Israel and Humanity - The idea of human influence in modern philosophy

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VII.

Idea of human influence among modern philosophers.

We also find among the rabbis as a doctrine that is the strict consequence of those preceding us by striking in its grandeur, it gave us the extent of the elevation at which the spirit of the Pharisees knew this. The man, according to them, exerting influence on the world and has the power to disrupt or promote, assist or thwart the divine order. This influence extends even to God himself, at least on the Shekina , the Divine in the world and this is the idea that we must seek the explanation of all the biblical passages rabbinic and where we see the Deity feel the backlash of good or bad actions of humans. It will not be surprised to find this same design in Kabbalah; on this as on all other doctrine is in perfect agreement with those of exoteric Judaism which proves once again there is nothing more wrong than to persist in this system to show an import posterior alien to Judaism.

This same doctrine was not unknown elsewhere in the ancient religions. Does it not in the idea of the Stoics that the sage is useful to Jupiter? The imitation of nature, respect for its laws, the fear of disturbing the course of our works, all based on the same assumption, the influence of man. As for the religions of the East was still fresh in memory the quote we did Michelet on the beliefs of the Parsees.

Christianity we pave the way to the modern philosophers who, in making us that teaching more intelligible, and justify it in their own way. There is a passage from Paul extremely significant in its brevity: "We know," he said, that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth, but she is awaiting delivery of us who are the firstborn of the Spirit. " Or we are wrong box, or there in this verse of the Epistle to the Romans visible traces of Gnostic doctrines that Paul had assimilated Kabbalistic in Palestinian schools. The suffering state of nature, his sighs and groans which is often mentioned in Haggadoth is the ghalout aschechina of the Kabbalists, the dispersion of the Divine in the world. The idea of messianic deliverance, gheoula loses its meaning for Theosophists to assume a political meaning and metaphysical mystery, and this work of redemption is not assigned to a single individual, were he a man god, but to humanity as a whole. Here Paul is, without realizing it, in contradiction with Christian theology and it's a kabbalistic concept that exposes. The words: "We are the first-born of the Spirit" are two likely interpretations. Or do they mean that man is the first rational creature that nature has produced, is responsible for monitoring the mission to rescue his mother by means of which it was endowed. One That statement relates to the precept of the levirate that it was the first-born brothers operate the issue of the deceased, and with him his widow and his property, giving heirs who perpetuate his name, so man, older brother of created beings, must make the issue of Nature.

Here are other great minds who also caught a glimpse of this principle, or rather this great fact. "Be it known, Fichte tells us that everything is connected in each of all possible worlds. The Universe, whatever it may be, is made in one piece like an ocean. The smallest movement extends its effect at any distance whatsoever, although this effect becomes less visible in proportion to the distance, so that God has arranged everything in advance and once for all, having foreseen the prayers of good and evil deeds and everything else. And each has contributed something, ideally before its existence to the resolution that was taken on the existence of anything ". This last thought is found almost verbatim from the Rabbis. Stuart Mill is more accurate when he states that "the virtuous man offers to help God." That's about what the Talmud says about the verse and of Deuteronomy: "There is none like the God of Israel, he rides on the heavens (to come) to help your "the rabbis say that we must translate not your help , but with your help , what the Kabbalists and interpreted in the Midrash meaning that man is truly God's partner and collaborator.

A modern philosopher, commenting on the thought of Hartmann, brings about this testimony is worth quoting: "If the interest of the mind and the obligation to fight for the triumph of his purpose, writes there are also the interests and obligation of the universe and its principle, virtue is in harmony with the general conditions of the world. Resistance of man to the noblest impulses of conscience is not only guilty but also vain that his result is threatening the future unknown and uncertain of his faculties. As well as other forces of the world can not remain long in a state of balance, but must instead, thanks to the necessity of their laws, return the order that governs them all, though, that our free will consents or not, the moral forces must also overcome with us or against our philosophy ". If Hartmann described as futile resistance of man, we must not conclude that he disagrees with us because he speaks only the final result and can not deny temporary disorder that human freedom can cause perverted in the universal order. What fatal effects if it provides, if not the reaction that order against the individual will revolt? "We must be careful, he tells us elsewhere, to measure the active force of will by the mere mechanical effect it produces, that is to say by the mass resistance atomic force it overcomes. It would be a very narrow appreciation, since the manifestation of the will in the atomic forces of a species that is well below ". When finally even the philosopher tells us that "the Unconscious is the common theme that feels one and the other (pleasure and pain), since it is at the bottom of all individual minds ", do not think we hear the Bible or the rabbis tell us about the joy or pain that God feels our actions?

"We must seek the supreme principle," writes Mr. Reinach, or in individual men, nor in humanity taken collectively, progress and happiness are only for junior moments: the absolute goal is to surpass humanity and as we see no intermediary between mankind and the world, it remains only to choose to end the end of the world process itself . Spinoza said something similar: "An atom of matter destroyed and the world collapses." What we have added with reason: "The slightest infringement of rules of universal mechanism disturb disturb the calculations and equations ". But here is a passage from Spinoza himself more directly concerns the work of freedom. Morality becomes for him an almost subjective rule vis-à-vis a higher end, such as personal selfishness vis-à-vis morality itself. Listen to the Mean: "The proper end of a being, he says, can be used simultaneously without the knowledge of this being a higher end. Thus the bee making honey works to the benefit of man. The same man while believing only work to his interest, simultaneously serves the purpose of nature in general, which employs as an instrument, thus moral laws made by man while being provoked by the idea of the good of humanity are at the same time means subordinate to the end of the Universe ".

There is no better comment on these words than did Mr. Janet, when he says that Spinoza shows us exactly how things can be put together and how this hierarchy result for the universal order, "With this view new moral laws that appear first as being partial laws and resume on a sort of absolute value. They are one of the conditions of the universal order. " Schopenhauer follows, too, very closely the pantheistic philosopher when he writes: "A single person, even the smallest, would lead the world into oblivion if it was not by itself completely annihilated ".

Other thinkers have glimpsed the same truths. "Maybe," says Jules SIMOTION, should we not limit the role of freedom on this earth to respect the man and human society. The global presence of this intelligent audience, this Cooperating natural forces can not be regarded as an episode "A distinguished scholar, writes on his side:" The law of conservation of forces has its full effect even geology. Since no atom of matter is destroyed, so no movement, no chemical or physical act or does not go without vital to spread or become "

We find a summary of our thoughts in these words of another modern writer: "This is the great advantage of the theories we have presented. They do not make moral action a mark of deference somewhat platonic vis-à-vis an abstract law (formalism which is the fundamental flaw of the law of Kant) or some sort of personal care more or less distant (they call most often sacrifice without compensation), they are a service, a normal function whose purpose is the development of life in society to which one belongs. They shall provide it a reason to be drawn interests of the universe that only the pessimist or nihilist can be neglected. A leading thinker wrote recently: "If you go back to principles, I think the word evil can have a philosophical sense, ie a principle of conservation. Beyond that, there is arbitrary and fantasy ".

Finally, we will quote, finally, the words of a distinguished sociologist who could be expressed as a Gnostic or Kabbalist, as it is true that theosophy is not far removed from science: "In art divine providence and divine rescue problem that has never helped those who help themselves, writes Fouillee, replaces the human and social welfare, the only one we can count, because it is us same, only perhaps also that after his own liberation, hope to be able one day to some extent the liberator of the world. But that hope all metaphysics. Which is positive for sociology and humanity, if not nature, is in the hands of man ".