The philosophy of loyalty

Royce's "The Philosophy Of Loyalty"

The American philosopher Josiah Royce (1855 -- 1916) taught a form of idealism and rationalism that has few current adherents. In recent years, however, there has been a revival of interest in Royce's ethical and social philosophy as developed in a 1908 book, "The Philosophy of Loyalty". The book is based on a series of eight lectures Royce gave at the Lowell Institute in Boston for a lay audience, rather than an audience consisting solely of professional philosophers. Thus Royce emphasizes the practical aim of his lectures in helping his audience achieve a degree of clarity regarding the nature of ethical behavior and reflection. But the book is also difficult and consists of a mixture of ethics, social philosophy, and idealistic metaphysics and religion.

Royce is unique among philosophers in emphasizing what he takes to be the fundamental value of loyalty. The immediate objection to focusing on loyalty as a basis for ethics is that people frequently display loyalty to bad causes, such as a gang of thieves, the Mafia, Nazi Germany, and many other examples. Royce is aware of this objection and tries to meet it as he develops his position.

Royce developed his philosophy of loyalty against the backdrop of the tumultuous, changing United States of the early 20th Century. He begins his book, "one of the most familiar traits of our time is the tendency to revise tradition, to reconsider the foundations of old beliefs, and sometimes mercilessly to destroy what once seemed indispensable. This disposition, as we all know, is especially prominent in the realms of social theory and of religious belief." Royce wants to counter what he sees as the rise of moral individualism, with what Royce sees as its exaggerated notions of atomism and autonomy. He also is concerned with moral skepticism and with a Nietzschean attempt at transvaluation of ethical standards.

I think the book aims primarily at dissolving a commonly-held dichotomy of "the individual as against the society" by showing that individual lives gain meaning only within the context of a community. Royce's book can be seen as presenting an ever-widening structure of concentric circles beginning with the self's relationship to family, and proceeding to community, the choice of a career, nation, humanity, and, ultimately, religion and what Royce takes as the Absolute. The key to the connectedness of self and others, for Royce, is loyalty.

Royce offers two definitions of loyalty. The first "preliminary" definition takes the reader through the first six chapters of the book, while the fuller definition is offered only near the end. Royce's preliminary definition of "loyalty" is "the willing and practical and thoroughgoing devotion of a person to a cause." The definition has three components: 1. a "cause", which I take to be a "purpose" to life, 2. a decision by the person to devote him or herself to the chosen cause and 3. actions expressing the decision in a "sustained and practical way". Among other examples Royce gives of a loyal life is "the devotion of a patriot to his country."

Royce says many insightful things about loyalty in the first six chapters of the book. He discusses how loyalty is to developed and learned beginning in early childhood leading ultimately to the development of individual conscience. He argues that loyalty and the having of a purpose in life external to oneself is the fulfillment of individualism rather than its rejection. He works to separate the concept of loyalty from its militaristic associations. He tries to apply his philosophy of loyalty to broad, general issues in American life. For example, he criticizes the corruption and self-centered character of both some large corporations and some trade unions.

Royce also develops his position of "loyalty to loyalty" in part as a way of meeting the objection that individuals may be loyal to bad causes. Royce argues that individuals have choice in deciding how to lead their lives and in determining the goals they find valuable. Individuals will differ and often disagree in their choices and the consequences. Royce maintains that individuals must make choices which honor the loyal choices of others, even when these choices are not their own. A choice to join the Mafia, for example, does not honor "loyalty to loyalty" because the activities of that organization involve the use of intimidation, violence, and abuse rather than respect for the lives and choices of others.

The final two chapters of "The Philosophy of Loyalty" carry the argument to a difficult metaphysical level. Royce argues that the philosophy of loyalty when pushed to metaphysics requires a commitment to an independent truth, expanding the concept of the individual's relationship to community. Thus Royce argues in favor of a strong notion of truth against the pragmatic conception of truth held by his friend and colleague William James. Royce then concludes by using his strong, absolutistic version of truth to state his full definition of "loyalty": "Loyalty is the will to manifest, so far as is possible, the Eternal, that is, the conscious and superhuman unity of life, in the form of the acts of an individual Self." He also restates the definition: "Loyalty is the Will to Believe in something eternal, and to express that belief in the practical life of a human being." Royce's full definition of loyalty owes a great deal to William James' essay, "The Will to Believe".

Royce's philosophy of loyalty is of strong interest to thinkers working towards a philosophy of community which bridges the tension between individual and society. This was an issue in Royce's day and remains an issue today. In studying Royce, it remains important to understand how his thinking about loyalty remains emeshed in idealism, even if it is a pragmatic form of idealism.
Regardless of whether one agrees with Royce, "The Philosophy of Loyalty" rewards reading for those interested in ethics, social philosophy, or American philosophy. The book is one of the more accessible of Royce's writings. It is available in this Vanderbilt edition, in numerous offprints, and is reprinted in full in the second volume of John McDermott's compilation of the Basic Writings of Josiah Royce The Basic Writings of Josiah Royce, Volume II: Logic, Loyalty, and Community (American Philosophy)

Robin Friedman