Conciliatory skepticism: John Stuart Mill’s thought on religion

[A. Z. Brišček]

238 str.

Političke nauke - Politička teorija, politička istorija i metodologija političkih nauka / Political Science - Political Theory, Political History and Methodology of Political Science

Rad se bavi retko proučavanim aspektom filozofije Džona Stjuarta Mila – njegovim pogledima na religiju, sa posebnim fokusom na tri eseja koja je posvetio toj temi. Iako je poznat prvenstveno po doprinosima u drugim oblastima, Mil je religiji posvetio značajan prostor u svom pisanju. Eseji koje je napisao o religiji nisu objavljeni za njegovog života, što otvara pitanja o razlozima za tu odluku. Jedna od glavnih teza rada jeste da Milovo neobjavljivanje tih tekstova nije bilo slučajno, već rezultat spoja njegovih uverenja i kulturnog konteksta viktorijanske Engleske, koji je bio izrazito neprijateljski prema neverništvu. Pošto je Mil bio skeptik, on nastoji da u svojim esejima izloži gledišta na pomirljiv i diplomatski način, iskreno, ali promišljeno, kombinujući jasno izražen skepticizam sa ublažavajućim formulacijama kako bi izbegao krajnje negativan prijem. Prema ovom tumačenju, to je bila njegova primarna namera. Osnovna metoda ovog istraživanja je hermeneutika kojom je procenjena Milova epistemologija, njegova doslednost, uverenja, stavovi, motivi i najzad namere, dok je istoriografija korišćena u analizi kulturnog konteksta koji je uticao na Mila. Osim otkrivanja autorove namere, koja bi trebalo da nam omogući bolje razumevanje Milovog pisanja, cilj ovog istraživanja je i da ukaže na sve očigledne greške u dosadašnjoj interpretativnoj literaturi koja se tiče ove teme.

This paper examines a seldom studied aspect of John Stuart Mill’s philosophy – his views on religion, with particular focus on the three essays he devoted to this topic. Although primarily known for his contributions in other fields, Mill devoted considerable attention to religion in his writings. The fact that his essays on religion remained unpublished during his lifetime raises important questions. One of the central theses of this paper is that this was no coincidence, but rather the result of a convergence between Mill’s convictions and the cultural context of Victorian England, which was deeply hostile toward irreligion. As a skeptic, Mill sought to present his views in these essays in a conciliatory and diplomatic tone, honestly, but carefully, combining clearly stated skepticism with tempering formulations to avoid extreme negative reactions. According to this interpretation, that was his primary intention. The basic method employed in this study is hermeneutics, used to assess Mill’s epistemology, consistency, beliefs, attitudes, motives, and ultimately his intentions, while historiography is used in analyzing the cultural context that shaped Mill’s decisions. In addition to uncovering the author’s intention, which should provide us with a better understanding of Mill’s writing, the study also aims to point out all the obvious errors in the interpretive literature written on this subject to date.

Džon Stjuart Mil, religija, kultura, skepticizam, humanizam, viktorijanski period, filozofija, istorija ideja, autorova namera

John Stuart Mill, religion, culture, scepticism, humanism, Victorian period, philosophy, history of ideas, authoral intention

929:2 Mill J.S.(043.3) 165.71(043.3)

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