New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-02-20
NEW PUBLICA ITONG.
THEORY OF THE PASSIONS.

Foun MOVEMENTS. BY CHARLES fovRIEE. Translated
BY HrSRY CLAP. u. svo. PIP rs Robert M Dewitt
The psychological doctrines set forth IN the hrss
treatise named abOve mainly an expanded form
Of the teachings which have given fuch prominence
10 Charles Fourier as an analyst Of the ultimate
spripgs Of human seton With seine notifications
Of the nome nca,uIe and PROPULSION of new lllusra-
tons. they are now presented 10 the students Of
mental philosophy in clearer and more compact
shape than that in which they are found in the
original state Dents Of tao author. They will ma
turally sttrac. the attention Of votares Of anthro
biological tcicDce in spite Of the failure of prema
ture attempts TO embOay his principles Of industrial
association. We, therefore avail ourselves OF the
lucid e1positiODs in the present volume 70 give
brief summary of Fourier's theory of human mo-
lives.
In examining the curious microcosm, presented
by the constitution of man, We are at once i'm
pressed with the existence Of two principles the
one active the other passive, or, according 10 the
distinction which is noted in every cultivated Ian
guage, the soul and the body. The soul, or active
principle in man, of which the body is the material
instrument Is an integral force composed of GER
tain number Of constituent forces, which By the
metspbysiciaDs are called sentiments, affections,
feelings, faculties, impulses, instincts, but which
in this system receive the distinguishing generic
name of passions. The passions, thus considered,
are spontaneous, ses acting forces, forming the
intelligent emotional, and creative principle 10 man,
the source and spring of bis activity 10 every
sphere, both material and spiritual. Emanatlng
from the Supreme Wisdom, the passions are not an
arbitrary or radon creation; they are implanted
in man 40 the conditions of his ful6lment Of his
earthly destiny; and hence their functions and uses
are defined with mathematical precision.
The primary division of the soul is into three
passions, which place man in relation with the
three great departments of the universe namely,
the attraction to Matter and its phenomena, or the
Material passion-the attraction to Spirit and its
phe somena, or the Spiritual passOn-and the at
traction to Order and its phenomena, or the Intel
ectual passion. Under this three-foId geuera-
zatiOn are included all the functions which connect
man with the attributes aud harmoDies of matter,
with the operation. of mind, and with the laws OF
universal order, by which both matter and mind are
regulated. The three primary passions are divided
into twelve secondary passions, which constitute
the second degree in the analysis of the spiritual
unity of man. The first passion, or the attraction
to matter forms the ve-fold impulse of the senses;
the second passion, the attraction to spirit, Is
resolved into four affections, namely friendship
love, ambition, and famhliSm, or the parental sent-
ment; the third passion, or attraction to order Is
developed in three intellectual tendencies and i'm
pulses, which in this work are called analysm, al
ternatsm and synthessm.
Every manifestation of human passiOn-or, in
ether words all the tastes inchnations, desires
attractions of human beings-proceeds from divi
zion of the twelve primary passions already named
Thss all the perceptions Of form and color OF pro-
portion and distance, arise from the sense of sight.
In like manner, the perception of weight density,
heat and the qualities of surfaces springs from tho
sense of touch. So also, the sentiments of benevo
lepce, fraternity, kindness, proceed from the pas
sion of friendship, while pride, self-esteem love of
distinction, and the sentiments OF dignity, rank,
equality, are the products OF ambition. Anaiysm
snd syntbessm, moreover, give birth to accuracy
and acuteness of thought, to the distractions
logic, and the creations OF poetry. la Mozart or
a Beethoven, the sense of hearing is the predOmi-
nant passion; in Raphael or Michael Angelo,
the sense of sight; in an Aristotle or Kant, the
faculty of analysis; in Plato or Shakespeare, the
power of synthesis. The predominant passion de-
termines the character. Each passion is capable
OF a fal.e or inverse development, and thus gives
nse so characters of false or perverted type.
The passions, in their respective divisions, are
opriated to definite and specific functions. Thus,
the function of the five senses is to establish rea-
lions between the active and passive principles, be-
tween man and nature attracting man to an i'm
portsnt work in the economy OF the universe,
pamely, the supervision of the planet which he
inhabts, of its vegetable and animal Kingdoms.
Man ia destined to be the intellectual overseer Of
the earth. He controls nature by the knowledge of
her laws, that is, by and science. He alone
possesses the mental endowments necessary for the
development and Improvement of her creatures; he
alone can establish order and harmony i'll her do
main. The animal aud vegetable creations are
active living forces, but they do not possess the
reason necessary for their cultivation and perfect
development. The fruit-tree, for example, cannot
graft nor transplant Itself nor can the aumals
their breeds or otherwise improve their species.
Man may accordingly be called the reason aud sol
eDce OF nature that lie to say, the regulator of her
active instructive forces. Each of the five senses
Las its special office in establishing aud preserving
the relations between man and nature. Thus the
nnse Of taste impels him u the cultivation of the
fruits, grains, vegetables, spices, and other pro-
ducts which please his palate and serve him as