Theory Of The Functions Of Human Passions

Front matter

o THEOKY

OF THE

FUNCTIONS

Contents

THEORY OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE HUMAN PASSIONS.

Preliminary page 1

I. — General View of Man 4

I. General View Of Man

Man is a Compound Being, composed of two principles — one Active, the other Passive. The Active Principle is what is called the Mind, the Soul ; the Passive Principle is the Body. The latter is the Material Instrument of the former, the means by which it inhabits the planet, acts upon matter, and arrives at a state of positive and practical existence.

The Soul, or Active Principle in Man, is a Whole, composed of a certain number of Forces or Motors, which we shall call the Passions; by the Metaphysicians, these Forces are variously termed — sentiments, affections, feelings, faculties, impulses, instincts.

The Passions are spontaneously active and self-determining Forces ; they are the thinking, feeling, creating principle in Man — the source of his acts and works in all spheres, material and spiritual. They are the agents of Supreme Wisdom, the Motors implanted in him by that Wisdom to impel him to fulfil his Destiny on Earth.

The Human Passions were not created at random, were not called into existence without functions and employments having been assigned to them ; on the contrary, their functions and uses have been calculated with mathematical precision.

Misdirected, smothered, or perverted in our false Social Organizations, no correct or adequate idea can be formed of them in their present phase of development. They are in a state of conflict, confusion, and chaos, and engender the wild disorder, the universal antagonism, the vices and crimes, which now desolate Society, and lead the world to look upon Human Nature as inherently vicious and depraved. Men will not be able to understand the true nature of the Passions, the end for which they -were created, until they shall see them naturally and rightly developed in a Social Order perfectly adapted to them. The Passions will then produce as much Order and Harmony as they now produce Disorder and Discord, and in fact far more, for, accord-

GENERAL VIEW OP MAN.

ing to a law in Universal Movement, the order and harmony which reign in any sphere in a state of accord, are much greater than the disorder and duplicity which reign in the same sphere in a state of discord ; in Music, for example, the ratio is as seven to one.

In studying the nature and action of the Passions — their distribution, arrangement, classification, and the laws which govern them — a knowledge of the order which reigns in the Material "World is an invaluable analogical guide. On the principle of Unity of System, the laws which govern the one, govern the other, and as a consequence, the order and distribution which reign in the one, reign in the other. Let us explain : —

The Universe, like Man, is composed of two principles — the one Active, the other Passive — called in common language, Mind and Matter ; the former is the creative, forming principle, the latter the plastic principle which is acted upon. The order that reigns in the Material World, and the laws which govern it, emanate from the Active Principle or Mind; as a consequence, the Material World is an image, a mirror of the Spiritual World ; there is correspondence, analogy, unity, between the two ; comprehending the laws which govern Matter, we can comprehend the laws which govern Mind; comprehending the order, distribution, and classification which reign in the kingdoms and creations of Nature, we can comprehend the order, distribution, and classification which reign in the Passions ; the knowledge of the one is a key to the knowledge of the other. As we can study Nature more easily than we can Mind, being aided by the Senses, it is important that we should be guided in the study of Passional Phenomena by the study of Material Phenomena.

Prom the principle of Unity of System here laid down, we infer that the Passions are governed by the laws which we observe in the Material World, that they are distributed in Series like the kingdoms of Nature — are like them divided into classes, orders, genera, species, and varieties, and are capable of harmonies like the Planetary or Musical.

With these explanations, the reader will be able to understand many of *the following statements which might otherwise appear obscure or arbitrary ; he will have the clue to the analogical study of the whole subject. He has only to remember that the Laws

GENERAL VIEW OP MAN.

which govern Matter govern Mind, that they have their source in the Supreme or Divine Intelligence, and that all the effects which he sees in the Material World have their correspondence in the Spiritual or Passional World.

The Human Soul, as we stated, is a Whole, composed of a certain number of constituent parts or elements, which we call the Passions.

The 1st division of the Soul, or its analysis in the first degree, gives three Primary Passions as follows : —

1. The Sensuous or Material Passion. . . . Attraction to Matter and

its phenomena.

2. The Social or Psychical Passion Attraction to Spirit and

its phenomena.

