Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-03-12

10 the citation to "come into count.
TIE matters to be taken under advise
ment are embodied in an address whic
was delivered by the superintendent s
the close Of q session of the Teachers il
stitpte, recently held in this city. 1
this address, go far as the speake
cor fined himself to his legitimst
| theme, his remarks were perhaI
| fitting AMI uneXceptiOnable; ET
he unfortunately allowed himself to b
drawn into deep water, and rather din
med the luster Of his fervid rhetoric b
some quiteungraceful flounderings there
il. Very naturally, before su audienC
or educators and patrons OF education
mind, and Its needs and modes of Geve
] opment constituted the prime factor {
his discoursei and having shown that i
an ultimate analysis of all the cause
that have acted within the range of hU
man thought, and slI results that hav
entered permanently into the being, th
| sBuctUss and the hOundiess amplifies
tons OF wi1s' He call the ID in whicl
wa live, may be formulated in the tw
little words "mind" and matt };
adds: "With all the support that Tyn
dali and Darwin have given to theCrie
OF evolution, or theories atomic, the
have failed 1aterIy TO connect mind tyn
any so called OTgaaised product Q
csdnc6 or evolution.
No scientist nor philosopher has eve
yet found in the atoms q potentialiti
that file the measure OF causation in il
lengths, breadths and nights; nor We
have found for the atoms, nor 70
their organized combinations, mould
ing, g formative, vitsiiling and sus
tanning agency-at once ante, intro, sG
per and SubtTG-itself purely material O
atomic. II mind does no
act upon matter, how contemplate il
that hypothesis Of original cau3stion Of
concurrent OLnbinatiOn and control
which RENTS the grand work Of crea
ton with all the wonders Of material
organization ard development to the
stupid atoms an their chaotic plan aUitE
the TgspdS, and to eUol1ttiOn Nth its 6Iino
and laundering QuackeTy; casting of
the sublime theory of intelligence, as 8
factor in causStiOn, because science CAM
see it, nor feel 1t, nor snslyse 1t, MOI
comprehend it,n The italics are added
1t is easy to see what was the strong
under-current that fl0ated the speaker
from his nporiDgs, and just as plainly
to be seen that he i5 heIplessly "at sea. u
What connection there may be between
the researches of TyndslI and Darwin
aud the development of cur public
school system, may not be precisely evil
dent to the average comprehension, but
the undignified and unscholaYlike refer
ence to evolution was entirely gratuitous
and uncalled for, and with the
spirit and postulate &C this in
vective an intelligent criticism must
take issue. JRlpTiftis; Evolution is not
a Theory" it has emerged from its ad-
olescence, and has become developed by
the mastt mind of Herbert Spencer in
70 comprehensive synthetic ohilO$o-
OIly; and il is somewhat CtiriOus that
Mr.. spencer is not named in connection
with Tyndall and Darwin, when it is re-
membered that the first-named gentle.
m an but gives his unhesitatiDg "sup-
port" to the pew philosophy, and the
other is working as a specialist in the
field Of natural selection. The superin-
tendent ayers that no scientist or phiIos.
opler has yet found in the atoms a DO
tentiality that fills the measure OF causa-
ton; "they admit" he adds, "the pres
ence and power Ct mind-admit it be,
cause in man-but the when, the how,
and the stretch Of its possibilities they
do not attempt to determine. Mind still
ands apart, defying in its subtle work
ings, its undiscovered origin, its immor-
tally, any analysis that alchemy, or
chemistry, or physics, or geology, or
mathematics, or history can offer"
lust here the "bltnd and laundering
quacks" who hold to the philosophy OF
evolution will assuredIy stand at bay.
The assertion that ''mind stands apSrt,D
iefying analysis, is but au echo of the
OF Aristotle and Aquinas,
whose latest expression is found in
Hume's theory Of mental exist
ence, and will hardly be allowed
o go to the jury without Qualification.
Alexander Balm, in his analysis Of the
doctrine of correlation, persistence,
equivalence transmutability OF force, or
of energy, develops
i've chief powers or forces of nature: |
)ne mechanical or molsr, the momen-
UNI of moving matter; the Others, |
or embodied il the molecules, |
lsO in motiOn-these are heat, light. |
hemicsl force and electricity. To these |
owels is supplemented vital energy,
be nerve force From the mechanical |
DTCes, by the animal combustion of the
natter OF plants, comes The building up
I the tbs. uss Of the body and all the |
manifestations OF power Ia the animal
-ame-warmth, muscular power, and
eTvOus power, or certain fOwRk the
lfuence circulating through the
erves, which circulation of influence,
esides resctipg on the animal processes
glaDdulsr, etc.-h8s for its
cODcOmitant the mind.
lind, "as manifested in man and bfutes,
entirely made up of a capacity for
a susceptible tn to feeling
nd faculty of effort (wilD; this last
sipg the only power we possess" That
lis capacity has been evolved
ON the humblest beginning, is assumed
J one of the plainest deductions in
ology and psychology. However lit.
e we may respect the intelligence and !
dgment OF the man who refuses to
and accept the dochine OF
gsnic development. and the correlation
physical ard chemical with vital
rces, and Of vital with mental forces,
e msy safely admit that his courage
Id hardwood solicit cur admiration.
n automatic postulate Of psychology is
at mind and Ifs ave liled in ineXtri-
BILE union. mo theological II prejudice,n ,
Us Dd BJis, Raymond, prevents the
Idant Of natural science, as it did Das-
rtes, fcom recognizing in the souls Of {
imals the relations of the human l
al, end less perfect members OF the
me series Of development. On the (
ntrsTy, he sees that In the Yertebratss
Ose parts OF the train which physiolO- =
cal research aud pathological expert '
ce prove TO be The sea- of [
e higher mental activities, keep q
ce, in their comparative de- 9
lopment, with the growth OF those
tiviiies. When mental capacity q
AXES the immerse leap from the an |
ropOid apes TO man, which is indicated O
the power Of speech, we find a cor. t
pOnding leap in cerebral mas. Finally t
: development theory, coupled with r
; doctrine Of natural selection, forces v
On him the theory that the soul came r
o being IS the result, gradually at n
ned, Of certain material combinations, 90
d that probably, like other heritsble d
1owments that are of use to the indi- q
Iual in the struggle for life, it has risen q
4 perfected Itself up to its present a
te through countless series Of gener- CT
obs" The nature Ct intellect may be 81
cked upwsrd IN graduated sequence
% the radiRtes and articulRta TO q
wton or Shakespeare, aud all, with
exception OF the more subtle mental o.
.nOmena, reveal distinct physical re- II
On. In the grand and orderly process ia