Idealism as a Rejection of the Basic Axioms

Idealism is spirit mysticism, and accordingly rests upon a belief in a transcendent super-nature that controls the world as we see it—which is itself seen as deficient.

The idea of the “supernatural” is an assault on everything man knows about reality. It is a contradiction of every essential of a rational metaphysics. It represents a rejection of the basic axioms of philosophy (or, in the case of primitive men, a failure to grasp them).

This can be illustrated by reference to any version of idealism. But let us confine the discussion here to the popular notion of God.

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Every argument commonly offered for the notion of God leads to a contradiction of the axiomatic concepts of philosophy. At every point, the notion clashes with the facts of reality and with the preconditions of thought. This is as true of the professional theologians’ arguments and ideas as of the popular treatments.

The point is broader than religion. It is inherent in any advocacy of a transcendent dimension. Any attempt to defend or define the supernatural must necessarily collapse in fallacies. There is no logic that will lead one from the facts of this world to a realm contradicting them; there is no concept formed by observation of nature that will serve to characterize its antithesis. Inference from the natural can lead only to more of the natural, i.e., to limited, finite entities acting and interacting in accordance with their identities. Such entities do not fulfill the requirements of “God” or even of “poltergeist.” As far as reason and logic are concerned, existence exists, and only existence exists.

If one is to postulate a supernatural realm, one must turn aside from reason, eschew proofs, dispense with definitions, and rely instead on faith. Such an approach shifts the discussion from metaphysics to epistemology.¹