The article deals with the concept of God given by J.G. Herder. The author shows that the Herder's views were strongly influenced by B. Spinoza and can be considered pantheistic, since Herder identifies God and the world. At the same time, the German philosopher's concept of God is different from the Spinoza’s one. Herder modernizes the ideas of its predecessor in some key moments. So, Herder’s God has both some certain personal qualities and traits of an impersonal being. The concept of God given by Herder turns out more extensive than the concept of the world and includes the latter; the principle of activity penetrating the Herder’s concept makes it more dynamic than the Spinoza's concept. Herder reinterprets Spinoza’s understanding of thinking as impersonal attribute of substance which isn't allocated by free will and desires, and allocates the attribute of thinking with personal lines. By means of the concept “organic forces” Herder keeps the central principle of the doctrine of Spinoza – monism, but the same concept brings to the doctrine dynamism not inherent in it before. Herder's doctrine includes elements of pantheism and theism at the same time and can't be completely consolidated to one of these concepts of the nature of God. In this regard, Herder’s own teaching about God can be described as the dynamic pantheism.
Keywords: Pantheism, monism, deism, dynamic pantheism, organic forces, attribute, substance.
DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662.2017.3.81-86
About the author
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Dinislam V. Khadyev – PhD student at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Lomonosov Moscow State University; 1 Leninskie Gory str., Moscow, Russia, 119991; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. |