3. The Intellectual or Serial Passion. . . Attraction to Order and

its phenomena.

These three Passions place Man in relation and association with the three great departments of the Universe.

The Universe is One — a great Organic Whole, which, like the Soul, is composed in its 1st division or first degree of analysis, of three principles which are self-existent, eternal, indestructible : —

the f 1. The Active Principle Mind.

UNIVERSE. < 2. The Passive Principle Matter.

(3. The Regulative Principle Law.

(In general analysis, we may speak of two principles, an Active and a Passive, united by a third principle, Law.)

Man, standing at the head of the Terrestrial World which he inhabits, and having a function to perform in it analogous to that which the supreme central, Mind, God, performs in the Universe — that of establishing the reign of material and spiritual Order and Harmony — is a Universal Being, is endowed with a complete Scale of Passions, and stands in relation to and is associated with the three great principles of the Universe above mentioned. The three primary Passions with which he is endowed establish this relation and association.

The first, the Sensuous or Material, places him in relation with Matter, its attributes, phenomena, and harmonies.

The second, the Social or Spiritual, places him in relation with Mind, its attributes, phenomena, and harmonies.

The third, the Intellectual or Serial, places him in relation

GENERAL VIEW OP MAN.

1st

PRIMARY PASSION, divided into five Senses :

with the Laws of Universal Order by which the other two are regulated.

We find this threefold division in various other departments of Nature : in Sound, for example, the unity of which, in its first division, gives three sounds — Do, Mi, Sol ; and in Color, the unity of which, in its first division, gives three colors — Red, Blue, and Yellow. Nature herself is a unity or whole, divided into three great departments — the Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral.

The three Primary Passions are divided into twelve Secondary Passions, which constitute the 2d division or the analysis in the second degree of the spiritual unity in Man — the Soul.

The first Primary Passion branches out or ramifies into five Secondary Passions : —

1. The Saporous Sense, or Taste — Perception of and attraction to Flavors.

2. The Odoriferous Sense, or Smell — Perception of and attraction to Odors.

3. The Optical Sense, or Sight — Perception of and attraction to Forms and Colors.

4. The Auricular Sense, or Hearing — Perception of and attraction to Sounds.

5. The Tactile Sense, or Touch — Perception of and attraction to Tactile qualities.

These Faculties place Man in relation to the five great departments of Nature on which he is to operate, attract him to and guide him in their regulation, and in establishing Order and Harmony in their domain.

The second Primary Passion, teanches out or ramifies into four Secondary Passions : —

1. Amicism, or Friendship — the benevolent and fraternal sentiment ; Sympathy for kind.

2. Amorism, or Love — the amatory sentiment; Sympathy for

Sex.

3. Honorism, or Ambition — the aspiring sentiment; Sympathy for Co-operators.

4. Familism, or Parent alism — the family sentiment ; Sympathy for the Young.

These four Affections preside over and govern the four primary modes of Social Relations possible between human beings, and regulate their intercourse with each other. They are the Motors that guide Man in his acts and deeds as a Social Being, and establish Order and Harmony in the Social World.

PRIMARY PASSION, divided into four Affections:

The third Primary Passion branches out or ramifies into three Secondary Passions : —

1. Analysism — tending to Division, Individuality, Dissonance.

2. Alternatism — tending to Change, Alternation, and Modulation.

3. Synthesism — tendency to Combination, Collectivism, Accord.

These three Faculties or Forces serialize the play and action of the other Motors of the Soul, and the elements and phenomena of the Material World over which Man presides and in which it is his function to establish Order and Harmony.

Thus the analysis of the Soul in the 2d degree furnishes 12 Secondary Passions ; these elements of the Soul, distributed in a consecutive Series, form the Passional Scale or Gamut.

The number 12 is that employed in all the higher harmonies of the Universe, and analogy points it out as that employed in Passional Mechanics, which is the highest of all harmonies. Observation, so far as it can be relied upon in the analysis of a sphere so intangible as that of Mind, proves this number to be correct.

It is evident, for example, that there are but five Senses ; this requires no demonstration.

