darwin and modern science-第153节

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oples；　but　in　the　last　century　the　orthodox　mind　was　convinced　that　it　possessed　a　complete　and　luminous　ready…made　revelation；　the　study　of　what　was　held　to　be　a　mere　degradation　seemed　idle　and　superfluous。

But；　it　may　be　asked；　if；　to　the　orthodox；　revealed　religion　was　sacrosanct　and　savage　religion　a　thing　beneath　consideration；　why　did　not　the　sceptics　show　a　more　liberal　spirit；　and　pursue　to　their　logical　issue　the　conjectures　they　had　individually　hazarded？　　The　reason　is　simple　and　significant。　　The　sceptics　too　had　not　worked　free　from　the　presupposition　that　the　essence　of　religion　is　dogma。　　Their　intellectualism；　expressive　of　the　whole　eighteenth　century；　was　probably　in　England　strengthened　by　the　Protestant　doctrine　of　an　infallible　Book。　　Hume　undoubtedly　confused　religion　with　dogmatic　theology。　　The　attention　of　orthodox　and　sceptics　alike　was　focussed　on　the　truth　or　falsity　of　certain　propositions。　　Only　a　few　minds　of　rare　quality　were　able　dimly　to　conceive　that　religion　might　be　a　necessary　step　in　the　evolution　of　human　thought。

It　is　not　a　little　interesting　to　note　that　Darwin；　who　was　leader　and　intellectual　king　of　his　generation；　was　also　in　this　matter　to　some　extent　its　child。　　His　attitude　towards　religion　is　stated　clearly；　in　Chapter　VIII。　of　the　〃Life　and　Letters〃。　　（Vol。　I。　page　304。　　For　Darwin's　religious　views　see　also　〃Descent　of　Man〃；　1871；　Vol。　I。　page　65；　2nd　edition。　Vol。　I。　page　142。）　　On　board　the　〃Beagle〃　he　was　simply　orthodox　and　was　laughed　at　by　several　of　the　officers　for　quoting　the　Bible　as　an　unanswerable　authority　on　some　point　of　morality。　　By　1839　he　had　come　to　see　that　the　Old　Testament　was　no　more　to　be　trusted　than　the　sacred　books　of　the　Hindoos。　　Next　went　the　belief　in　miracles；　and　next　Paley's　〃argument　from　design〃　broke　down　before　the　law　of　natural　selection；　the　suffering　so　manifest　in　nature　is　seen　to　be　compatible　rather　with　Natural　Selection　than　with　the　goodness　and　omnipotence　of　God。　　Darwin　felt　to　the　full　all　the　ignorance　that　lay　hidden　under　specious　phrases　like　〃the　plan　of　creation〃　and　〃Unity　of　design。〃　　Finally；　he　tells　us　〃the　mystery　of　the　beginning　of　all　things　is　insoluble　by　us；　and　I　for　one　must　be　content　to　remain　an　Agnostic。〃

The　word　Agnostic　is　significant　not　only　of　the　humility　of　the　man　himself　but　also　of　the　attitude　of　his　age。　　Religion；　it　is　clear；　is　still　conceived　as　something　to　be　KNOWN；　a　matter　of　true　or　false　OPINION。　Orthodox　religion　was　to　Darwin　a　series　of　erroneous　hypotheses　to　be　bit　by　bit　discarded　when　shown　to　be　untenable。　　The　ACTS　of　religion　which　may　result　from　such　convictions；　i。e。　devotion　in　all　its　forms；　prayer；　praise；　sacraments；　are　left　unmentioned。　　It　is　clear　that　they　are　not；　as　now　to　us；　sociological　survivals　of　great　interest　and　importance；　but　rather　matters　too　private；　too　personal；　for　discussion。

