Weekly national intelligencer., 1854-11-11

will is faculty Of the mind i say mind is quality o
faculty Of will say the human will is intelligent OF
endowed with capacity to be intelligent, or inherent,
empowered to think. / make distinct faculty o
thinking, and then call it understanding make es
tnction between man as an mmateria principle aside
of course from his material organization, and the viii
hold that the win Of man is that active thinking
mmateral principle in material bodies that consti
tutes moral and intellectual beings.
But let pay respects to the philosophy of Cousl
above quoted Cousin says that consciousness is thu
fundamental principle acknowledge and that it is through
consciousness that apprehend the external world
Now, here is whole world of philosophy in very few
words.
But, Messrs Editors, did you ask yourselves the
question what your consciousness is Are you able
draw any distinction between your consciousness and
your knowledge? Are you conscious of any thing that
is not the result of your thnking If you consciou.
of any thing is not that the way you think? Do you
think any thing in opposition to your consciousness
and rather do you feel conscious of any thing that
posed to your thnkingf Keep my theory in view you
please. Cousin says " oil knowledge commences with
consciousness and that it is through consciousness
that apprehend the external world" Mark this Ian
guage Rs," he says, "apprehend the external world
through consciousness" Now, deny this. cay we
not apprehend the external world through conscious
ness simply because conscious of ourselves We
do need any consciousness If we ourselves
scous ! conscious Of the external world admit !;
but what is it about that is conscious Is it my
scousness or is it me, myself? say it is me- myself,
and that that me, myself, is my intelligent will am
conscious but my consciousness is not conscious for
am conscious until begin to think. 1t is my
thinking that makes me conscious. Consciousness is
thinking, but thinking is not knowledge. thinks
before he has knowledge We acquire knowledge, but
do not acquire thinking consciousness because that
is quality of the human WILL and distinguishes the hu-
will from other living wills. Man is not the only
living will in the world, but he is the only thinking will
Other Wills governed by instinct There is the dogs
will and the horses will and lions will, So All these
animals have Wills but their Wills unlike mans will do
not and think. Their wills are in subordinaon
to instructive laws
Why does Cousin say that "were 1t possible to rise
above consciousness to place ourselves to speak, be-
hind penetrate into the workshop where intel
gence blocks and fabrcates the various phenomena
there to ocate 1t were at the birth and to watch
the eyolutions Of consciousness then might hope to
comprehend its nature and the different steps through
which it rises to the form in which it is actually reveal
ed unless he supposes there is distinction between
and our consciousness Cousin says, then if COM
prehend him. that if could rise above my consciousness
and could get behind it and penetrate into the secret
workshop where my intelligence works out phenomena
and there watch the evoutions Of my consciousness
might then-do what comprehend what? Why, compre-
hend my consciousness! regard myself, on the con-
trary conscious principle. soy that you
scious; say that all conscious. When, there
FORE say you conscious, would it not be
for to expect you rise above yourself get behind
yourself to comprehend your comprehension to be
conscious of your consciousness? II admit A to
be conscious being, how can expect to get behind
his consciousness unless expect him to get behind him
self? Why do say that has consciousness which
do say, in modified sense? | say because think
that is o conscious being. / express the same idea
when say is thinking being. thinks just as his
consciousness mpresses him. If AS consciousness de-
ceives him, is deceived in his thinking You think
certain thing to be wrong you also to the
tent conscious that that thing is wrong If you think
that certain thing exists you conscious to the
tent of your thinking, that that thing exists. We
conscious of external world because think there
is an external world Suppose was born and reared
in close box and cut off from all knowledge of
world would he be conscious that there other
world than his box, just in precise proportion he
thought there other world? And if he thought
there another outer world would he be
of il in viydness in precise ratio Of his thinking
Our thoughts deceive us, often deceive But then
what is it to be thus deceived Is it not to think
neously?
Sir William Hamilton says that consciousness is the
criterion of the application Of truth. His words are:
The end of philosophy is TRUTH and consciousness is
the instrument and criterion Of its application In other
words philosophy is the development and application Of
the consutve and normal truths which consciousness
Immediately reveals"
But suppose consciousness developes untruth
could mention great many truths or unruths do not
know which to call them with regard to which mankind
divided at this day One portion say they
scious that thing is true and the other that it is false
For example Sir William and thousands besides him say
they conscious that they not things; that they
are persons conscious Of moral existence and Of
freedom and responsibility Priesty and all materalsts
be they few many, say they conscious that
part Of physical nature and governed by physical laws
Now beyond question, here consciousness tells false
hood for Of these two parties. In what light then
conscousness be the criterion Of the application Of
TRUTH Sir William must be mistaken Is he not
l think the right view is that all intelligent
beings by original endowment, animals instinc-
tive beings by original endowment, aud morality
comes when moral rule is presented to intelligence
The moral truths Of philosophy, what Sir William calls
tho consultative and normal TRUTHS" have always
isted and viii always exist and will exist whether
comprehend them not but morality is not affected
until they presented 10 intelligence and there is
distinction between and our Intelligence. We are
intelligent beings but whether moral not de-
pends upon the master principle Ia us-our wills.
BENTON, MISSISSIPPI. w. s. GRAYSON.