"Pantheisticon" by John Toland (1720)
IF the reader isn't already familiar with a term, "Pantheism" refers to the philosophical perspective that all is God. Written at a time in which God's existence was being doubted and when branches of deism and atheism were unfolding, John Toland's work on Pantheism in practise is an optimistic enlightenment work which does not assert like Leibniz that all things are good- rather, finalising the ideas of Baruch Spinoza who was writing the seventeenth century:
"All Things are from the Whole, and the Whole is from all Things."
Pantheism is perhaps best describes thus. Toland is not alone in his perception of overall unity, and is- surprisingly unconcered with where matter came from- that matter is creative to begin with and it is the mind of God which gives it its motion. Pre-empting Charles Darwin he suggests that "new Perfections are produced, by a never-ceasing principle of Generation" and "...by a perpetual Change of Forms, and a certain most beautiful Variety and Vicissitude of Things, operate necessarily towards the Participation, Good, and Preservation of the Whole, and make, as it were, an everlasting Circulation." Toland's ideas are seeds themselves and propogate further growth in contemporaries' thought; his notion of infinite space, the absence of straight lines in nature, the notion of flux as the rule, the idea of rest as resistance: his philosophy is groundbreaking yet very simple; the most potent things always are."All Things are from the Whole, and the Whole is from all Things."
Particularly fascinating is Toland's suggestion of mutability as the most beautiful and transcendent aspect of life: the tree never dies, but is continued by the legacy of its seeds, and thus new situations are offered by which the seed may reach its full perfection (it's full perfection, for that matter, is constantly to be in motion). Toland applies the same image to human procreation and single-handedly dismisses the idea of fabricated human habititude (the human species belong to the earth and the universe; any other narrow-minded vision is to give overdue respect to human invention).
Toland conceives of various earths and multiple Gods; the planet is "terraqueous" and it is of no concern to it whether land becomes sea or the sea is replaced with fire; it is all part of a central principle of unity in the universe. His pejorative attitude towards the notion that fossils gives proper historical basis for the flood of the Noah is brave considering the time he was writing; he denotes natural causes and refutes the "superstitious" outright. Matter on earth and in the universe is never destroyed; it is merely transmuted. Unsurprisingly, then, he scorns the popular ideal of obtaining the Philosopher's stone. However, he is not singularly concerned with how matter is interwoven and how all particles, compounds, organisms (basic or complex) are contingent upon each other.
He advocates liberty of thought and action, austerity and honest discourse, and- quite wonderfully- frugality and elegance. This has echoes of the Society of Religious Friends taking place in 1682 in America's Pennsylvania under the guidance of William Penn. It is truly a testament to freethinking and discernment for one self and on behalf of the society that is lived within that Toland here suggests that individuals doubt revelations on the principle of sense and he is firmly opposed to "Priest-craft" and determined to overthrow tyranny and superstition.
He comes very close to becoming dogmatic himself, however, and seems to desire truth for truth's sake. He tries to imbue a religious fervour into his Pantheism which is somewhat akin to the attitude that exists at present (especially now with Richard Dawkins' "God Delusion" inspiring countless souls to oppose theism on the basis of what is quite simply inverted theism and carries all the same flaws of reasoning). There are times when Toland becomes to determined to build on a framework of reason and this appears as dogmatic as building upon faith, but still his discussion carries an inspiring thread of humanism.
He explores limitless possibilities and paves the ground for discussions of adapation and evolution with his notion of limitless division and regeneration. His unifying vision allows for unlimited possibility and a leaning towards growth and perfection which is reassuring if the reader can abide the mutability of everything that is present. The whole is governed by a mind that expands in wisdom as the universe itself expands; the reader is given the vague understanding that God is creative, and that God's infinitude is his never ending and always perfecting creation.
Human sadness and despair caused by physical suffering is explained by this broad unfolding of space and time which renders the species so small by comparison. Obscurity and ignorances of causes make life unpredicatble but life is always regenerating and attuning to this; always is life amking new discoveries and learning how to find new harmonies appropriate to the stage of life that is current. This is not a submissive text; the author, rather, is optimistic and an admirer of wisdom and human learning. God is creative and creativity is also imbued into our species; it can meet the creation halfway and find means of harmony that are constantly being worked upon. Socratic societies of discussion and learning are fit to discuss that "Eternal Nature" and to illuminate what would otherwise be shrouded by silence and superstition.
On death, Toland is a fearless writer (and admittedly it is a very simple matter to be fearless of paper; there is always a difference between saying and being) and he suggests that death should be accepted as a part of life, and that those who fear death are never as calm. His respect for life is significant and he demands a humane and considered approach to humanity; this is demonstrated in his hostility towards the fashion in which contemporary church leaders offered spiritual solace but nothing material to the followers of their creed whilst displaying extravagant lifestyles themselves (they would "gape after earthly things").
Toland's principles are intuitive and open-minded, and evoke a sense of freethinking which epitomises the nature of the American Transcendentalists in the nineteenth century. Tolerance, freedom of speech and action and pacifism towards ideas were all epitomised in this work; the evils that were recognised were ambition, gain, and superstition. He preferred self-reliance and knowledge of the self in relation to the whole, but had perhaps an over-exaggerated faith in the separation of mind and body due to the shady influence of Rene Descartes' separation found in his "Meditations" of 1641.
However, despite any imbalance to be found in Toland's conception of the mind as a superior object to that of the body, he still bravely established the path for a very special and sicerning insight which as to prove very critical of convention and accepted norms. The citizen of the world, a continous discourse with man and nature, and the development of social conscience that can actually effect change; this is the simplicity and yet the wisdom of this text.
Toland admits himself some way towards its completion hat people may not share the admiration of wisdom and philosophy that he and his fellow pantheists do, but that is of no concern to him; the reality is that the whole is interconnected and always changing, and that is re-assuring in itself. Like a true pantheist he does not leave nature untouched; he suggests the importance of outspokenness and suggests that it is by every means the human's responsibility to live within a wise and harmonious society but only through his own creation and awareness for others and the environment.
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