Spiritualism (philosophy)
In philosophy, spiritualism is the notion, shared by a wide variety of systems of thought, that there is an immaterial reality that cannot be perceived by the senses.[1] This includes philosophies that postulate a personal God, the immortality of the soul, or the immortality of the intellect or will, as well as any systems of thought that assume a universal mind or cosmic forces lying beyond the reach of purely materialistic interpretations.[1] Generally, any philosophical position, be it dualism, monism, atheism, theism, pantheism, idealism or any other, is compatible with spiritualism as long as it allows for a reality beyond matter.[1][2] Theism is an example of a dualist spiritualist philosophy, while pantheism is an example of monist spiritualism.[2]
Notable spiritualist thinkers
- Aristotle[1]
- Henri Bergson[1]
- Maine de Biran[3]
- F. H. Bradley[1]
- Victor Cousin[4]
- René Descartes[1]
- Giovanni Gentile[1]
- William Ernest Hocking[1]
- Louis Lavelle[1]
- René Le Senne[1]
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz[1]
- Pindar[1]
- Plato[1]
- Josiah Royce[1]
See also
- Spiritualism (religious movement)
- Alfred Russel Wallace's religious spiritualism
Notes
- Encyclopædia Britannica, "Spiritualism (in philosophy)", britannica.com
- William James (1977). A pluralistic universe. Harvard University Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-674-67391-5.
- Su-Young Park-Hwang (1998), L'habitude dans le spiritualisme français: Maine de Biran, Ravaisson, Bergson, Presses Universitaires du Septentrion.
- Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Brahman to Derrida, Taylor & Francis, 1998, p. 10: "Victor Cousin's eclectic spiritualism".
