Beyondism : the thinking of Raymond Bernard Cattell (1905-1998) on religion, and his religious thought

Abstract

Having gained a particular understanding of religion from his anthropological knowledge and psychological research, Raymond B Cattell claims that morality and ethics could be motivated scientifically. He further postulates that the results of scientific research could be implemented effectively to thwart the modern trend of moral collapse. Consequently Beyondism is presented as a religion from science, working from without inward by starting from the outer reality and moving inward to intention. Beyondism is based on the acceptance of evolution as the prime process in the universe. It differs greatly from other alternatives to revealed religion such as humanism and existentialism. This study explores Cattell’s views on religion, epistemology, cosmology and morality, reflecting his Darwinian approach of evolutionary advance and cooperative competition. The evaluation of the viability of the idea of religion from science is performed by means of Ken Wilber’s systems theory and JS Krüger’s conditionalist criteria for religion. Read in the light of his work on personality, intelligence, heredity and environmental influence, his approach to genetics is considered outside the fashionable opinion by which his views have suffered negation, misrepresentation and rejection. Considering recent scientific and social developments, his authentic research and visionary interpretation could be of value not only in the field of psychology, but also in the study of religion.