The Transcendentalists and the Death and Rebirth of Western Philosophical Religion: Part 1 Ancient Philosophy as a Religious Way of Life
In a radical departure from the Abrahamic faiths, Emerson, Thoreau and the Transcendentalist movement in 19th century Unitarianism saw the locus of religious authority as residing within the individual rather than a religious organization or sacred text. Ancient philosophy as a religious way of life also saw the locus of religious authority as residing within the individual. The classics were center stage in American thought during the founding and early days of the United States and the Transcendentalists were powerfully influenced by classical thought. Ancient philosophy as a religious way of life emphasized the pursuit of virtue and happiness in this life through critical thinking and free inquiry. After Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire, philosophy would be forced into a role of subservience to religious dogma. The Enlightenment freed philosophy from religious dogma but philosophy has yet to reachieve the status it held in classical antiquity as a respected religious way of life. Many critical thinkers now see dogma about the supernatural as the defining characteristic of religion. One of my goals is to give readers a fresh perspective on the possible relevance of religion in contemporary life through an understanding of religious history that views dogma about the supernatural as nonessential and in the 21st century increasingly counterproductive in religion and religious thought. Appreciating ancient philosophy as a religious way of life might serve as an inspiration for the extension of freedom of thought – a good thing --into 21st century religion. Classical thought might help transform our thinking yet again as it did for America’s founders, the Transcendentalists and, before them, the Greeks, the Romans and during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.For more information about me and my book, see my website Robert A. Gross, the author of The Transcendentalists and Their World, named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the ten best books of 2021, provides the following endorsement of my “With a confidence in human intelligence and the intrinsic capacity of people to make a better life on this earth now and not in an invisible hereafter, Arthur Anderson offers a philosophical alternative to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. To those Abrahamic religions, in his view, we owe the intolerance, war, and authoritarianism that have brought misery to humankind over the millennia. The indictment is searing and well-made. And it comes with a route to a more hopeful future. Through his extensive reading of thinkers from ancient Greece and Rome, Anderson constructs an intellectual genealogy across the ages and discerns the descendants of the classical sages in the New England Transcendentalists and in their twenty-first century adherents. His selections from these writings are well-chosen, his interpretations strongly argued. Do you wish for peace on earth, good will to men? Then follow Anderson’s lead, read Socrates and Plato, Jefferson and Madison, Emerson, Fuller, and Thoreau, and, under their inspiration, build a new, more generous, truly cosmopolitan order of the ages for the benefit of one and all.”
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The Transcendentalists and the Death and Rebirth of Western Philosophical Religion: Part 1 Ancient Philosophy as a Religious Way of Life
306 págs.
Feb 14, 2023
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