Monism: Science, Philosophy, Religion, and the History of a Worldview (Palgrave Studies in Cultural and Intellectual History)

The first survey in the English language of the history of naturalistic monism in the works of Haeckel, Spinoza, and others. Contributors demonstrate that, to a greater extent than previously shown, monism provided an essential epistemological framework for numerous religious, political and cultural movements between the 1840s and 1940s. This groundbreaking collection of essays casts light on the long shadow of naturalistic monism in modern thought and culture. It argues that when the philosophical proposition of the unity of all matter and thought a single, universal substance fused with scientific empiricism and Darwinism in the mid-nineteenth century, it led to the formation of a powerful worldview. Compelling essays by leading international scholars investigate the articulation of monism in science, philosophy, and religion and its impact on range of social movements from socialism and early feminism to imperialism and eugenics. Monism: Science, Philosophy, Religion and the History of a Worldviewprovides a broad and comprehensive chronological, disciplinary and geographic map of a century of monism, while at the same time showing innovative new directions in the interdisciplinary study of the modern intersections of science, religion, philosophy and culture "This groundbreaking volume casts light on the long shadow of naturalistic monism in modern thought and culture. When monism's philosophical proposition--the unity of all matter and thought in a single, universal substance--fused with scientific empiricism and Darwinism in the mid-nineteenth century, it led to the formation of a powerful worldview. The compelling essays collected here, written by leading international scholars, investigate the articulation of monism in science, philosophy, and religion and its impact on a range of social movements, from socialism and early feminism to imperialism and eugenics. The result is a broad and comprehensive chronological, disciplinary, and geographic map of a century of monism, as well as a bellwether for innovative new directions in the interdisciplinary study of science, religion, philosophy, and culture"--Publisher's description, back cover Front Matter....Pages i-ix The Riddles of Monism: An Introductory Essay....Pages 1-44 Proto-Monism in German Philosophy, Theology, and Science, 1800–1845....Pages 45-69 Alexander von Humboldt and Monism....Pages 71-90 Monism and Suffering: A Theosophical Perspective....Pages 91-106 Spinozist Monism: Perspectives from within and without the Monist Movement....Pages 107-134 Monism and Morphology at the Turn of the Twentieth Century....Pages 135-158 Monist Philosophy of Science: Between Worldview and Scientific Meta-Reflection....Pages 159-177 Monism in Britain: Biologists and the Rationalist Press Association....Pages 179-196 Between Hegel and Haeckel: Monistic Worldview, Marxist Philosophy, and Biomedicine in Russia and the Soviet Union....Pages 197-222 Monism, Racial Hygiene, and National Socialism....Pages 223-247 Back Matter....Pages 249-258 Cover 1 Monism 4 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Note on the Cover 10 1 The Riddles of Monism: An Introductory Essay 11 2 Proto-Monism in German Philosophy, Theology, and Science, 1800–1845 55 3 Alexander von Humboldt and Monism 80 4 Monism and Suffering: A Theosophical Perspective 100 5 Spinozist Monism: Perspectives from within and without the Monist Movement 116 6 Monism and Morphology at the Turn of the Twentieth Century 144 7 Monist Philosophy of Science: Between Worldview and Scientific Meta-Reflection 168 8 Monism in Britain: Biologists and the Rationalist Press Association 187 9 Between Hegel and Haeckel: Monistic Worldview, Marxist Philosophy, and Biomedicine in Russia and the Soviet Union 205 10 Monism, Racial Hygiene, and National Socialism 231 List of Contributors 256 Index 258 World experts provide a first survey in the English language of the history of naturalistic monism. At the same time, they demonstrate that, to a greater extent than previously shown, monism provided an essential epistemological framework for numerous religious, political and cultural movements of the century between the 1840s and 1940s