54 pages • 1 hour read
Anna Julia CooperA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Cooper describes a solitary figure who symbolizes an intellectual contemplating humanity. That thinker is full of “speculative unbelief” and “unimpassioned agnosticism” looking down on “struggling, working, believing humanity” (167). Cooper mentions the works of people like Richter, Hume, Conte, Mill, Huxley, Spencer, and Lewes, criticizing philosophical ideas of agnosticism, skepticism, and positivism. Cooper’s thinking is hinged upon “God” and “Love,” as she states that positions like agnosticism offer nothing to humanity.
For Cooper, such philosophical ideas inhibit growth and self-development, as the possibility of eternity is excluded. Faith is significant for Cooper, as it instills the values of heroism, sacrifice, and devotion in people. Faith is power and reinforces “the eternal development of the best in man” (173). She urges philosophers and thinkers of the time to put their words into action and not treat African Americans as a “problem.” Ultimately, with faith, nations can find the way to light and move forward, believing that anything can be achieved.
In “The Gain From a Belief,” Cooper juxtaposes her ideological stance, informed by African American culture, with Western philosophical developments of the 19th century, exploring the racial debates and possibilities for social change. While other essays are more focused on social and cultural criticism, here Cooper articulates philosophical criticisms in an effort to show how certain strains of philosophical thought undermine the cause of racial
African American Literature
View Collection
Books on Justice & Injustice
View Collection
Books on U.S. History
View Collection
Books that Feature the Theme of...
View Collection
Class
View Collection
Class
View Collection
Contemporary Books on Social Justice
View Collection
Education
View Collection
Equality
View Collection
Nation & Nationalism
View Collection
Politics & Government
View Collection
Sociology
View Collection