The Failure Of Romanticism-Transcendentalism

Process philosophy is the philosophy that embraces change and the developmental factors in a society. “Process philosophy was created out of the failure of Romanticism-Transcendentalism, a failure which resulted in a very profound theological shift” (Martin, 2006, pp. 145). The failure of the Romanticism-Transcendentalism period caused people to question the belief system that was present. The uncertainty and second guessing ultimately had people looking for something else to put their beliefs into. This was when a new philosophical outlook was formed, process philosophy. This new outlook was very different from the old outlook in which there were no real absolutes that exist. Since no real absolutes exist, which can also be referred to as relativism, there is no belief of the supernatural which means there is an absence of God. “The abandonment of the supernatural, then, leaves us with a process view of life and existence, including man. We shift from an absolutist view to a process view, which comes to be known as process philosophy” (Martin, 2006, pp. 149). Shifting from an absolutist view to a process view of life inevitably

produces many drastic changes within a society, specifically with the perspective on family and marriage.
The concepts of marriage have been on a cycle of continual change throughout the years. What marriage is and what it stands for has slowly taken a decline. “In number of divorces per 1000 of existing marriages, the U.S. divorce rate in 1970 was 13. This rate had almost doubled to 23 by 1980” (Marcassa, 2013, pp. 997). From this data, it can easily be seen that the divorce rates in the United States are indeed rising. Not only have the divorce laws become less strict, but the worldview of individuals who are married have changed drastically also. The central aspects of a marriage and what it is have mostly stayed the same over the years, but the way that people view marriage is much different than the views of the past century. It appears that the ethics of people has shifted gears when it comes to staying in a committed marriage. It used to be “Til Death Do Us Part,” but now it does not seem that people take this vow as seriously.
The sacredness of marriage has seemed to have lost its value. With the change in worldview, values and ethics differences tie in with the worldview change. Since the 1960’s, the way of life has changed for many women. “In the 1960s, deep cultural changes were altering the role of women in American society” (Walsh, 2010). This change created an opening for women to establish independence and change the condition of the lives that were currently being lived. In relation to process philosophy, the changes that have taken place could be deemed as being superficial because women were more stable than before, especially financially. The financial stability has helped and hurt women. Some women have let it go too far and created a self-serving attitude which in turn destroyed marriages. This has made divorces more prominent, as well as enforcing the process philosophy facet of relativism’s idea that “nothing is fixed” (Martin, 2006, pp. 151).
Not only has the views and actions on marriage changed, the family system has also taken a turn that is not the same as years ago.

There are more instances where children are growing up in a home with just one parent because of divorces. “The last 50 years have seen a dramatic rise in divorce, cohabitation rather than marriage, “blended” families of both gay and heterosexual design, and children born out of wedlock” (Castelloe, 2011). The traditional home with a married couple with children is now few and far between, unfortunately. It appears that there is a lack of stability within the marriage and family department in recent times, which points to the process philosophy approach of relativism once again. The process philosophy belief that is nothing is fixed could definitely be applied to the current situation of the family

unit.
Process philosophy is a philosophy that has negatively affected societal and political aspects of this nation. Many individuals may not even realize that aspects of process philosophy are present in everyday decisions and actions. It is imperative that as a Christian nation, we get back to those same principles the country was founded on. God is needed within our society and He also needs to be included in aspects of government. God’s law is the ultimate law and to follow Him means to reject process philosophy. To reject process philosophy means to live a law where there are absolutes, with God being the ultimate absolute.