MONISM

A philosophical system or doctrine that reduces all of reality to some type of unity, or admits only one basic principle where other doctrines admit two (dualism) or more (pluralism). materialism, idealism, and pantheism are the major forms that monist philosophies assume. This article surveys the various kinds of monism and then offers a brief critique from the viewpoint of Catholic thought.

Kinds. Depending on the type of principle or underlying unity to which all entities are reduced, monism may be variously designated as substantive, or conceptual, or moral and aesthetic.

Substantive. In substantive monism, the underlying principle is substance, which is usually viewed as either matter or spirit. If everything is reducible to matter, as is affirmed in Marxism, spirit becomes nothing more than a modality of matter. A similar consequence results from the teaching of W. Ostwald (1853–1932), who spoke of energy as the sole subsistent reality. For J. M. Guyau (1854–88), it is life in a state of continual becoming that explains universal evolution and is itself the basis of everything real; in such vitalistic monism, spirit fares no better than in materialism, for both matter and spirit, in its view, are but an extract of life. The teaching of E. H. Haeckel is a classical example of materialistic monism. According to Haeckel, the universe is one to such an extent that there is no possibility of matter-spirit dualism: the universe was not created but evolves according to eternal laws and is identical with God; physical and chemical forces alone explain change; the soul is mortal;and so forth.

Among those varieties of monism in which substance is conceived as spirit, that of G. W. F. hegel exerts the greatest influence. For Hegel, the world is one and is in continual dialectical change under the direction of the idea, or logos, which constitutes all of ontological reality. British idealism, inspired by Hegel and developed especially by F. H. bradley, likewise teaches the radical unity of the universe and the existence of the absolute; for it, the multiplicity recognized by the senses, together with individuality and duration, is nothing more than appearance. Among earlier thinkers, G. bruno and B. spinoza may likewise be listed as monists who accented spirit as the unique type of substance.

Conceptual. The second kind of monism does not invoke a substantial principle of things, but rather the type of conception man can have of them. The accent is here placed on the unitary character of truth, on a unity of knowledge rather than on an ontological unity. Paul Carus (1852–1919), the American positivist who founded the Monist in 1890, thus maintained that all truths, of whatever kind and origin, must agree among themselves. For him, scientific knowledge and religious faith can be completely and harmoniously reconciled; on any subject, there can be but one truth, which is eternal and independent of all subjective feelings and aspirations.

Moral and Aesthetic. Various other forms of monism include the moral and the aesthetic. A moral monism would draw ethical consequences from a materialistic view of the universe. This is essentially the teaching of Haeckel, who regarded his system as a religion that imposed a mode of conduct in basic conflict with that of Christianity. In a more restricted sense, one may regard as monistic any doctrine that postulates a certain unity of explanation within a limited sphere of ideas or of facts. It is in this sense that one may speak of an aesthetic monism, meaning by this the elegance and appeal of any simplified accounting for a domain of human experience.

Critique. The difficulties involved in accepting monism as a complete explanation of reality are evidenced by repeated attempts to develop pluralism as a consistent philosophical position. Pluralism is radically opposed to monism, especially when monism is understood in a Hegelian sense. In Germany, the teaching of J. F. Herbart is generally regarded as pluralistic and as thus antithetical to the idealistic monism of F. W. J. von schelling. In France, C. B. Renouvier proposed a philosophy that is likewise spoken of as pluralistic. In the U.S., similarly, W. james advocated a type of pluralism, as did H. A. Myers (1906–55) in his Systematic Pluralism: A Study in Metaphysics (Ithaca 1961).

Some elements stressed in monism, however, are to be found in all schools of philosophy. Despite the endless variety and diversity to be found in the universe, one need not be committed to a doctrine of absolute disparity. Beings resemble one another; they possess common characteristics, and there are transcendental attributes that encompass the entire ontological order. The activities of the many species of natural things are regulated by laws, so much so that one may speak of a uniformity in nature and in its operation. Similarly, there are metaphysical principles that confer a unity and organization on observable facts and the ideas men use to explain them. From the social point of view, and particularly with recent improvements in methods of communication and transportation, the world is becoming more and more one. Along these lines, P. teilhard de chardin has accented the unity of order and direction to be found in the universe, echoing the earlier suggestion of P. Lecomte du Noüy. In the mid-20th century, therefore, few thinkers held for an absolute multiplicity in the universe, without any element of permanence or continuity.

Nevertheless, monism itself cannot make an absolute claim to validity. A primary indication of dualism is that provided by the distinction between the universe and its Creator. Reason postulates, with evidence, the existence of a God who is not identical with His work. Again, although the universe is one, it contains a plurality of things. These are distinguished from each other by their genus and species as well as by their individuality. This dog is not this cat or this horse, nor is it this other dog. The world is not a single substance, but is made up of subsisting realities that cannot be explained adequately in monistic terms. Despite its aesthetic appeal, monism is thus an oversimplified system that is unable to account for the totality of human experience.

See Also: potency and act; matter and form; essence and existence; pluralism, philosophical.

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[w. a. wallace]