William James Durant was one of the very first truly modern thinkers to challenge the intellectual establishment of his day. In fact, he might well have been a founding member of that establishment. As a result, his thoughts and reasoning still ring with relevance today. For those readers who are not familiar with William James, he was a leading English thinker, essayist, and Occasional philosopher. His book, Oriental Philosophy, was written over a span of twenty years, between 1854 and 1866.
This text is centered around his belief that all existing philosophy can be reduced to two main strands. One, based on idealism, and two, grounded in realism. His idealism divided all philosophy into two camps: idealism versus realism. Realism dealt with what actually exists, while idealism reduced all reality to a pure ideal. It was this idealist philosophy that James criticized in his famous article, “On Power.”
This same idea has been refined many times since then. However, William James’s core contention is that this reduction renders all of reality into an idealized fiction, which he calls “Oriental Philosophy.” In this way, James argued that all philosophy amounts to an abstract moral code, which has nothing to do with reality. He therefore concluded that all philosophy was an illusion.
In Oriental Philosophy, James pointed out that all of the great civilizations of the world share a common ancestry. Through his research, he found that the collapse of any such common heritage left behind an empty history. This history, he said, could only be explained through the study of race and civilization.
For a reader interested in Oriental Philosophy, a simple definition of that heritage is a group of people that all have a common heritage of history. The common heritage of that group may be based on race, language, dialect, or any other number of factors. For example, all people born in the United States are members of the “American People” by virtue of their citizenship status. Thus, the reader is left to assume that each and every person within that heritage belongs to the “American People” only. It would then follow that all people in that heritage belong to the same race, language, and dialect.
By putting A History of the European World in context, one is able to see how theories of the past can be applied to current day politics. For instance, it is now accepted that Germany and Japan did not attack the United States because they had an inferior civilization, as previously believed. Rather, it is now held that both of those nations had the best intelligence and technological capabilities of the period and were simply trying to achieve a dominant position in world affairs. Similarly, if we look at A History of the European World, we can see how a series of blunders committed by some major European leaders over a very long period of history resulted in their defeat and disarray.
One thing that A History of the European World does better than the blunders committed by its contemporary is in showing how a civilization can become great through generations instead of through the bloodiest story of national triumph. In this respect, A History of the European World is much more encouraging than a simple history of the First World War, since the world war was not a complete victory. Rather, it was a conflagration of national egos, destroying much of what was known about human civilizations in general and destroying the social structure on which such civilizations are founded. The principle behind A History of the European World, then, is the idea that through generations, a civilization can attain greatness, just as A History of the European World demonstrates how different civilizations can rise from ruins. It shows that humanity has the power to overcome obstacles and rebuild its ancient heritage.
William James Durant is a worthy and famous historical writer. However, even if you do not agree with his political views, his book will open your eyes to the fact that many great minds have come up with new concepts and new ways of understanding the universe and human beings in general. Through A History of the European World, you will be able to read a classic without having to read another one written by the same author. William James Durant is a new writer in the world, whose name will forever be associated with one of the most important books ever written on earth.