A close analysis will show that but four primary modes of Social Relations can exist between human beings, and, as a consequence, that there can be but four Social Passions to regulate these four Cardinal modes of relations ; Nature never employs more Motors or Forces than there are effects to be produced.

In the Regulative sphere, or that of Law and Order, three primary processes or operations produce all the effects of distribution and classification, that is, of Serialization. Viewed in their simplest and most radical action, these are Separation or Division, Combination or Reunion, and Alternation between the two — that is, Analysis, Synthesis, and Comparison. Three Faculties correspond to and perform these three processes.

The 12 Passions of the Soul form the Passional Scale or Series, or, to borrow a technical term from the Musical System, the Passional Gamut. In the higher harmonies of the Universe, the number 12 appears to be universally employed ; the elements of each sphere of harmony are distributed in Series or Gamuts of 12.

PRIMARY

PASSION,

divided into three Faculties:

GENERAL VIEW OF MAN.

In Music, for example, we have the Gamut of 12 Sounds — 7 diatonic or full tones, and 5 semi-tones. In Color, we have the Gamut of 12 colors — 7 principal colors as shown by the prism, and 5 intermediate tints, which the prism does not show, but which exist nevertheless in the White ray, though not brought out by the ordinary or prismatic mode of refraction. In the human body, which is a mechanism of high harmony, and a beautiful model of harmonic Serial Distribution, the bones are distributed in Series or Gamuts of 12.

[The system which exists in the distribution of the bones must, however, be understood. In the Series called the Skeleton, there are, as in all Series regularly constituted, Pivotal elements, and Ambiguous or Transitional elements; these are not classed among the regular elements of the Series or Gamut, and are not counted as such. In Color, for example, White, the pivotal or central color, is not counted as one ; Instinct has governed Observation rightly in this instance. Pivots and Transitions exist throughout Creation, and in all the works of Man which are regularly organized. These, we repeat, are not to be counted among the regular elements of the Series ; they do not belong, so to say, to the rank and file, but are officers and supernumeraries. A few examples will explain what we mean by Pivots. The Sun is the Pivot of the Solar System ; Man is the Pivot of the Kingdoms of Nature ; the Pope is the Pivot of the Catholic Hierarchy ; the General is the Pivot of an army ; the heart is the Pivot of the sanguiferous system ; the brain is the Pivot of the nervous system ; the thumb is the Pivot of the hand ; the lion and the eagle are the Pivots of the feline and falcon species ; the hub is the Pivot of the wheel, etc.

Mixed, Ambiguous or Transitional elements exist in like manner in all regularly constituted Series, but are not classed among the regular elements of the Series of which they possess in yaaHhe characteristics. The bat, for example, is an ambiguous animal, a link between the bird and the mouse ; it cannot however be considered as a mouse or a bird, or classed in either species. The quince is a fruit of an ambiguous or mixed character and forms a link or transition between the two series — the apple and the pear — with neither of which it can be classed. The cat is a transition in the feline species. These transitions exist throughout Creation ; there are transitional planets in the solar system, transitional bones in the skeleton, transitional sounds, colors, etc. Naturalists have not properly analyzed and classified Pivots and Transitions, and the theory of them is little understood ; this gives rise to much confusion, and many mistakes in distribution and classification.]

If there is Unity of System in Nature, unity between the Material and Spiritual spheres, we are led to infer from analogy, that the Soul, divided into its constituent elements, furnishes a

GENERAL VIEW OP MAN.

Series of 12 Passions, with its Pivots and Transitions. The Sociologist, with a knowledge of this Series, and comprehending the Laws of Passional Harmony, will be able in the Future, to create Social Harmony, as the Musician, with the Gamut of Sounds, now creates Musical Harmony.

Out of the 12 Secondary Passions spring the Passions of the 3d division, which may be called the Tertiary Passions ; these in turn furnish those of the 4th degree or division — and so on.

All shades of developments of the Passions — the tastes, inclinations, desires, in a word the attractions of human beings — are but divisions or subdivisions of the original 12. The perception and sensation of form and color, and secondary perceptions and sensations, like those of proportion and distance, spring, for example, from the Sense of Sight. In like manner, the perception and sensation of weight, density, heat, and the qualities of surfaces, spring from the Sense of Touch. The sentiments of benevolence, fraternity, cordiality, charitableness, etc., spring from Friendship. The sentiments of pride, self-esteem, love of approbation, love of distinction, and the sentiments of dignity and justice, spring from Ambition. All perceptions and sensations, all sentiments and feelings, are shades of development or subdivisions of the 12 Secondary or Radical Passions.

