Spiritualism (philosophy)

Last updated

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]

Notable spiritualist thinkers

See also

Notes

  1. Also neo-spiritualism, [1] spiritual realism [1] or French idealism [2] in the context of late modern 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. Su-Young Park-Hwang (1998), L'habitude dans le spiritualisme français: Maine de Biran, Ravaisson, Bergson, Presses Universitaires du Septentrion.
  6. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Brahman to Derrida, Taylor & Francis, 1998, p. 10: "Victor Cousin's eclectic spiritualism".
  7. Dupont, Christian (2013). Phenomenology in French Philosophy: Early Encounters. Springer Netherlands. p. 33. ISBN   9789400746411 . Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  8. 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.