The History of the Devil

Paul Carus

Aug 2021 · Graphic Arts Books

About this ebook

The History of the Devil (1900) is a philosophical study by Paul Carus. A lifelong Monist, Carus sought to apply a scientific analysis to the principles of humanity’s religions. Credited with bridging the gap between Eastern and Western beliefs, Carus believed that the dualism rampant in the West could be replaced in order to establish a more equitable world where difference and diversity would be accepted and nurtured, rather than suppressed. “This world of ours is a world of opposites. There is light and shade, there is heat and cold, there is good and evil, there is God and the Devil. The dualistic conception of nature has been a necessary phase in the evolution in human thought.” Recognizing the need for dualism in the history of humanity, Carus sought to promote the principles of Monism in the West, believing it could lead to a universal worldview capable of uniting East and West. A positivist and pantheist, Carus believed that by pursuing “in religion the same path that science travels, [...] the narrowness of sectarianism [would] develop into a broad cosmical religion which shall be as wide and truly catholic as is science itself.” To lay the groundwork for this “cosmical religion,” he investigates the figure of the Devil and the historical evolution of the concept of evil, which he saw as predating belief in goodness and God. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Paul Carus’ The History of the Devil is a classic of philosophy reimagined for modern readers.

About the author

Paul Carus (1852-1919) was a German American author, scholar, and philosopher. Born in Ilsenburg, Germany, he studied at the universities of Strassburg and Tübingen, earning his PhD in 1876. After a stint in the army and as a teacher, Carus left Imperial Germany for the United States, settling in LaSalle, Illinois. There, he married engineer Mary Hegeler, with who he would raise seven children at the Hegeler Carus Mansion. As the managing editor of the Open Court Publishing Company, he wrote and published countless books and articles on history, politics, philosophy, religion, and science. Referring to himself as “an atheist who loved God,” Carus gained a reputation as a leading scholar of interfaith studies, introducing Buddhism to an American audience and promoting the ideals of Spinoza. Throughout his life, he corresponded with Leo Tolstoy, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Booker T. Washington, and countless other leaders and intellectuals. A committed Monist, he rejected the Western concept of dualism, which separated the material and spiritual worlds. In his writing, he sought to propose a middle path between metaphysics and materialism, which led to his dismissal by many of the leading philosophers of his time.