A Brief History of Thought

I picked up A Brief History of Thought based on a recommendation online by Tim Keller. It was a best seller in Europe for several months and just recently made its appearance in the U.S. The author, Luc Ferry, is a philosopher at the University of Paris.

The book attempts to give an overview of the major theories of thought from the Greek age to the present. It is a layman's guide to the great philosophical movements of history.

Ferry identifies the goal of philosophy as "the quest for a salvation without God" (12). Philosophy is composed of three parts: theory (how we should think about the world?), ethics (how we should live?), and salvation (how do we deal with the inescapable reality and fear of death?). Ferry believes that religion offers too quick and too easy of a solution to these big questions while "philosophy wants us to get ourselves out of trouble by utilising our own resources, by means of reason alone, with boldness and assurance" (10).

Greek Thought

The Greeks were the first to theorize about life from a non-religious perspective. Thus, they are considered the founders of philosophy.

Greek Theory. The Greeks were essentially pantheists. They viewed the cosmos (world) as being harmonious, orderly, rational, perfect, and essentially divine.

Wherefore the universe must be wise, and nature which holds all things in its embrace must excel in the perfection of reason [Logos]; and therefore the universe must be a God, and all the force of the universe must be held together by nature, which is divine. (Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods)

Greek Ethics. If the universe is divine, then to live rightly is to live in harmony with the order of the universe.

Broadly speaking, the good was what was in accord with the cosmic order, whether one willed it or not, and what was bad was what ran contrary to this order, whether one liked it or not. The essential thing was to act, situation-by-situation, moment-by-moment, in accordance with the harmonious order of things, so as to find our proper place, which each of us was assigned within the Universal. (31)

Thus, the rationality of the Universe [called the Logos] governed our lives, determining how we should live and what place we had in society. Some were born kings, some were born slaves. It didn't matter. You just had to sense the harmony of the universe and seek to live within its rhythm.

Greek Salvation. Just live in the moment. Forsake the past. Stop hoping in the future. Yes, death will happen. But you will merely transition from one part of the universe to another. Yes, you will cease to be what you are, but become something else of which the universe then has need (Epictetus). You will transition from a self-conscious individual to a non-conscious particle of space dust enveloped by the vast universe. So stop attaching yourself to this world or to anything or anyone in it. Just close your eyes. Be serene. And act like nothing really matters. Don't worry, be Stoic.

Christian Thought

Ferry doesn't classify Christianity in the realm of philosophy but at the same time he recognizes that it cannot be ignored. Christianity dominated Western thought for 1500 years so it demands attention, even from the atheist. Surprisingly, Ferry gives a very fair hearing to Christianity and seems to understand (and even wrestle with) its major beliefs.

Christian Theory. The Logos of the Universe–all that is rational, powerful, harmonious, perfect, and complete–became incarnate in a single Man, Jesus Christ. The God of the Universe is both transcendant and immanent, eternal and personal, omnipotent and loving. Ferry explains how a Greek Stoic would read chapter one of John's Gospel.

In the beginning was the Word [Logos], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…All things were made by him and without him was not any thing made that was made. [Up to this point, all is well, and the Stoics could still be in agreement with John, especially with the notion that the Logos and the divine are one and the same reality.] And the Word was made flesh [things start to take a turn for the worse!] and dwelt among us [quite unacceptable–the divine has become man, as incarnated in Jesus, none of which makes sense to a Stoic]. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth [sheer madness for the Greek sages…]

Christian Ethics.  Faith becomes pre-eminent…not a faith devoid of rationality but a faith dependent on the revelation of Another, the Logos of God. Every person is created by God. Every person is loved by God. Every person stands accountable to God. Thus, every person has value. And every person has a choice to make between the humility of trust and the pride of self-reliance. "It is no longer the case of thinking for oneself [philosophy], but rather of placing trust in another [Christ]" (63).

Though he is not a Christian (or even religious), Ferry recognizes the immense value of Christian thought and ethics.

…The idea of the equal dignity of all human beings makes its first appearance: and Christianity was to become the precursor of modern democracy. Although at times hostile to the Church, the French Revolution–and, to some extent, the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man–owes to Christianity an essential part of its egalitarian message. We see today how civilisations that have not experienced Christianity have great difficulties in fostering democratic regimes, because the notion of equality is not so deep-rooted. (72-73)

Christian Salvation. Ferry admits that nothing in philosophy compares to the salvation of Christianity–eternal love in Jesus Christ, individual immortality, the hope of bodily resurrection and the future restoration of our world. Ferry even acknowledges that all of this rests on the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, "unique amongst all of the major religions" (85). "The resurrection is, so to speak, the alpha and omega of the Christian doctrine of salvation" (88).

The Christian response to mortality, for believers, at least, is without question the most effective of all responses: it would seem to be the only version of salvation that enables us not only to transcend the fear of death, but also to beat death itself. And by doing so in terms of individual identity, rather than anonymity or abstraction, it seems to be the only version that offers a truly definitive victory of personal immortality over our condition as mortals. (90)

One almost gets the sense that Ferry wants to believe…but he can't. The answer seems too simple to him, "too good to be true" (11). And, as a philosopher, Christianity requires him to trust in the power of Another and not in his own intellect and resources. This is too much for Ferry to sacrifice…even for the hope of eternal life.

