Beliefs and action (Huxley)
To see infinity.. flowers - Blake's poem Auguries of Innocence
"To see a world in a grain of sand And heaven in a wildflower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour"
Starting his essay, 'Belief and action' Huxley recommends two volumes of M.Jean Marteen the late George Clemenceau.
Clemenceau played a significant role in the defeat of Germany in the first world war and in the peace treaty of Versailles.
He was given the nickname, "The Tiger"
Huxley says that we admire Clemenceau because he was endowed with the power of living energy.
He was an extra an extraordinary man.
There is nothing more admirable than power.
Not the power of established society, this power is organised but detestable.
The admirable power is the ‘native power of the individual daemonic energy of life.
Huxley says, ‘A great man differs from common men by being what you are and possessed by more than human spirits.
These spirits may be good or evil.
It is a matter of indifference.
The important thing is that they should be more than human.
It is the supernaturalness that makes the greatness.
The supernaturalness may be normally evil and destructive.
Regards Clemenceau, Huxley says maybe he was devilish but they were genuine so they were worthy of admiration.
Huxley clarifies that it was not what he wanted to say about Clemenceau.
Huxley focused on the general psychological and historical interest.
So he chose Clemenceau. His career was a good illustration.
Quoting Clemenceau again- “these people do a lot of squealing as long as you allow them to squeal. But when you say “shut up they shut up...”
He continues they are mostly half-wits, and what’s more, they’re more courageous than the bourgeois - “which is saying a great deal, My word”
Huxley continues briefing Clemenceau's ideas.
Clemenceau had said about the revolutionaries that they had ideas in their boots.
That they had only envy and resentment.
And such ideas will never take you far.
The things that gives people courage is idea - ‘le qui donne du courage ce sont les idées.’
Ideas give the power to act, it gives determination.
It is true most ideas are rationalizations of feelings.
Feelings are not more important than ideas.
Feelings supply energy but these energies soon fail, if the feelings are not rationalized.
Rationalization acts as a stimulant for feelings and ideas when they are dormant
Rationalization justifies the feelings
An idea persists
Ideas justify the continuance of the action
It imposes them.
If you accept an idea as true, it becomes your daily duty to act on it.
It becomes the duty to revive the emotion, which was originally at the root of the idea.
Huxley says so if we take an example of envy.
The idea of envy is constantly being rationalized in terms of political, economical and ethical theory.
The idea of money may be, ‘ lucky in money’ or lucky in love’.
So, if one does not compete here (envy) then the successful amorist becomes the monster immediately.
Thus the envied Richman is either wicked personally or vicariously wicked as the representative of the evil system.
Huxley says that now envious are not only justified by their own laudable hostility to the envied. (envied- envious)
And they are no longer envious.
This idea has transformed their odious little personal feelings into righteous indignation.
Huxley says this is simply a disinterested love of virtue and abhorrence of wickedness.
Now Huxley raises a question
Huxley asks what would be the principle of courage-giving, emotion - transforming and action-inspiring in the present epoch.
In today's time, things are not the same.
The ideas of our ancestors which were accepted without any question.
They are almost rejected today.
The catholic and protestant idea today have lost their potency.
Earlier in these philosophies and ethics they found courage and determination as motives for action.
But there is a decline now.
19th-century liberalism is now without much power to move.
Huxley says in the East, the naive and the inexperienced are still exerting their ancient influence.
The most powerful idea of the present is nationalism.
Nationalism is the justifier and transformer of a whole host of emotions, the motive of individual and collective actions.
Nationalism was the idea that gave Clemenceau the idea that ‘idea gives courage’.
Further Huxley says ‘progress was another great idea’.
Huxley says the personal ambition of rapacity of lust, for power is sanctified.
At the same time is made effective
It has the humanitarian idea of universal welfare and social service.
When asked businessmen, why they work hard, why do they fight against their rivals?
It is for power? Or to make themselves richer?
These cynics reply that they work for progress, prosperity and society.
The belief in progress and the idea of humanitarianism is on the wane.
The young generation is not very anxious.
They work just to amuse themselves.
The results of the rejection of the early inspiring ideas have lead to a decline.
Huxley says thus we can lay a general rule that any decline in the intensity of belief leads to a decline in effective activity.
Huxley again raises two more questions
Is scepticism on the increase?
If so, what sort of new inspiring and justification ideas are men likely to accept?
How would the old ideas which we no longer believe would be replaced?
Huxley says that the answer to the question of scepticism would be, ‘yes’.
Huxley believes that there is an increase in scepticism, especially in the sphere of ethics.
Now they rely more on emotions as a guide to conduct-
They no more affirm the fixed ideas which emotions had been realized by rationalization (spare the root and spoil the child)
Thus there is a decline in the quality and quantity of activity among the sceptical.
Huxley says that in the extreme form scepticism is the most human beings intolerable.
They must believe in something.
They must have some justification ideas.
Huxley says that the contemporary circumstances of the –
Political events
Recent scientific discoveries
Recent philosophical speculation has forced scepticism on us.
They have forced scepticism in regard to religion, ethical, and political ideas.
All these defer which our fathers had rationalized their feelings.
Most of the ideas postulated the existence of these transcendental entities.
The writer says precisely it is these ideas that are making us more sceptical.
For the moment we are sceptical about energy things except the immediate (very aptly said)
In our daily lives, about the changeling desire, emotions and moods.
They accept it as it comes and live accordingly.
But the ‘realism is sordid, ignoble and sterile.
All this leaves them without courage.
There is no motive.
Then they try to seek something justifying ideas.
Huxley says these ideas should not be transcendental in terms of god virtue of justice.
It should be transcendental in terms of known psychology.
The modern emphasis is on personality.
We justify our feelings and moods by an appeal to the ‘right to happiness’ and ‘the right to self-expression’.
The essayists say that this idea of the ‘right to self-expression’ has done too much harm in the field of education.
We do what we like, not with a purpose we do it simply because we want.
It gives no courage.
This is just emotional and impulsive behaviour
Huxley says that he has the belief that these transcendental rationalizations can be improved.
Routing Blake, Huxley says that, it is possible to see infinity in a grain of sand and eternity in a flower.
Only in terms of such an idea says Huxley can be the modern man who satisfactorily, ‘rationalizes’ his feelings and impulses.
Huxley winds up his essay by saying pragmatically speaking whether these rationalizations would be good as that of the transcendental entities he does not know.
He doubts it.
All he wishes is that modern circumstances would allow him to make.
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