Why a ‘cosmic theory’ requires a personal answer
it was all very well for me to tell everybody to affirm his cosmic theory
‘Cosmic’ means a view of the whole of existence, not a scientific account of the stars. In the opening chapter of Heretics (1905), Chesterton defines the relevant philosophy or religion as a theory about ultimate things and argues that a person’s view of the universe governs practical conduct. His examples deliberately move between ordinary decisions and large convictions: the landlady’s judgment of a lodger and the general’s estimate of an enemy both depend on what people believe. Heretics, chapter I.
That argument makes the opening of Orthodoxy more than a courteous response to a reviewer. If fundamental beliefs matter as much as Chesterton has claimed, criticism of other people’s beliefs leaves an obligation to disclose his own. Yet Heretics had already announced disagreement with his contemporaries; it had not presented itself as neutral. The missing element was the developed affirmative account. His promise here to offer mental pictures specifies how he will supply it: through the history and imagery of conviction, rather than a chain of formal deductions. This is a statement of method, not itself evidence that the conviction is true.
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