Deism is what? Deism in philosophy

With the onset of the industrial revolution in Europe, the worldview of people was rapidly changing. Actively developed science: the textile industry appeared, invented metallurgy, many natural phenomena explained from the point of view of physics. As a result, the dogmas of the Catholic Church were questioned, and persecuted scholars began to persecute (Inquisition).

The European society of the 16th-17th centuries needed a new teaching, which gave people exhaustive answers to the questions that arose. Questions that were unresolved within the framework of religion were called deism.

Definition

What is meant by deism? Is it possible to consider it a religion?

Deism in philosophy is the direction of social thought that arose in the 17th century. It is a synthesis of rationalism with the idea of God. According to deism, the primary cause of the emergence of the world was God or some Higher Reason. It was he who gave impetus to the development of that wonderful and beautiful that surrounds us. Then he left the world to develop according to natural laws.

Deism in philosophy came about thanks to the revolutionary bourgeoisie, which denied feudalism and the boundless power of the Church.

It's time to figure out what deism is: religion, philosophy, or the worldview concept? Most sources define it as the direction or flow of thought that explains the world order. Deism is definitely not a religion, because it denies dogmas. Some scholars even define this philosophical direction as hidden atheism.

Where did Deism originate?

The homeland of deism was England, then the teaching became popular in France and Germany. In each of the countries the direction had its own characteristic coloration, combined with the mentality of people. These three countries were the centers of the ideology of the Enlightenment, most of the scientific discoveries occurred precisely in them.

In England, deism was not universally distributed among educated people. Only a narrow stratum of writers and philosophers led by Lord Cherbury "lit" with a new idea. They wrote numerous works based on the ideas of ancient philosophers. The founder of deism sharply criticized the church: he believed that she possesses boundless power, based on the blind faith of people.

The second name of deism is the religion of the mind, described in the Treatise on Truth, the work of Cherbury. The peak of the popularity of the direction in England fell on the first half of the 18th century: the idea of teaching began to be shared even by deeply religious people.

Of great importance was deism for France: Voltaire, Mélier and Montesquieu severely criticized the authority of the church. They protested not against the belief in God, but against the prohibitions and restrictions imposed by religion, as well as against the great power of church employees.

Voltaire is the key figure in the French Enlightenment. A scientist from a Christian turns into a deist. He recognizes rational faith, not the blind one.

Deists of Germany read the works of their English and French contemporaries. Then they formed the popular movement "Enlightenment". The German philosopher Wolff was a deist: thanks to him, the Protestant religion became more free.

Deists - famous historical figures and scientists

Not surprisingly, the classical devotee of deism had a higher education and was fond of history. When a person knows physics, it is impossible to convince him that a rainbow or thunder is a divine phenomenon. The scientist can assume that the primary cause of all was God, who formed a harmonious and beautiful world, gave him logical laws, according to which everything lives and moves. But the Almighty does not interfere in the ongoing events. They occur in accordance with open physical laws.

Known deists were:

• Isaac Newton.
• Voltaire.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
• David Hume.
• Alexander Radishchev.
• Jean Bodin.
• Jean Baptiste Lamarque.
• Mikhail Lomonosov.

Ideas of deism are still popular. Many Western scholars are deists - they recognize the divine beginning of the world, while they know their field of science very well.

Theism, deism, pantheism - what is the difference?

The difference between these similar sounds is great:

• Theism is an ideological concept based on faith in one God. Two world religions - Christianity and Islam - are theistic. They refer to monotheistic religions, that is, they recognize a single God.
• Deism is not a religion, as mentioned earlier, but a symbiosis of two ideas: the ideas of the Creator and the laws of science. This philosophical direction is not based on revelation, but recognizes reason, intelligence and statistical data.
• Pantheism is a religious and philosophical direction that equates God with nature. To understand "God" is possible through rapprochement with the universe and with nature.

Having defined the concepts, we list the main differences between these concepts from each other:

• Theism is the same as religion. Recognizes the existence of a single God who created the world and to this day helps people. Pantheism and deism are philosophical directions that describe the world order.
• Deism is the flow of thought, combining the idea of God, who created the universe, and the idea of further development of the world according to certain laws, already without the intervention of the Creator. Pantheism is a philosophical direction that identifies the concept of God with nature. Deism and pantheism are fundamentally different things that should not be confused with each other.

The influence of deism on the development of philosophy

Deism in philosophy is an absolutely new direction, which gave rise to at least three worldview concepts:

• Empiricism.
• Materialism.
• Atheism.

Many German scholars relied on the ideas of deism. Kant used them in his famous work "Religion within the Mind Only." Even the echoes of the European Enlightenment reached Russia: in the 18th and 19th centuries, a new direction became popular among Russian progressive figures.

Deistic ideas contributed to:

• Combating prejudice and superstition.
• Dissemination of scientific knowledge.
• Positive interpretation of progress.
• Development of social thought.

conclusions

Deism - this is a fundamentally new direction in philosophy, rapidly spread across Europe in the era of the Enlightenment. The inquisitive minds of medieval scientists, philosophers and thinkers combined the idea of God the Creator with scientific discoveries.

We can say that the public request for a new worldview concept was successfully satisfied. Deism contributed to the development of science, art and free-thinking.