Huxley；　writing　in　the　〃Contemporary　Review〃　（1871。）；　says；　〃In　a　dozen　years　〃The　Origin　of　Species〃　has　worked　as　complete　a　revolution　in　biological　science　as　the　〃Principia〃　did　in　astronomy。〃　　It　has　done　so　because；　in　the　words　of　Helmholtz；　it　contained　〃an　essentially　new　creative　thought；〃　that　of　the　continuity　of　life；　the　absence　of　breaks。　　In　the　two　most　conservative　subjects；　Religion　and　Classics；　this　creative　ferment　was　slow　indeed　to　work。　　Darwin　himself　felt　strongly　〃that　a　man　should　not　publish　on　a　subject　to　which　he　has　not　given　special　and　continuous　thought；〃　and　hence　wrote　little　on　religion　and　with　manifest　reluctance；　though；　as　already　seen；　in　answer　to　pertinacious　inquiry　he　gave　an　outline　of　his　own　views。　　But　none　the　less　he　foresaw　that　his　doctrine　must　have；　for　the　history　of　man's　mental　evolution；　issues　wider　than　those　with　which　he　was　prepared　personally　to　deal。　　He　writes；　in　〃The　Origin　of　Species〃　（6th　edition；　page　428。）；　〃In　the　future　I　see　open　fields　for　far　more　important　researches。　　Psychology　will　be　securely　based　on　the　foundation　already　well　laid　by　Mr　Herbert　Spencer；　that　of　the　necessary　acquirement　of　each　mental　power　and　capacity　by　gradation。〃

Nowhere；　it　is　true；　does　Darwin　definitely　say　that　he　regarded　religion　as　a　set　of　phenomena；　the　development　of　which　may　be　studied　from　the　psychological　standpoint。　　Rather　we　infer　from　his　PIETYin　the　beautiful　Roman　sensetowards　tradition　and　association；　that　religion　was　to　him　in　some　way　sacrosanct。　　But　it　is　delightful　to　see　how　his　heart　went　out　towards　the　new　method　in　religious　study　which　he　had　himself；　if　half…　unconsciously；　inaugurated。　　Writing　in　1871　to　Dr　Tylor；　on　the　publication　of　his　〃Primitive　Culture〃；　he　says　（〃Life　and　Letters〃；　Vol。　III。　page　151。）；　〃It　is　wonderful　how　you　trace　animism　from　the　lower　races　up　the　religious　belief　of　the　highest　races。　　It　will　make　me　for　the　future　look　at　religiona　belief　in　the　soul；　etc。from　a　new　point　of　view。〃

Psychology　was　henceforth　to　be　based　on　〃the　necessary　acquirement　of　each　mental　capacity　by　gradation。〃　　With　these　memorable　words　the　door　closes　on　the　old　and　opens　on　the　new　horizon。　　The　mental　focus　henceforth　is　not　on　the　maintaining　or　refuting　of　an　orthodoxy　but　on　the　genesis　and　evolution　of　a　capacity；　not　on　perfection　but　on　process。　　Continuous　evolution　leaves　no　gap　for　revelation　sudden　and　complete。　　We　have　henceforth　to　ask；　not　when　was　religion　revealed　or　what　was　the　revelation；　but　how　did　religious　phenomena　arise　and　develop。　　For　an　answer　to　this　we　turn　with　new　and　reverent　eyes　to　study　〃the　heathen　in　his　blindness〃　and　the　child　〃born　in　sin。〃　　We　still　indeed　send　out　missionaries　to　convert　the　heathen；　but　here　at　least　in　Cambridge　before　they　start　they　attend　lectures　on　anthropology　and　comparative　religion。　　The　〃decadence〃　theory　is　dead　and　should　be　buried。

The　study　of　primitive　religions　then　has　been　made　possible　and　even　inevitable　by　the　theory　of　Evolution。　　We　have　now　to　ask　what　new　facts　and　theories　have　resulted　from　that　study。　　This　brings　us　to　our　second　point；　the　advanced　outlook　on　religion　to…day。

