divine immanence, and his adhesion to the new astronomical theories, he may be called an evolutionist.[1] From this point of view, as De Greef recognizes, Italy preceded France and the other countries, which in their intellectual development finally arrived at contemporaneous philosophy. Giordano Bruno bears some resemblance to the Arabs, especially to Avicebron,[2] at that time almost forgotten in Italy. He understood perfectly the process of the transformation of matter, for he writes: "That which was first the seed, becomes the herb, afterwards the ear of corn, then bread, then chyle, then blood, the sperm of animal life, embryo, man, corpse, and finally earth or stone or other matter, to begin over from the first." In other words, according to Bruno, motion and air explained the various formations of the phenomena which unfold themselves in the visible universe. Professor Enrico Morselli, who is one of the most illustrious Italian representatives of the biological theory of evolution, affirms therefore that on the one hand Bruno allies himself to the monistic traditions of the Italian school,[3] and identifying opposites, confounding God with nature, brings to perfection the Italian naturalism, confused somewhat by Cordano, but clearly set forth by Telesio and by Patrizzi, and on the other hand anticipates the whole evolution of philosophy. Bruno anticipates Spencer as much in the line of his agnosticism as in his attempt at the reconciliation of religion and science. As to true morality, Bruno considers that it ought to be derived from altruism, and that it ought not to be identified with any theological dogma or any form of worship. Religions, according to Bruno, have a function exclusively ethical and educative, and the so-called duties owed to God are fulfilled not by prayers and passive resignation, but by works useful to others; that is, to the
- ↑ G. De Greef Le Transformisme Social, p. 129.
- ↑ G. Lewes, The History of Philosophy, Vol. II.
- ↑ In the evolution of Italian philosophic thought one may always observe a tendency towards monistic naturalism, and towards the application of the experimental and inductive method to all the sciences, both physical and moral. On this question see, besides the work of Morselli, already cited, the article of F. Puglia in Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, Band II., 1888–9, Band III., 1889.
