The Philosophy of Redemption

1. Immanent Philosophy Grounds Itself in the World

True philosophy must purely immanent be, that is, its substance as well as its limit must be the world.

Focus on the tangible. Mainländer asserts that genuine philosophy must confine itself to the observable world, eschewing reliance on otherworldly forces or powers beyond human comprehension. It must explain the world using principles that are accessible and recognizable to every individual, avoiding speculation about unknowable entities. This immanent approach emphasizes the importance of grounding philosophical inquiry in the concrete realities of human experience.

Rejection of the transcendent. By limiting itself to the world, philosophy avoids the pitfalls of dogmatism and unfounded assumptions. It seeks to understand the universe through principles that can be verified and validated within the realm of human perception and reason. This approach contrasts with traditional metaphysical systems that often rely on unverifiable claims about supernatural or transcendent realities.

Emphasis on accessibility. Immanent philosophy aims to make philosophical insights accessible to a wider audience. By focusing on principles that are recognizable to every human being, it avoids the elitism and obscurity that can plague more abstract and speculative systems of thought. This emphasis on accessibility reflects a commitment to democratizing knowledge and empowering individuals to understand their place in the world.

2. Cognitive Faculties Shape Perceived Reality

Philosophy has its value and dignity in the fact that it disdains all assumptions that cannot be justified and only includes in its data what is in the clearly given external world, in the forms that constitute our intellect to understand it and in the common consciousness of the one's own self can be reliably proven.

Idealism's role. Mainländer stresses the importance of idealism, acknowledging that our cognitive faculties play an active role in shaping our perception of reality. He argues that philosophy must not naively assume that things exist exactly as they appear to our senses, but must instead examine how the knowing subject influences the formation of our understanding of the world. This involves a careful analysis of the sources and limitations of human knowledge.

Sources of knowledge. All experience and knowledge originate from two primary sources: the senses and self-consciousness. The senses provide us with raw data from the external world, while self-consciousness allows us to reflect on our own thoughts and experiences. There is no third source of knowledge beyond these two.

Understanding and reason. The understanding processes sensory impressions and seeks to identify the causes of these impressions. Reason, in turn, synthesizes these individual perceptions into coherent concepts and judgments. Both faculties are essential for constructing our understanding of the world, but they operate according to their own distinct principles and limitations.

3. The Will to Live: The Driving Force of Existence

This work is the first attempt to give it full meaning.

Individual rights. Mainländer posits the "will to live" as the fundamental principle underlying all existence. This concept, borrowed from Schopenhauer, suggests that every individual, from the simplest organism to the most complex human being, is driven by an inherent desire to persist in its own being. This will is not necessarily conscious or rational, but rather a blind, instinctive force that shapes our actions and motivations.

Atheistic religion of salvation. The philosophy of salvation is a continuation of the teachings Kant's and Schopenhauer's and affirmation of Buddhism and pure Christianity. It corrects and supplements those philosophical systems and reconciles those religions with science.

The key to understanding. By recognizing the will to live as the primary driving force, we can gain a deeper understanding of human behavior, social dynamics, and the nature of the universe itself. This principle serves as a key to unlocking the mysteries of physics, aesthetics, ethics, politics, and metaphysics.

4. Physics Reveals the Interconnectedness of All Things

Magnet's secret, explain it to me! No greater secret than love and hate.

Individual will. Mainländer applies the concept of the will to live to the realm of physics, arguing that every object in the universe, from the smallest particle to the largest celestial body, possesses its own individual will. This will manifests as a force or energy that drives the object's behavior and interactions with other objects.

Dynamic connection. All things in the universe are interconnected through a dynamic web of forces. Every object exerts an influence on all other objects, and in turn, is influenced by them. This interconnectedness creates a tightly closed collective unity, where no individual will can operate in complete isolation.

Finite universe. The universe is not infinite, but rather a finite sphere of force. This finitude is a logical necessity, as an infinite force would negate the possibility of any other force existing alongside it. The universe is therefore a totality of finite spheres of force, all interacting with each other in a dynamic and interconnected way.

5. Aesthetics Transcends Selfishness Through Contemplation

Search within yourself and you will find everything and rejoice when there is a nature out there, as you may always call it, that says yes and amen to everything that you have found in yourself.

Disinterestedness. Aesthetic experience requires a shift from self-interest to disinterested contemplation. In order to appreciate the beauty of an object, we must set aside our personal desires and concerns and focus solely on the object's inherent qualities. This disinterestedness allows us to perceive the object in its purest form, free from the distortions of egoism.

