Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1858-09-15
Por the D.me cvat

Answes Philosophical Question No.
am sag4cf and can prove my oun Phys
cal Eristence.
Our p1ysical structure is self evident an
requireeeo proof to establish what we in
tuitivsly bnow. The problem amo unts /
an axie and is established at first sigh
withoueA possibility of deception.
In oroer TO prove our materiality we hay
only e eppeal to our reason, and if our rea
son doeg not respond, the world, at least
would ail us insane; but il not insane, on
five senses will very soon test the matter
and Set the doubling soul at ease on tha
point.
It may be that one or two of our fiv
senses are out Of order, and not altagethe er
reIial yet We have three left, and thre,
out Of fiye being majority, is sufficient ey
idence to prove the fact of our physical or
ganization.
To illustrate:
Let any one who doubts his physica
structure be blindfolded, his ears crammed
and his nostri plugged up, all secure, with
out possibility Of using them. In this ease
three OF the senses would be dormant; then
let our friend place one of his fingers in his
mouth, and then bring his grinders down
as If he We're chewing tough piece of beef
say the finger is bitten to the bone, can he
be persuaded that this is all nonsense, and
that his finger was not bitten; can he. or
will he. doubt the single sense of feeling ?
No: the proof is positive without the posi-
bility of being disproved.
Having proven to the sane man his mate
riality, we leave him to satisfy himself as to
the materiality Of things by applying his
reason to the subject.
As to the soul, or entity of the man being
locked up absolute in the head admits of
considerable doubt, and in our opinion, it
would be greater task to prove than would
be the physical structure; for instance
Does the soul enjoy or suffer; is it suscepti-
ble of pleasure? We are led to believe that
tits. lfso where do We enjoy, in the head
or breast ? We think that the majority of
our readers will say in the breast.
We will, then, call the head the council
chamber, where all our actions and doings
are set upon in judgment. Any scheme or
plan that may have been concocted in the
has 70 l,o L.
the heart. or within the breast, before it
can be carried out. The reason at all times
cannot carry out its schemes, because they
do not harmonze with the affections Of the
heart. We are inclined to believe that the
soul, or entity of the man, ia not confined
to two or three inches in circumference, but
has wider range.
The metaphysical reasoning used by our
learned friend to illustrate his position is
rather stale and bears no analogy to the
problem
We should like to know what compari-
son there is between a house one or two
stories high with a belfry on the top with
five bells hung in it, having an intelligent
occupant residing in the belfry without the
power of moving about in the other por-
tions OF the house this intelligent being
having made an arrangement with five
other persons, by which they agreed to
convey to him intelligence of what is pas
sing on the outside of the house by pulling
bell ropes. We ask what comparison that
bears TO man. A building cannot feel, see,
hear. taste or SMELL it cannot walk or move
neither can an individual perform any one
OF these acts for it; it cannot think or advise;
it is perfectly passive thing. On the
other hand, a man has self-acting and in
dependently organized system, capable Of
possessing IN and of itself the capabilities Of
enjoying the most refined tastes and feel
ings, whose five senses are harmoniously
interviewer for the general good of the
whole structure, each one adding to the
pleasure or pain Of the others.
If the intelligent being in the belfry
should have five men hired to pull the bell
ropes and announce to him what is passing
1T would not require large amount
OF reason to convince any one that they
might do as they plee sed, they are not at
10, and do not make component
part of the house used in the comparison
they could one or al of them walk off at
pleasure and leave our intelligent being in
the belfry to grunt about in blessed igno-
rance as to what was going On outside the
house and as matter of course without
any means Of redress.
Not so with mans Senses for instance,
who ever saw one of mans senses, say the
the sense of feeling, taking a morning walk
and returning again at ten o'clock to take
lunch. II we should Judge of our senses by
men, no doubt but we would be deceived.
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