once...'
Pinpoint the moral teaching of positivism
http://books.google.hu/books?id=FaMNAAAAYAAJ&dq=AUGUST+COMTE+Catechism+Of+Positive+religion&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=YnkUB3WNCX&sig=pQNXYMUo2KT4b8HpqoyK-ONzOlM&hl=hu&ei=t8bdSrTvIceF-QatsOU-&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false
7. THE INFLUENCE (& CRITICISM ) OF POSITIVISM IN BRITAIN:
J.S. MILL: Three Essays on Religion,
In: The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume X - Essays on Ethics, Religion, and Society [1833]
Nature:
§ That much applauded class of authors...
A divine characteristic questioned
Utility of Religion:
§ But because, when men were still savages... until universal precepts of Christ
§ Religion and poetry address themselves...
§ Much more might be added... until ...as this planet and the life of its inhabitants
The use of religion acc to JSM; The attributes of moral truths and the problem of their supernatural origin
Theism, Part II, Attributes:
§ It is not too much to say...
§ And this hypothesis agrees...
§ When all these things are considered it is evident...
§ These are then the net results of Natural Theology...
List and Explain the divine attributes questioned by JSM
http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=241&chapter=21518&layout=html&Itemid=27
& Comte and Positivism
§ We have still to speak of the directly political functions... (until single idea)
JSM's critical remarks regarding Comte's new religion
http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=241&chapter=21512&layout=html&Itemid=27
8. CRITICISM OF SECULAR RELIGION II:
JAMES FITZJAMES STEPHEN: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.[1874]
Chapter VI: Fraternity
§ On one who does not think...
§ The man who works from himself outwards...
§ The question, Who is my brother?....
From ....It is idle to ask the question... until... manly way of thinking of him.
§ I have now tried to perform the task...
The essence of secular religion/humanitarianism
The dangers involved
http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=572&chapter=39283&layout=html&Itemid=27
SIMONE WEIL: Need for Roots. Routlege:2002.
Chapter 1: The need of the soul, pp 2-7.
Right vs. obligation
The problem of 1789
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0415271029/ref=rdr_ext_sb_ti_sims_3#reader
9. NATURAL THEOLOGY VERSUS EVOLUTIONISM
WILLIAM PALEY. Natural Theology or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity collected from the Appearances of Nature
Chapter I. State of the Argument, pp1-3.
From In crossing a heath...until ...put together for a purpose
From This mechanism being observed... until... designed its use
+ p. 441. § Upon the whole...
The essence of the watchmaker-analogy
Chapter XXIV. Of the Natural Attributes of the Deity. P.442.
§ IT is an immense conclusion...
Chapter XXV. , p.449.
From beginning until... derived from gravitation.
Chapter XXVI, pp. 454-456.
From beginning until...crowd upon my view.
The Attributes of God acc. to natural theology
http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=A142&viewtype=text&pageseq=1
CHARLES DARWIN. The Origin of Species, 6th edition.
pp.419-422 from the existence of closely allied...until by the action of His laws
Darwin's findings during his voyage and their compatibility with religious belief
http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?viewtype=side&itemID=F391&pageseq=1
& Autobiography
During these two years... until ...the result of fixed laws.
Darwin's personal faith: the conflict between natural theology and the theory of evolution
pp. 85-87;
A man who has no assured... until... a far better line of conduct? pp. 94-95;
Darwin's confessions
http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1497&viewtype=text&pageseq=1
10. EVOLUTIONISM II: DEISM & AGNOSTICISM
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
HERBERT SPENCER: The Development Hypothesis (1852)
From Those who cavalierly reject.... Until ...nor can conceive
Contrasting arguments of creation vs. evolution
http://www.victorianweb.org/science/science_texts/spencer_dev_hypothesis.html
& The Data of Ethics [1879]
Chapter XV.: Absolute and Relative Ethics.
The contents of preceding chapters....until ... at large will assume this character.
In contrast with these consider... until ...being the least wrong
§ The alleged necessary precedence of...
From The co-existence of a perfect man... till the end of chapter
Man's future conduct
Absolute vs. Relative ethics
http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=331&chapter=45778&layout=html&Itemid=27
& First Principles [1867]
Part I: The Unknowable, Chapter 1: Religion and Science
§ How to find this something...
The proper attitude twds. The controversy btw. Religion&science
Part I. Chapter V: The Reconciliation
From To this end let him bear in mind.... Until...as may be of sympathy.
http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=1390&Itemid=99999999
THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY. Collected Essays: Volume V.: Science and Christian Tradition.New York, 1902.
Preface
§ I too have reached the term... until ...break the fence down and go through it.
Charges against Huxley and his reactions, the scientific vs. religious convictions
Chapter VII. Agnosticism
§ This was my situation when I had the good fortune...
The birth of the term 'agnostic'
Chapter IX. Agnosticism And Christianity[1889]
§ 1-2. until ...ourselves by that title.
§ I trust that I have now made...
The positive and negative definitions of the term 'agnoticism/agnostic.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15905/15905-h/15905-h.htm#VII
11. PILLARS OF ATHEISM AND MATERIALISM:
LUDWIG FEUERBACH: The Essence of Christianity
§ 2: The Essence of Religion in General
Read § Religion, at least the Christian religion...
Read § God is the most subjective, the very own being of man,....
Part II. Chapter XXVII. Concluding Application
§ Our relation to religion...
The realtionship between man & God and the correct attitude twds. Christianity
http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/feuerbach/works/essence/index.htm
KARL MARX: Theses On Feuerbach, 1845
Read theses 1-3, 10-11.
Marxian criticism of Feuerbach's aims & methodsin his Essence of Christianity and a new 'horizon'
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/theses/index.htm
&Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right (1843) Introduction
Read from The foundation of irreligious criticism... until ...religion is the halo.
The source of religion and the consequent tasks
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1843/critique-hpr/intro.htm
12. FASCISM/NAZISM AND "POSITIVE CHRISTIANITY”:
HOUSTON STEWART CHAMBERLAIN: The Foundations of the 19th Century, 2nd ed., published by John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1912.
Chapter III: The Revelation of Christ
From ... If we do attempt this,...until... "of a foreign country"
The origin of Christ acc. to HS Chamberlain
Chapter VII: Religion
From ...Now those two principal pillars. until... underground current in our life
The two conflicting camps in the history of Christianity
www.hschamberlain.net/grundlagen/division1_chapter3.html
"The Nazi Master Plan: The Persecution of the Christian Churches"
III. The Basic National Socialist Attitude Towards Christian Churches pp.11 (4)-14 (7)
The common and opposite features of Nazism and the Christian churches a
The main Nazi anti-Christian sources
http://www.lawandreligion.com/publications/nazimasterplan01.pdf
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS XI ON THE CHURCH AND THE GERMAN REICH MARCH 14, 1937 :Mit Brennender Sorge
§ 7-12, 21, 29
The anti-Christian characteristics of Nazism
Warnings against anti-Christian Nazi acts
http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius11/P11BRENN.HTM
13. MUSEUM WEEK: assignments to be distributed
14. BRUSH UP
ASSESSMENT IS BASED ON:
In-class discussion & debate based on the required readings
One Short presentation on the selected author
Museum visit & presentation: tasks to be distributed
Three abscences permitted