Humanistic Thought

Ferry traces the beginning of humanistic thought to the publication of Copernicus' On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies in 1543. From that time forward, old presuppositions were challenged and discarded for the scientific revolution.

Humanistic Theory. Man is the center of the universe. He must depend on his own reason and construct his own meaning in the world. There is nothing divine or harmonious about the cosmos, "rather it is a world of blind forces and collision" (102). And there is no longer a dependence on revelation or religious authority, rather man is to adopt "an attitude of doubt and a critical spirit" (94).

…All ideas inherited from family or state, or indoctrinated from infancy onwards by 'authorities' (masters, priests) must be cast in doubt and examined in complete freedom by the individual subject. He alone is capable of deciding between true and false. (130)

Humanistic Ethics. Man is free and not "imprisoned by any natural code or historical determinant" (113). "His aim is to create himself by remaking the world, to transform it into a better place by the sheer force of his 'good will'" (126). "The human subject becomes the foundation of all thought, and the agent of all change" (131).

Humanistic Salvation. Man must create his own salvation or his own utopia on earth. He must live and die for a cause greater than himself. Ferry calls these pursuits the "religions of earthly salvation" (136).

Here are the three ways of saving one's life, or justifying one's death, which come to the same thing, by sacrificing it for a nobler cause: whether that means the revolution [communism], the homeland [patriotism] or the truths of science [scientism]. (136)

Ferry personally finds these notions to be "faintly ridiculous."

Postmodern Thought

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)–"the master of suspicion, the most abrasive thinker" (141)–marked the end of modern philosophy and the beginning of postmodernity.

Postmodern Theory. Nietzsche sought to destroy all ideas of a God, cosmos, or "rational, objective thought." There is no absolute truth. All the world is one big blind force of fragmented, alogical, destructured chaos.

Nietzsche's most profound insight, and one that will underpin his entire philosophy is that there does not exist, categorically, any perspective external to or higher than life itself… There can be no "objective" or "disinterested" value judgments–independent of the vital interests of the speaker–which devastates the classical conceptions of law and ethics–and there can be neither autonomus and disinterested judgments, nor objective and universally valid "facts." …According to one of Nietzsche's most celebrated statements, "There are no facts, only interpretations." (152-153)

Postmodern Ethics. There are no "ideals," no universal standards or principles, thus there is no right or wrong, good or evil. And there is no valid reason for compassion or love.

To proclaim a unversal love of humanity is, in practice, to acknowledge the preferment of all that is suffering, ill-constituted, degenerate. …For the wellbeing of the species, it is necessary for the ill-constituted, the feeble, the degenerate to perish. (168)

As Ferry notes, "it is no accident that Nietzsche became the cult philosopher of the Nazis" (149).

Nietzsche's ethics, if they could be called that, evolved into a "spiritualization of enmity"–it is good to have enemies so as to feel necessary and to have a means for becoming greater–and to "will to power" or "to will to will"–to live life with full intensity doing whatever you want without "fear, remorse, or regret" (176-177).

Postmodern Salvation. There obvioiusly is no meaning, purpose, or immortality outside of this physical life so the only ideal of salvation is living a life "entirely free of guilt" (191).

If striving gives you the highest feeling, then strive! If rest gives you the highest feeling, then rest! If fitting in, following and obeying give you the highest feeling, then obey! Only make sure you come to know what gives you the highest feeling, and then spare no means. Eternity is at stake! (Nietzsche's 1881 Notebook)

In other words, eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you die (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:32).

Conclusion

Ferry brings his book to a close by trying to recapture some sense of theory, ethics, and salvation after Nietzsche. Without God, the cosmos, or even human rationality, what is left? Ferry tries to rebuild on the rubble of postmodernity but seems to struggle to gain footing. In the end, he cannot not dispense with all aspects of transcendence. Even though he has no real basis for love, rationality, consciousness, or freedom of choice (after all, if we are just blind forces in a chaotic, meaningless world then how can these concepts have any meaning?), he still knows that they exist in some sense. He has experienced to many "moments of grace" (as he calls them) that beckon him to see life from a grander scale, with a higher purpose and meaning. The best that Ferry can come up with is that we are simply here to expand the horizons of our thoughts, to see life through the perspective of another person's eyes. When we do such, we experience a type of salvation. We touch transcendence. We find the "wisdom of love" (264).

Ferry's closing chapters were the most verbose, self-contradictory, and disappointing. But then again, this does seem to be the end of philosophy. If there is no God, no Creator, no Designer, no Sustainer, no Savior…then what is reasonably left? We are mortal beings with limited knowledge stuck in a meaningless world. We are products of blind chance or impersonal forces. Our own thoughts are merely chemical juices flowing over neurological synapses. We are matter…and nothing else matters. This must be the conclusion of the honest materialist. If nothing else, Nietzsche rightly understood where a godless world leads–to a world with no authority, no meaning, no purpose, no morality, no salvation.

The sad thing is that Ferry knows the good news of Christianity. He wonders at its doctrines, admires its ethics, longs for its salvation. But somehow he still misses its Risen Savior, Jesus Christ. The story, to him, is too good to be true. And it requires him to trust in a Person, in a God who loved him enough to enter this world and die for him, rather than in his own power, reason, and intellect.

Ferry wants to believe but he can't.

Because he has the mind of a philosopher.

And not the heart of a child. 

“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Jesus Christ, Matthew 11:25-30)