Positivism and its Impact on Nineteenth Century Bengali Thought: A Study of Krishnakamal Bhattacharya and Jogendro Chandra Ghosh

Abstract

The main findings of the research work are to determine how the Bengali intellectuals were affected by the scientific philosophy positivism and what the influence on Bengal was. In broader perspective the research is to explore the philosophical movement of Bengal that had been influences by the movement of nineteenth century positive philosophy of Europe. In this work it is specifically found how the history of the advent positivism in Bengal and how the impact of positivism on Bengali thinkers in the late nineteenth century. Finally it has allready been traced the aftermath of positivist ascedancy in Bengal. The history of philosophy has it's a multy dimentional attitide. The nineteenth century philosophy is obviously not out of that trend. The beginning of the nineteenth century philosophy had an influence of science and forced to the rationalistic basis in its point. It was really the criticism of Hegelian idealism and based on a platform that is meant the philosophy of science. It was basically the internal rotation of scientific thinking in philosophy rejecting the idealistic thought. The main trand of the philosophy was scientific character and a part of that trand is called positive philosophy i.e. positivism. The founder of positivism is Auguste Comte (1798-1857) It is originated in France and later on flarished into other part of the world. Positivism is a philosophy that is to be said an analytical attitude of positive thinking in the history of human ideals. The main stream of positivism is a scientific method according to which science progress by conjuncturing hypothesis and attempting to refuse them. It is also the historical development in which improvement of knowledge are both the mote of historical progress and the source of social stability. Positivism is a unity of scientific thesis accoeding to which all sciences are to be integrated into a single natural system. Its tremendous influence occupied the growing nation and their thought. While it had been growing up with the interest of scientific knowledge the awaking Indian people took it most of its subjects matter. India then the nineteenth century Bengal rose on a high praised of morality. Specially the Bengal intellectuals gathered togather rejecting the fundamentalism and captured the new rationalistic thought. The then Bengal was highly influenced by the scientific philosophy of the West. They began to study Western culture and were accounted with the ideology and forward themselves to be the new nation with the positive ideas. Actually the Bengali intellectuals were most influence directly by the Europen thinkers and followed their style and indirectly the basic point of positivism i.e. Auguste Comte. It is the subject matter of the research that was influenced most by the France philosophy, positivism. Historically positivism is a part of philosophy that is really the new thought of positive and scientific attitude to solve problem. As philosophy is a technique of solving the problem positivism is the scientific technique rejecting the abstract and metaphysical thought? In nineteenth century the world philosophy was guided by the world famous intellectuals. The prominent intellectuals like Comte, Spencer and Mill performed best in their world and by this they influenced the Indian territory most. Their ideas and thoughts were basically moulded Ethics, Pragmatism, Humanism, Science and factual Truth. They were the living stratu or model of the scientific thinking and the Bengali intellectuals accepted their ideology and practiced in their natives. This is the way of the impact of European Positivism in Bengal. The Bengali intellectuals were mostly influence by their thoughts and ideas and their influence focused in politics, economics, religion, culture and other social activities in accordance with the European tradition. In this the research it is limited to the proposed Bengali intellectuals focused in the title of the research. So our focus is only to find out the influence of prominent Bengali intellectuals such as Jogendero Chandra Ghosh and Krisanakamal Bhattacharya.The specific influence of positivism of the two venerable heard robbers i.e. Jogendro Chandra Ghosh and Krisanakamal Bhattacharya. There was a great influence of positivism on Jogendro Chandra Ghosh. As we find here that Jogendro Chandra Ghosh was the founder of Indian positivist society and Jogendro's interest in Comte is shown by his contribution in Mukerjee's Magazine on the analytical Geometry of the dimensions translated from the French of Comte. The biographer of Jogendro states that Jogendro appreciated Comte's approach to the Hindu caste system, which the French philosopher believed had contributed to the stability of Hindu society and had ensured subordination to authority. He was determined to make Comte an Indian rishi rather than an abatar but realized that if positivism were going to meet the religious needs of men emancipated from their old beliefs. The biographer remarks that Jogendro regretted that one tendency of the existing education system had been to undermine the social feelings of attachment, reverence, obedience and respect - the innocent prejudices associated with order and morality. Another intellectual Krisanakamal Bhattacharya got the influence of positivism. In this way Krisanakamal Bhattacharya was of course in favour of receiving Western thought and education, science and achievements for the progress of Bengal. While the Bengal society had begun to influence by the Western thoughts and ideas Krisanakamal Bhattacharya strongly advocated for the establishment of a new philosophy. He also urged the Bengalis to learn English and Frence studying positivism properly. He also spoke in favor of positive religion of Auguste Comte i,e; the religion of Humanity There is a great similarity and dissimilarity of the attitude and beliefs of the two Bengali positivists as we find In discussing the nature of external reality Jogendro too finds that to grasp the objective order, one must have certain, manmade hypothesis; their function being to help him to interpret what would otherwise be incomprehensible. Unlike Comte, Jogendro holds that there are three stages in man's attempt to read order in to the data of experience: the theological, the metaphysical and the positive. At the theological stage many people take the world with wills. Like his style. Krisanakamal is as the same attitude in his regards formulated the function of human cognition through the metaphysical to theological meaning and as thus he posses the positive basis of the society. A small discrimination is also found in their ideas and thought. That is were as the main difference between Jogendro Chandra Ghosh and Krisanakamal Bhattacharya is that the former is of dynamic attitude where as the latter belongs to a radical and most progressive mode of thinking of the day. It may be guessed that big or small they have been influenced themselves by their thoughts and ideas. So there had been a dialectical assimilation in their ideologies. As Jogendro sought to regenerate the community with the help of the western education and culture Krisanakamal then tried to change the orthodox socio-religious institutions and practices of the Hindus which were innocent with their progress. As the research is furnished with the findings of the influence of the positivism in Bengal it is true that the nineteenth century Bengal were influenced most by the France philosophy positivism and Auguste Comte who was the hero of that spirit, gave the stream and the two Bengali scholar were enlightened the ideas and acted in favour of Bengali society and culture. So the impact of positivism on nineteenth century Bengal is really the burning question in that period and also is forever.