The Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 6, December 1863: Devoted to Literature and National PolicyVarious
History
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 6, December 1863: Devoted to Literature and National Policy
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; United States -- Politics and government -- 19th century -- Periodicals
In the very able and interesting article in our last number, by Mr.
Freeland, that writer announced the doctrine that 'the social,
political, religious, and scientific development of the world proceeds
under the operation of two grand antagonistic principles,' which he
calls respectively, 'Unity,' and 'Individuality.' 'The first of these,'
he says, 'tends to bring about cooeperation, consolidation, convergence,
dependence; the second to produce separation, isolation, divergence, and
independence. Unity is the principle which tends to order; Individuality
to freedom.'
We are prepared to admit the existence and operation of these principles
as stated. They constitute the active tendencies of society, and they
perform in the social world precisely what the antagonistic forces of
attraction and repulsion do in the physical. They are the principles of
aggregation and organization, as well as of agitation, conflict, and all
revolutionary or progressive activity. In a more perfect state of
development, they will exhibit themselves as the centripetal and
centrifugal forces of a beautiful system arrived at that stage of
regulated motion which constitutes a stable equilibrium.
But while we admit the universal operation of these two principles, we
think Mr. Freeland has made a serious mistake in the application of
them,--a mistake which seems to run through his entire essay, and to
pervade the whole system of his philosophy. We shall venture upon a
brief criticism, solely with the view of eliminating truth. The
question, though somewhat abstract in its nature, is to us of the
highest interest; and we shall ever be ready to yield our position, when
convinced that it is erroneous and untenable.
We find what we consider the exceptionable doctrine in the following
passage: 'Unity is allied to the affections, which are synthetic in
their character; Individuality, to the intellect, which is mainly
analytical and disruptive in its tendency. Unity is predominant in
religion, which is static in its nature; Individuality to science, which
is primarily disturbing. In the distribution of the mental faculties,
Unity relates to the moral powers, and Individuality to the
intellectual; the former being, as both Mr. Buckle and Professor Draper
have shown, more stationary in their character than the latter. As in
this paragraph the 'affections' are placed in contrast with the
'intellect,' we suppose that by the former the writer intends to
designate the emotions or passions, thus making that most obvious
analysis of the mind into halves--the active impulses and moral
principles on the one hand, and the perceptive and reflective faculties
on the other. There is some little confusion of statement, in afterward
contrasting the 'moral powers' with the 'intellectual;' but we imagine
that the same general classification is intended, although not quite
defined with philosophical accuracy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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