These 12 Passions form the basis of Twelve Distinct Characters in men, or the great Series of Primary Human Characters. (A character is the result or effect of the predominant activity of some one of the 12 Passions, the others being developed in lesser degrees, and acting in subordination to it. In a Mozart or a Beethoven, the Sense of Hearing is the predominant Passion ; in a Raphael or a Titian, the Sense of Sight ; in a Newton or a Cuvier, Analysis and Synthesis. The Poet has combination, imagination, that is Synthesism, in predominance : his poetry receives its coloring from the sub-predominance of other Passions ; if the senses are strong, it is full of material beauty and imagery ; if the Affections, it is full of sentiment. The Mathematician has Analysism predominant. Thus a Passion developed in predominance over all the others gives rise to a corresponding character which is impassioned for the function to which the Passion tends. Characters of a false or subversive type are based upon the preponderance of the same Passions in their in-

GENERAL VIEW OP MAN.

terse development. The character of the Tyrant, for example, is based upon some shade of Ambition in its inverted or thwarted action ; the scheming, crafty character, upon the low action of the Regulative Faculties, governed by or ministering to selfishness or perverted ambition ; the party-politician is a type of this character.)

The 12 primary Characters are divided into two classes, Male and Female, forming a Series or Gamut of 12 Masculine and 12 Feminine Characters, or the 24 radical Characters of the Human ^ Species. To these 24 Characters, which are the regular elements of this Double or Compound Series, are to be added the Pivotal and Transitional Characters, making in all 32 radical Characters.

The 3d division of the Soul, or its analysis in the third degree, furnishes the 32 Characterial Passions, forming the basis of these 32 Characters. This is not a regular division, or a division of the 12 Secondary into shades of Passions, but a separation of the 12 Secondary Passions into two gamuts, Male and Female, in which each Passion becomes the Pivot of a Masculine or a Feminine Character.

It is at this 2d stage of Analysis, that the Passions become sufficiently individualized to attract human beings to general functions, and thus decide the predominant capacity in each individual, and his Character. The Sense of Sight, for example, when preponderant, creates the Painter ; here is a general function. The sense developed in its Species and Varieties, gives rise to specific functions, and crcates4he Draughtsman, the Colorist, the Painter of landscapes, of marine views, of animals, of the human figure, etc.

The 24 Functional or Characterial Passions constitute the Regular Elements of the 3d division or analysis of the Soul — or what we may call the Series of Passions of the Sd Power. (The Series of the 1st Power is formed of the 3 Primary Passions ; that of the 2d Power, of the 12 Secondary or Radical Passions.)

As Pivots and Transitions are not included among the Regular Elements of a division, it is the 24 Elements or Passions, and not the 32, which form the basis of the 4th division. It is the division of these 24 Passions into their constituent parts which furnishes the Passions of the 4th division ; the number of these

GENERAL VIEW OP MAN.

Quaternary Passions is 96 ; adding Pivots and Transitions, 132. The 5th division of the soul, or its analysis in the fifth degree, furnishes 288 Regular Elements or Passions, and with Pivots and Transitions, 405. In the 5th degree of analysis, the constituent elements of the soul become Varieties of Passions, that is — tastes and inclinations, or special capacities and attractions.

The distributive system of the Human Passions into 5 degrees is analogous to the distributive system that reigns in Nature — that is, the division into Classes, Orders, Genera, Species, and Varieties.

Classes. Ordees. Genera. Species. Varieties.

3 Primary 12 Radical 32 Characterial 132 Passions 405 Passions Passions. Passions. Passions. of the 4th degree, of the 5th degree.

