Genesis, Miracles, and Predictions According to Spiritism – Part II

Awen Abred

Method and Order of Topics in the Doctrine

n the previous article (issue 770), we presented the contents and sections of the codification work entitled Genesis According to Spiritism. Before proceeding with the reading, we recommend that readers begin there. Here, we will continue our study by presenting the order of the subjects addressed in Genesis. However, not all chapters will be discussed at this point. They will be covered in other articles.

II. Spiritual and Material Cosmogony, Geogony, and Biogenesis: The Mosaic Genesis Reconstructed According to the Laws of Nature

In Chapters VII, VIII, and IX, respectively entitled “Geological Sketch of the Earth” (Esquisse géologique de la Terre), “Theories of the Formation of the Earth,” and “Revolutions of the Globe,” Kardec presents, in a precise and encyclopedic manner, the principles¹ and hypotheses² developed by Material Science concerning the primary causes underlying the origin of the Earth. In these chapters, the Codifier reveals his profound interest in Geology, which is called upon to establish the true genesis of the Earth. Several points left open in The Spirits’ Book are further explored on this occasion.

The first step was to present the foundations of Historical Geology, that is, the principles and hypotheses concerning geological periods, based on the study of fossils and currently accepted on the basis of Nuclear Geology. Chapters VIII and IX deal, respectively, with the past state of the Earth (referred to by scientists as the “Azoic Period”) and the present and future states of the Earth, based on the geological sketch. The former is entitled “Theories of the Formation of the Earth,” while the latter is entitled “Revolutions of the Globe.”

With regard to these states, Kardec first presents the Earth’s past state during its formation. In this context, he presents certain principles of Geology, as well as hypotheses corresponding to theories concerning the formation of our globe. Naturally, he presented the hypothetical systems prevailing in his time. In item 3, Kardec opts for the Theory of the Condensation of Cosmic Matter, as it accords with the uranographic principle of universal unity within universal diversity (formulated by the Spirit of Galileo through Camille Flammarion as the emblem of the Universe); because it was accepted by the majority of geologists of his time; and because the condensation hypothesis is consistent with experience and reason.

In the field of Official Science, insofar as it investigates matter, Spiritism, or Spiritist Science, should fully accept the principles of one science or another. Obviously, Spiritism must still concern itself with this question, given that the origin of the planet remains a problem for Science today.

In the other states of the Earth, in relation to its present condition, Kardec presents the principles and hypotheses of Geology concerning the current and future changes to the globe.

In this chapter IX, the question of the universal Flood is addressed using the tools of Geology. The issue appears in The Spirits’ Book (item 6, subsection 59 of Chapter III, Part One), where Kardec refutes the literal interpretation given to the biblical Flood mentioned and described by Moses. He nevertheless revisits the subject through its figurative meaning, so that Science may be called upon to reconstruct it according to the laws of Nature. He then presents two scientific hypotheses concerning the biblical Flood and reaches the general conclusion, perfectly intelligible to the scientist and philosopher, that the biblical Flood was not universal, but rather partial and periodic.

Let us now consider Chapter X, which deals with Organic Genesis, or Biogenesis. This section expands upon Chapters III and IV of Part One of The Spirits’ Book and Chapter IX of Part Two, entitled respectively “The Primary Creation,” “The Vital Principle,” and “The Three Kingdoms.” The central question is the origin of life according to the principles and hypotheses put forward by Material Science — in this case, the Biology of the time, which was still in its infancy. The systems discussed in Kardec’s time, still at the stage of empirical hypotheses, were vitalist systems, according to which, for a being to become alive, it had to be endowed with a principle not found in its purely material organization: the vital principle.

The Doctrine of Vitalism was accepted and defended by many scientists in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. With regard to the more specific problem of the origin of life — namely, the origin of the species of living beings — two systems confronted one another: that of Aristotle, based on the hypothesis that living beings (life in general) arise through spontaneous generation³; and another system, later established by twentieth-century Science, namely the evolutionary system of Darwin, Lamarck, and Wallace. This system holds that living beings arose from simpler species through a natural law known as natural selection, which accounts for the evolutionary origin of species.

The controversy “Vitalism versus Creationism,” raised by the hypotheses of Lamarck, Darwin, and Wallace (now recognized as principles accepted by the majority of the scientific community), was not overlooked in the reflections of the Master of Lyon, who presents the solution offered by the Doctrine of the Spirits when discussing the intricate problem—for both Genetic Biology and Naturalistic Anthropology—of the origin of the human species. The interested reader will see that Kardec, together with the Higher Spirits, found a wise middle ground on the issue, one that is consistent with material science and with the collective teachings of the Higher Spirits.

The controversy of “Vitalism versus Creationism,” raised by the hypotheses of Lamarck, Darwin, and Wallace (now recognized as principles supported by the majority of the scientific community), was not left aside in the considerations of the master of Lyon, who presents the solution offered by the Doctrine of the Spirits when discussing the intricate problem of the origin of the human species, both for Genetic Biology and Naturalistic Anthropology. The interested reader will find that Kardec, together with the Higher Spirits, arrived at a wise middle ground on the issue, one that is consistent with Material Science and with the collective teachings of the Higher Spirits.

In the next article, we will present the order of the subjects covered in the subsections of the Codification entitled “Miracles According to Spiritism” and “Predictions According to Spiritism.” In conclusion, we will consider some connections between this important work and the book Posthumous Works, specifically with regard to the transitional constitution of Spiritism.

[1] Kardec uses the word “principle” to refer to a proposition that is true within a doctrine, whose truth has been demonstrated through experience, by means of universal empirical verification.

[2] Kardec uses the word “hypothesis” to refer to a proposition within a scientific, philosophical, or religious system whose truth or falsity has not been universally demonstrated through experience and which, therefore, must undergo the test of universal verification. Thus, if a hypothetical proposition passes universal verification, it becomes a doctrinal principle. If it does not, it must remain subject to discussion and experimentation within a theoretical system, but never as a doctrinal proposition. The hypotheses of a system can never be generalized. For an example concerning the notion of a system, see the Revue Spirite of 1860, EDICEL, pp. 211–212, in which Kardec discusses Lavater’s system of physiognomy.

[3] We do not have space here to address Kardec’s investigations into the system of spontaneous generation, a system that the Lyon master did not completely abandon, given its compatibility with the Doctrine of Spirits. Official Science, however, appears to have completely rejected any vitalist premise in the twentieth century, accepting the hypotheses of natural selection within the Darwin-Lamarckian theory of evolution, now accepted as principles forming part of the broader biological theory known as the Modern Synthesis. On another occasion, we will address more specifically the incorporation of the Modern Synthesis into the Doctrine of Spirits in the material sphere.