Page 31 - DENG104_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_I

Elective English–I

Notes • The Philosophers of the 18th Century Enlightenment viewed the workings of Nature as
mechanistic. They were reductionists, and removed God from the role of dictating
everyday events. Whereas some of the Philosophers believed God set things in motion
and then stepped back to watch his handiwork, others (like Holbach) gave Him no role
whatsoever thereby denying God’s existence. In either case, the mechanistic universe
viewpoint answered the “how” questions (how things work), while in the process
denying the existence of “why” questions (Dreiser, 1932). The mechanistic universe
perspective failed to provide guidance on “how one should live” questions. Voltaire
spoke for many in Candide when he portrayed the world as filled with misfortunes
due to a universe that doesn’t care about humans as well as widespread evil that is
endemic to human nature.
• Nietzsche, in the mid 19th Century, had in mind the “uncaring universe” and its
implications for “how to live” when he wrote (approximate words): “When God is at
last dead for Man, when the last gleam of light is extinguished, and when he is surrounded
by the impenetrable darkness of an uncaring universe that exists for no purpose, then
at last Man will know that he is alone and must create his own values to live by.”
• Near the end of the 19th Century HG Wells wrote The Universe Rigid (a manuscript
that was lost by his publisher, prompting him to write The Time Machine, 1895). He
understood more profoundly than even most contemporary scientists the implications
of their mechanistic universe (i.e., a = F/m).
• The uncaring nature of the universe was an important part of “the climate of opinion”
at the turn of the Century, when Bertrand Russell wrote “A Free Man’s Worship”
(1903). Russell took on the challenge of how a Godless person might view the “ of
existence,” and even how he might “worship” existence. Russell touched base on all
these points, but he did it with such powerful, poetic prose, that all other attempts to
write what he managed to convey were pale in comparison. That is my humble opinion.
2.10 Keywords

Portrayed : Depicted (someone or something) in a work of art or literature.
Predicament : A difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation.

Answers: Self Assessment

1. (a) 2. (b) 3. (a) 4. (a)
5. (a) 6. (b)

2.11 Review Questions

1. Explain Russell’s Work in Logic.

2. What is the Russell’s Theory of Definite Descriptions?
3. Explain Russell’s Neutral Monism.
4. Briefly explain Russell’s Social and Political Philosophy.
5. Wrte a critical review of “A Free Man’s Worship”.

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