The　view　I　am　about　to　state　is　no　mere　personal　opinion　of　my　own。　　To　my　present　standpoint　I　have　been　led　by　the　investigations　of　such　masters　as　Drs　Wundt；　Lehmann；　Preuss；　Bergson；　Beck　and　in　our　own　country　Drs　Tylor　and　Frazer。　　（I　can　only　name　here　the　books　that　have　specially　influenced　my　own　views。　　They　are　W。　Wundt；　〃Volkerpsychologie〃；　Leipzig；　1900；　P。　Beck；　〃Die　Nachahmung〃；　Leipzig；　1904；　and　〃Erkenntnisstheorie　des　primitiven　Denkens〃　in　〃Zeitschrift　f。　Philos。　und　Philos。　Kritik〃；　1903；　page　172；　and　1904；　page　9。　　Henri　Bergson；　〃L'Evolution　Creatrice〃　and　〃Matiere　et　Memoire〃；　1908；　K。　Th。　Preuss；　various　articles　published　in　the　〃Globus〃　（see　page　507；　note　1）；　and　in　the　〃Archiv。　f。　Religionswissenschaft〃；　and　for　the　subject　of　magic；　MM。　Hubert　et　Mauss；　〃Theorie　generale　de　la　Magie〃；　in　〃L'Annee　Sociologique〃；　VII。）

Religion　always　contains　two　factors。　　First；　a　theoretical　factor；　what　a　man　THINKS　about　the　unseenhis　theology；　or；　if　we　prefer　so　to　call　it；　his　mythology。　　Second；　what　he　DOES　in　relation　to　this　unseenhis　ritual。　　These　factors　rarely　if　ever　occur　in　complete　separation；　they　are　blended　in　very　varying　proportions。　　Religion　we　have　seen　was　in　the　last　century　regarded　mainly　in　its　theoretical　aspect　as　a　doctrine。　　Greek　religion　for　example　meant　to　most　educated　persons　Greek　mythology。　Yet　even　a　cursory　examination　shows　that　neither　Greek　nor　Roman　had　any　creed　or　dogma；　any　hard　and　fast　formulation　of　belief。　　In　the　Greek　Mysteries　（See　my　〃Prolegomena　to　the　Study　of　Greek　Religion〃；　page　155；　Cambridge；　1903。）　only　we　find　what　we　should　call　a　Confiteor；　and　this　is　not　a　confession　of　faith；　but　an　avowal　of　rites　performed。　　When　the　religion　of　primitive　peoples　came　to　be　examined　it　was　speedily　seen　that　though　vague　beliefs　necessarily　abound；　definite　creeds　are　practically　non…existent。　　Ritual　is　dominant　and　imperative。

This　predominance　and　priority　of　ritual　over　definite　creed　was　first　forced　upon　our　notice　by　the　study　of　savages；　but　it　promptly　and　happily　joined　hands　with　modern　psychology。　　Popular　belief　says；　I　think；　therefore　I　act；　modern　scientific　psychology　says；　I　act　（or　rather；　REact　to　outside　stimulus）；　and　so　I　come　to　think。　　Thus　there　is　set　going　a　recurrent　series：　　act　and　thought　become　in　their　turn　stimuli　to　fresh　acts　and　thoughts。　　In　examining　religion　as　envisaged　to…day　it　would　therefore　be　more　correct　to　begin　with　the　practice　of　religion；　i。e。　ritual；　and　then　pass　to　its　theory；　theology　or　mythology。　　But　it　will　be　more　convenient　to　adopt　the　reverse　method。　　The　theoretical　content　of　religion　is　to　those　of　us　who　are　Protestants　far　more　familiar　and　we　shall　thus　proceed　from　the　known　to　the　comparatively　unknown。

I　shall　avoid　all　attempt　at　rigid　definition。　　The　problem　before　the　modern　investigator　is；　not　to　determine　the　essence　and　definition　of　religion　but　to　inquire　how　religious　phenomena；　religious　ideas　and　practices　arose。　　Now　the　theoretical　content　of　religion；　the　domain　of　theology　or　mythology；　is　broadly　familiar