Spiritualism (philosophy)

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In philosophy, spiritualism [a] is the concept, shared by a wide variety of systems of thought, that there is an immaterial reality that cannot be perceived by the senses. [3] This includes philosophies that postulate a personal God, the immortality of the soul, or the immortality of the intellect or will, as well as any systems of thought that assume a universal mind or cosmic forces lying beyond the reach of purely materialistic interpretations. [3]

Contents

Generally, any philosophical position, be it dualism, monism, atheism, theism, pantheism, idealism or any other, is compatible with spiritualism as long as it allows for a reality beyond matter. [3] [4] Theism is an example of a dualist spiritualist philosophy, while pantheism is an example of monist spiritualism. [4]

Historical Development of Spiritualism

The roots of spiritualism as a metaphysical belief lie in dualism and idealism. Plato first argued in his Theory of Forms that the physical world is just a shadow of a higher, non-material reality [5] . The forms, which are perfect and eternal, exist independently of the material world, meaning that true reality is immaterial [5] . Aristotle , while more grounded in materialism than Plato, built on his ideas and saw the soul, or " psyche ,” as an immaterial principle that animates living beings [6] . Neoplatonists such as Plotunus built even further on these ideas, proposing that all reality emanates from a single immaterial source coined "The One", meaning that the material world is a lower representation of the immaterial one [7] .

As spiritualism got a hold of medieval & religious metaphysical thinkers, figures like St. Augustine emerged who introduced Plato to Christian thought, suggesting that God is the ultimate reality [8] . Following him comes Thomas Aquinas , bringing Aristotle into Christian thought and putting forth the idea that and the soul is both eternal and immaterial [9] . Parallel to these figures Islamic figure Avicenna thinks of the “floating man” thought experiment, arguing that a person, even without sensory input, would still be aware of their own immaterial self. This thought experiment was intended to prove the immaterial nature of the soul [10] .

As metaphysics developed, early modern philosophers thought through how the immaterial world could interact with the material world. René Descartes famously argued in his Meditations on First Philosophy that the mind (immaterial) and the body (material) are distinct substances [11] . George Berkley came after Descartes and, as an idealistic spiritualist, denied the existence of the material world entirely, arguing that all reality is mental, stating that “to be is to be perceived,” meaning the material world only exists within the mind of God [12] .

As materialism gained dominance in science, some philosophers continued defending spiritualist metaphysics. Immanuel Kant, while not a strict spiritualist, argued that reality as we perceive it (phenomena) is different from things in themselves (noumena), which could be immaterial or unknowable [13] . Henri Bergson also argued for an immaterial “élan vital,” or life force, that guides evolution beyond mechanistic physical laws [14] . These thinkers focused on consciousness as prior to and shaping physical reality, leading to existentialist and spiritualist interpretations.

In contemporary metaphysics, spiritualist views still persist in areas like panpsychism, where it is argued consciousness is a fundamental property of reality rather than an emergent property of matter [15] . Also in idealism & process philosophy, arguing that reality is composed of mental or spiritual events rather than physical matter [16] . And finally in quantum consciousness, suggesting that mind and reality are interconnected at the quantum level, hinting at a possible non-material basis for consciousness [17] .

Notable spiritualist thinkers

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Also neo-spiritualism, [1] spiritual realism [1] or French idealism [2] in the context of French philosophy

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Iannone, A. Pablo (2013). Dictionary of World Philosophy. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   9781134680436 . Retrieved 5 January 2025. A particular form of spiritualism, frequently called neo-spiritualism, is that formulated by the French philosopher Jules Lachelier (CE 1834-1918), who was the teacher of the French philosophers Emile Boutroux (CE 1845-1921) and Henri Bergson (CE 1859-1941), both of whom are often also considered to exemplify neo-spiritualism. Lachelier advocated a form of spiritual realism whereby the spirit and spontaneity of humans provided an alternative to both idealism and materialism.
  2. ↑ Laurence Jerrold, France: Her People And Her Spirit, Cosimo, 2006, p. 350.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Encyclopædia Britannica, "Spiritualism (in philosophy)", britannica.com
  4. 1 2 William James (1977). A pluralistic universe. Harvard University Press. p. 16. ISBN   978-0-674-67391-5.
  5. 1 2 Silverman, Allan (2022), Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.), "Plato's Middle Period Metaphysics and Epistemology", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2022 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 14 March 2025
  6. ↑ Shields, Christopher (2020), Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), "Aristotle's Psychology", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2020 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 14 March 2025
  7. ↑ Kalligas, Paul (2024), Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.), "Plotinus", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2024 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 14 March 2025
  8. ↑ Tornau, Christian (2024), Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.), "Augustine of Hippo", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2024 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 14 March 2025
  9. ↑ Pasnau, Robert (2024), Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.), "Thomas Aquinas", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2024 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 14 March 2025
  10. ↑ Ivry, Alfred (2012), Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), "Arabic and Islamic Psychology and Philosophy of Mind", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2012 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 14 March 2025
  11. ↑ Hatfield, Gary (2024), Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.), "René Descartes", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2024 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 14 March 2025
  12. ↑ Downing, Lisa (2021), Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), "George Berkeley", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2021 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 14 March 2025
  13. ↑ Rohlf, Michael (2024), Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.), "Immanuel Kant", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2024 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 14 March 2025
  14. ↑ Lawlor, Leonard; Moulard-Leonard, Valentine (2022), Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.), "Henri Bergson", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2022 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 14 March 2025
  15. ↑ Goff, Philip; Seager, William; Allen-Hermanson, Sean (2022), Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), "Panpsychism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2022 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 14 March 2025
  16. ↑ Desmet, Ronald; Irvine, Andrew David (2022), Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.), "Alfred North Whitehead", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2022 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 14 March 2025
  17. ↑ Atmanspacher, Harald (2024), Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.), "Quantum Approaches to Consciousness", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2024 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 14 March 2025
  18. ↑ Su-Young Park-Hwang (1998), L'habitude dans le spiritualisme français: Maine de Biran, Ravaisson, Bergson, Presses Universitaires du Septentrion.
  19. ↑ Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Brahman to Derrida, Taylor & Francis, 1998, p. 10: "Victor Cousin's eclectic spiritualism".
  20. ↑ Dupont, Christian (2013). Phenomenology in French Philosophy: Early Encounters. Springer Netherlands. p. 33. ISBN   9789400746411 . Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  21. ↑ Gordon, Peter E.; Breckman, Warren, eds. (29 August 2019). The Cambridge History of Modern European Thought: Volume 2, The Twentieth Century. Cambridge University Press. p. 157. ISBN   9781107097780.
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