William Atkinson - The Complete Works of William Walker Atkinson

Remember, first and last, that I am not attempting to pass upon the truth or untruth of any particular conceptions of the fundamental truths—neither am I undertaking to theorize or speculate upon the real nature of truth. We are merely conducting an investigation into the state of the public mind on the subject—merely feeling the pulse of modern thought. Upon the fundamental conceptions in the public mind depend the actions and life of the individuals composing that public. Not only is it true that a tree is known by its fruits, but it is also true that the fruits may be known by its tree . We may infer the popular standards by observing the actions of the populace; we may predicate the actions of the populace by knowing the public standards. And the standards must, in the end, depend upon the accepted idea or conception of the fundamental principles. Investigate the subject from any starting point, and we find ourselves approaching the center at last.

In considering the conception of the fundamental principles and its effect on the creation of standards of living and action, we need go back no further than the Middle Ages. That particular period of the history of the race shows in itself a reactionary swing of the pendulum of thought. Independent thought had reached its lowest ebb. Here and there were to be found a thinker or two who dared use his reason, but the philosophies of the past were forgotten or unknown to the masses of people, and dogmatic theology had spread its wet blanket over the embers of independent thought so thoroughly as to almost smother out of existence even its feeble spark.

There was no question regarding fundamental principles disturbing the public mind of the Middle Ages. Everything of the kind had been positively and thoroughly settled by the church. The world had been created out of nothing, in six days, some 5,000 years before that time; the animals had been made, one by one, species by species, and man was a special creation, coming after all the earth had been prepared for him. He had partaken of the forbidden fruit and had been driven from Eden, and the curse of original sin had been placed on the race. There were no disputed questions of geology, anthropology or general science. The earth was flat, and the sun and stars moved around it—this relieved the minds of the people of all worrisome questions of astronomy—the nebular hypothesis was undreamed of. Ethics and morality were likewise beyond dispute or argument—these matters had been settled once and for all by the scriptures interpreted by the infallible authority of the church. Theologians disputed about doctrinal points— but this did not concern the general public, for the latter knew nothing of these subjects. The authority was supreme—the standards were firmly established—there was nothing to think about. Some failed to live up to the standards, but the standards were fixed, nevertheless.

Time rolled on. Printing was discovered, and people began to read books. Then came the theological revolts which resulted in the establishment of various churches in opposition to the one church. People began to realize that it was possible and permissible to reason about things instead of having to accept them upon mere authority. The Reformation, as it is called, was the entering wedge of independent thought. People actually dared to question the authority of the church, and, wonder upon wonders, they were not struck dead on the spot! The chains were loosened and the primal causes of the present unrest were set into motion. As time passed the churches disputed one with another, and various sects and divisions arose, each of which based its schism upon some disputed conception of doctrine or practice. After a time the members of the various sects began to hold individual opinions, although still adhering to general truths and creeds. Creeds became broader, and men claimed a greater and still greater right of individual interpretation and freer thought. Although the educated classes did the most of the thinking, still, as is always the case, their opinions gradually filtered through to the lower classes and changes became general.

During the eighteenth century there was a great activity in Europe along the lines of freethought. All sorts of heretical schools became popular—from atheism to modified deism. People also began to rebel against the constituted authorities— the doctrine of divine right began to be doubted. The French Revolution was an active factor in the shaking off of old ideals, political and theological, and although a reaction set in following the terrible excess of fanatics of the times, still the work had been done, and much of the leaven remained. The American Revolution, with its democratic teachings, and the heterodox views of men like Jefferson and Paine, added to the work done by the earlier leaders of the French Revolution, and the teachings of Voltaire and others of his school.

During the nineteenth century the advances of physical science made still further inroads into the orthodox teachings of the past. Reaching the halfway point of the century, men like Darwin, Huxley, Tyndall and Herbert Spencer began to exert a remarkable influence upon the popular mind, and orthodoxy was put squarely on the defensive in a manner never before known—a condition which has continued even unto this day, the orthodox ranks having been steadily forced to retreat, until now many of the orthodox opinions are almost as heterodox as those of the skeptics of fifty or a hundred years ago. Many of the orthodox pulpits to­day give utterance to views almost identical with those which shocked our great­grandfathers when uttered by Thomas Paine. The higher criticism of to­day goes further than the infidelism of 1850.

The theory of Evolution and the Descent of Man broke down many of the old barriers, and the works of Huxley and Spencer tore down still more. It became popular to be an evolutionist, and the adherents of the older teachings were regarded as behind the times. A strong tendency toward materialism set in, which many supposed was destined to sweep before it all the old line of defences of orthodoxy. But, strange to say, toward the close of the century a reaction set in. Although people had been carried away with the newer teachings which had wiped away old lines of thought, the old religious instinct and the desire for spiritual things had not been destroyed. All the stronger for having been suppressed for a time, these factors in the human mind swung back the pendulum of thought away from materialism. Materialism, once so popular in scientific circles and in the universities, has now almost entirely disappeared, being superseded by a new conception of idealism. There is, of course, an old guard of materialism still left, but its popularity has departed for the time being. But the pendulum, in its backward swing, did not carry popular thought back to the old orthodox standards. These had been discarded once and for all, it seemed. There was a need for a new set of conceptions—and the demand created the supply. And here we have the key to the present conditions of affairs.

Filling the vacuum created by the evaporation of the older orthodox dogmas, we find the ideals of ancient Greek philosophy, mingling with the still older teachings of the Hindus, and through all is heard the note of mysticism which has ever pervaded human thought in every religion, every time, and every race. The discarded and long­reviled teachings of the Gnostics, that body of early Christian mystics, have arisen again and under new names have found popular favor in the minds of the public of the twentieth century. The teachings of the old Hindu Vedantism, given a new impetus by Emerson and the transcendentalists, find a prominent place in the advancing thought of to­day. Plato has sprung into renewed and startling popular favor, and many advanced modern thinkers find in his pages the truths for which they have sought in vain elsewhere. Heraclitus finds corroboration in the teachings of modern science, and his views of the eternal change and the “becoming” of the universe are repeated in many modern teachings. Other bits of philosophy have been borrowed from Buddhism, and even from the Sufis, the mystic sect of Mohammedism. Even the philosophy of Lao­tze, the ancient Chinese philosopher who taught of the Tao, or “Way,” is accepted as correctly representing some stages of modern thought. The new bottles of the present are being filled with the old wine of the past.