Socio-philosophical religion thought by Ludwik Gumplowicz

Abstract

The article constitutes an interpretation of Ludwik Gumplowicz’s literary output and a demonstration that he is fairly considered to be one of the classics of theory of conflict. In his work, he underlined the autonomy of the social layers of being. He thought that phenomena of this kind possessed peculiar features and that they could be understood only in the context of social motives. The article’s author acknowledges that Gumplowicz’s views were of naturalistic provenances, although the sociologist called them monistic. This is the context in which Gumplowicz’s ideas about religion were analysed. The article’s author formulates the thesis that for this Galician sociologist, religion was the result of human thought, therefore a necessary product of its psycho-physic and social construct. He thought that the human being possessed the ability to believe. He was radical in some of his thoughts, in others – doubtful and moderate. He also used to sacralise, although unconsciously, categories used to interpret the development of social existence.