Aesthetic relation. The aesthetic state is a special condition of the human will, characterized by a unique way of understanding and appreciating the world. It involves a suspension of our ordinary, self-centered mode of perception and a heightened awareness of the object's inherent beauty and harmony. This state can be achieved through both contemplation and empathy.

Aesthetic enthusiasm. The visible world arises for us in the manner indicated. However, it should be noted that through the synthesis of partial ideas into objects Think definitely not in that view is brought. The connection of a given multiplicity of intuition is, of course, a work of reason, but not a work in concepts or through concepts, neither through pure a priori (categories) nor through ordinary concepts.

6. Ethics Navigates the Tension Between Egoism and Morality

Magnet's secret, explain it to me! No greater secret than love and hate.

Egoism's role. Mainländer acknowledges the fundamental role of egoism in human motivation. He argues that all actions, even those that appear altruistic, are ultimately driven by a desire to promote one's own well-being. This egoism is not necessarily negative, but rather a natural and unavoidable aspect of human nature.

Moral qualities. Within the temperament are now the Volitional qualities. The main ones are: Envy - benevolence, Greed - generosity, cruelty - mercy, avarice - extravagance, falsehood - loyalty, Court trip – humility, Defiance – despondency, Domineering - gentleness, Immodesty — modesty, Meanness - nobleness, Rigidity - suppleness, cowardice - boldness, Injustice - Justice Obstinacy - Openness, Insidiousness – honesty, Insolence - modesty, voluptuousness - temperance, baseness - lust for honor, vanity - holiness and lie gradations between each of these pairs.

The will to life. The qualities of will are to be seen as formations of the will to live in general. They all arise from egoism, and since every human being has the will to live, which egoism, as it were, encloses, the germ of every quality of will also lies in every human being. The qualities of the will can be compared to incisions which can expand into channels into which the will flows at the slightest provocation. But it must be noted here that the human will already comes into life as a character. If we stay with our picture, the infant already shows, in addition to mere incisions, large depressions; but the former can be widened and deepened, the latter narrowed and flattened.

7. The Tragic Fate of Civilization: A Cycle of Growth and Decay

Magnet's secret, explain it to me! No greater secret than love and hate.

Finiteness of the universe. Not a closed one finite immanent area, which but from all sides by one infinite would be surrounded by transcendents, it is; but, since the transcendent area actually no longer exists, it is the only immanent area that still exists finally should be.

The universe is not a single force. The universe is not a single force, a simple unit, but a whole of finite spheres of force. Now I cannot give any of these spheres of force an infinite extension; because, firstly, I would thereby destroy the concept itself, then make the plural into the singular, that is, slap experience in the face. There is no room for any other sphere of force besides a single, infinite one, and the essence of nature would simply be abolished. A totality more finite But spheres of force must be necessary finally be.

The world is finite. All forces in the world are either simple chemical forces or combinations of them. The former are to be counted and furthermore all connections can be traced back to these few simple forces. As explained above, infinity cannot be a simple force, even if we can collectively describe each as immeasurably large. Consequently, the world is, fundamentally, the sum of simple forces, all of which are finite, that is, the world is finite.

8. Beyond the World: The Allure of Nothingness

Search within yourself and you will find everything and rejoice when there is a nature out there, as you may always call it, that says yes and amen to everything that you have found in yourself.

The world came into being from nothing. From what has been said so far it follows that all series of developments, we may start from whatever we want, lead a parte ante into a transcendent unity, which is completely closed to our knowledge, an X, equal to nothing, and we can therefore say quite well that the World came into being from nothing.

The transcendent realm actually no longer exists. The transcendent realm actually no longer exists. But if we use our imagination to go back into the past to the beginning of the immanent realm, we can picture the transcendent next to the immanent territory. But then both are separated by a gulf that can never be crossed by any means of the spirit. Only a single thin thread bridges the bottomless abyss: it is the existence. On this thin thread we can transfer all the forces of the immanent realm to the transcendent: it can bear this burden. But as soon as the forces have arrived in the field beyond, they also cease to be forces for human thinking, and therefore the important sentence applies:

Although everything that is did not arise from nothing, but before worldly already existed, everything that is, every force, came into being as a force, that is, it had a specific beginning. We arrive at these results when we go back from any present being into its past. Now we want to examine the behavior of things at the progressive point of the present.

Last updated: March 16, 2025