These Classes, Orders, Genera, etc., are so many Series divided and subdivided into Powers, as follows: —

Series of the 1st Power. — 3 Passions plus the Pivot, 4

Series of the 2nd Power. — 12 Passions plus the Pivot and Transitions, 15 Series of the 3rd Power. — 24 Passions plus Pivots and Transitions, 32 Series of the 4th Power. — 96 Passions plus Pivots and Transitions, 132 Series of the 5th Power. — 288 Passions plus Pivots and Transitions, 405

It will be remarked that the number of Regular Elements in each Series is fixed and invariable ; the number of Pivots, and particularly of Transitions, is subject to variation, according as the Series is more or less regularly organized ; the numbers given above are those which are found in a Series with its full contingent of Elements.

The Passions of the 3d degree from the basis of the 32 Fundamental Characters ; those of the 5th degree, or Varieties of Passions, form the basis of the Complete Scale of Human Characters, and direct human beings in the performance of all the varied functions which are required in Social Harmony, and in regulating the distributive system of Order that reigns on our planet.

The 405 Characters, duplicated as Male and Female, form a total of 810 Characters, constituting the Grand Scale, masculine and feminine, of Human Characters. In this Scale or Series each Individual is a note, represents a Character, and fulfils the destiny to which his Attraction directs him. The 810 Characters, united, constitute the Integral Man, that is, the Complete Soul, developed fully in all its degrees.

GENERAL VIEW OP MAN.

In this General View of Man, -the distributive system that reigns in Nature — that is to say, the Plan of Order and Harmony existing in the Material World — is taken as guide. We proceed from the Known to the Unknown, from the visible and tangible sphere of Matter, to the invisible and intangible sphere of Mind. We believe that this is the only method by which Reason can arrive at a true theory of the Passions. If the Laws which govern Nature or the Passive Principle, emanate from Mindj the Active Principle, it follows, as a consequence, that the order reigning in the former must be a reflex, an image of the order reigning in the latter. Proceeding on this principle of Unity between the Material and the Spiritual, we are safe in affirming that the system of distribution and classification in the Natural World is a sure analogical guide in studying the system existing in the World of the Passions.

As imperfect observations and errors of analysis are easily made, we give what is stated above on the analysis of the Passions, at least after the 2d degree, as purely conjectural ; up to this point, the theory is confirmed by observation. This analogical guide is indispensable to the discovery of a natural classification of the Passions — of a Positive Science of Man.

When we cdnsider the utter ignorance that prevails in relation to the Passions — an ignorance so complete that they are held to be inherently vicious and depraved, incapable of any Order or Harmony — we may say that a science op the passions, however elementary or incomplete it may be, provided the basis on which it rests is true, would be an invaluable acquisition ; it would direct the human mind rightly in the study of the most important of all problems, namely, the Nature of Man and the possibility of establishing the reign of Social Harmony on Earth.

The Table that follows presents a general outline of the subject we are treating. It gives the analysis of the Soul in its 2d degree of division, defines the twelve Radical Passions composing the Passional Gamut, explains their nature, and points out their Functions in the Great Scheme of Human Destiny.

Tho three articles on the Functions of the Senses, the Affections, and the Intellectual Faculties, are intended merely as explanations of the Table, and should be read in the order indicated in the central column.

FUNCTIONS OP THE PIVE SENSES.

II. Functions Of The Five Sensuous Passions

The Primary Function of the five Senses is to establish relation and connection between the Active and Passive Principles, between Mind and Matter, between Man and Nature, and to attract man to and guide him in an important work in the Economy of the Universe, namely, the Supervision of the Planet which he inhabits, and its Vegetable and Animal Kingdoms*.

Man is the Overseer of the Globe, charged by divine Wisdom with the cultivation and embellishment of its surface, with the improvement of its animal and vegetable creations, and with the realization upon it of material beauty, order, and harmony.

The execution of this great work is of supreme importance in carrying out the Divine Plan of Harmony in Creation

I. Because it would place the Globe in its natural condition of Order, that is to say, of Health, and thus enable it to perform all its functions in the Sidereal System to which it belongs.

II. Because it would furnish the basis of the Social Elevation of Man ; for a harmonized Globe, on which material ordar, beauty, and unity reign, is the primary condition of the moral and intellectual elevation of its inhabitants. , [

To attract man to the cultivation and embellishment of the Earth, the five Senses, or the five modes of perceiving the attributes and relations of Matter, have been given to him by God, who distributes to all his creatures Attractions proportional to Destinies.

