Borden Parker Bowne and American Personalism

Abstract

American personalism did not emerge as a random phenomenon. Firstly, it was shaped by political, social, and importantly, economic factors. Secondly, this personalism has always been closely linked to its historical roots, particularly with German theological schools, a connection it has consistently maintained. The fact that many American scholars and philosophers, as well as the majority of representatives of the personalism school, received their education extensively in Europe, especially in Germany, is not coincidental. Moreover, their ongoing relationships with Europe’s scientific environment further confirm this fact. It is known that Methodism is primarily a Protestant movement widely spread in the United States and Great Britain. Although Borden Parker Bowne’s system of personalism developed primarily within a philosophical paradigm, it was largely an idea – personalism – that also drew heavily from theology. In this sense, his teachings on personalism primarily emerged as a liberalizing phenomenon. In the United States, the personalism promoted by the Boston School formed in alignment with Protestantism, liberalism, and historically established traditions, responding to the modern conditions, demands, and challenges of the time, as well as serving as an intellectual response to pragmatism (alongside and in certain respects influenced by it), market economics, secularization, and events stemming from this context. Thus, American personalism also arose against the backdrop of social problems and conflicts within society, which prompted its emergence. Looking at the Western European philosophical milieu, it is evident that it had the potential to generate spiritual crises such as existentialism and personalism. Furthermore, as noted earlier, the foundations of American personalism were also shaped by European philosophical teachings, directly drawing nourishment from them. These European teachings chronologically span a period of 200 years from the 17th to the 19th century