On every Globe, the supervision, the regulative action of a superior Intelligence is necessary, for Matter degenerates without the supervising and controlling influence of Mind. On the Earth, this superior Intelligence is Man. He is its Overseer, its intellectual Sovereign. He is the Science and Reason of Nature ; in other words, he alone possesses the knowledge necessary for the development and improvement of her creatures ; he alone can establish Order and Harmony in her Domain. The animal and vegetable creations are active, living Forces, but they do not possess the Reason necessary for regulating their development, their distribution, their relations, and for attaining to perfection. The

FUNCTIONS OF THE FIVE SENSES.

fruit-tree, for example, can not graft nor transplant itself, nor can the animals cross their breeds or otherwise improve their species. This must be done for them by Man; hence, as we have stated, he is the Reason, the Science of Nature — the Regulator of her Vegetative and Instinctual Forces.

The five Senses have each a special Function to perform in attracting and impelling Man to fulfil his destiny of Overseer and Harmonist of the Globe.

The Sense of Taste, which finds its gratification and delight in agreeable Flavors, attracts Man to the cultivation and improvement of the fruits, grains, vegetables, spices, wines, oils, and other products which please his palate and serve him as food. He can not possess these products without cultivating them, and in cultivating them he is led of necessity to the improvement and embellishment of the Earth. Man is omnivorous ; his palate harmonizes with nearly all the flavors of Nature, and .* not with one or two like that of the animal. This universality of Taste in Man was given him to secure the cultivation of all the various edible and condimentary products of the Earth, from the fruits and spices of the Tropics to the grains and vegetables of the Temperate Zone. Had Man been created moniverous — that is, to live like the animal, on one or two products — he would have cultivated those products only, and have covered the Earth with them. If he had attraction for bread alone, he would make of the earth one vast wheat-field ; if for the potato, one great potato-patch. Without this universality in the Sense of Taste, the Globe would present in its culture one unbroken scene of monotony and uniformity ; most of the creations in the vegetable and many in the animal kingdom would be neglected, and finally become extinct.

The Sense of Smell, which finds its delight in agreeable perfumes, attracts Man to the cultivation of the flowers, plants, shrubs, gums, etc., which yield fragrant perfumes. Taste having no affinity for these products, another Sense intervenes to establish the relation between them and Man, and to secure at the hand of the Terrestrial Overseer, their cultivation and development.

The Sense of Sight, which finds its gratification in harmony of Form, Color, and Proportion, attracts Man to beauty of rural

FUNCTIONS OF THE FIVE SENSES.

scenery, and induces him to cultivate the ornamental trees, shrubs, vines, flowers, etc., necessary to the embellishment of the landscape. It attracts him to splendor and elegance in architecture, and leads him to work the marbles, woods, metals, and other materials necessary to the construction and to the beauty of his edifices. It attracts him to elegance in dress, in furniture, and in personal appearance, and leads him to grow and cultivate the silks, the fine fleeces, the rich dyes necessary to the interior decoration of his abode, and to the embellishment of his person.

The Sense of Touch finds its delight in agreeable Tactile Sensations ; spread over the entire body, it places the nervous sensibility of Man in contact with Matter, and compels him for its protection and gratification to provide himself with comfortable dwellings, to invent comfortable means of locomotion, and to adapt to its requirements all material objects which come in contact with his body. The demands of this Sense impel Man to grow the cottons, the wools, the flax, etc., with which the other Senses — Taste, Sight, Smell, Hearing — have no affinity. Were it not for the Sense of Touch* a wide range oT products in the three kingdoms would be neglected, leaving so many blanks in the great field of Nature. The Tactile Sense is destined also to exercise a powerful influence upon the general Cultivation of the Globe by inducing Man to improve the Climate — to temper the Atmosphere, which is the great external Dress of all animated Nature, and upon the state of which his comfort and well-being so much depend. Man can perfect the Climatic System, which is a department of Nature under his control, by an integral and scientific Cultivation of the Globe ; and in future ages, this important work will enter largely into the industrial policy of nations. x