Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1885-06-18
SOME UGLY OLD ERRORS
WHERE THE METAPHYSICAL PHIL
OSOPHY BEGINS AND ENDS.
How Cruelty tn Animals was Incuicated.
What Man Allows to the Inferior
Orders Of Gre ation-The SEN
sibIe and .upersensible.


During all the ages tnat nave elapsed since
b. began to reflect upon his own phenomena,
and to entertain questions in respect to his
own destiny, man has been studous 10 assert
the superiority Of his own over all the other
families of creatures by which the earth is
inhabited, on the ground of his exclusive pos
session Of that congeries of spiritual faculties
and activities upon which-according 10 the
point of view from which il is considered
he has bestowed the titles of soul, mind,
reason and intellect. In his contemplation,
reason is the peculiar and distinguishing
characteristic of humanity. That he is in
debted for this property to a special act Of
divine benefaction; that its conferment was
designed at once to establish and to symbol
ize a relationshipof essential community and
mutualiuy OF interest between himself and
his transcendent patron, and his primacy
over all the "ther orders Of the animate
creation, is INT he never ceases 10 affirm
nor interInits IS efforts 10 demonstrate.
Ii is the disposition of humanity to attach
the idea Of special worth to whatever prop
erty, faculty or capacity is peculiarly its
own. No sooner did man come into possession
of the idea that mind Is the distinctive attri-
butte of his species than he began 10 commend
himself on account Of its ownership A gift
Of so much dignity was evidence, not to be
disputed. of the favor Of his creator, and of
his title 10 dominion within the range If his
environment He alone has been lighted up,
by the author OF all things, with spark of
his own IMMORTAL intelligence. la him the
natural and the supernatural are rhiracu-
lousy conjoined; and while, through his
material organism, he is related 20 the CON
ditiofied and perishabe upon one side,
through his psychical constitution he is allied
to the unconditional aud the inlestrucfibie
on the other.
The effects Of this persuasion are discover
able in two directions: l. In persistent at-
tempts, by interpretive methods, io obtain
objective evidence Of its validity, of which
the results thus far have not been as unequiv-
ocal as would have been desired; and c) in
a propensity SO 10 exalt the intellectual
above the other ingredients Of the psychical
constitution a. virtually 10 deny their exist
ence. and to banish them altogether beyond
the jurisdiction of ms philosophy. Cropping
blindly in the penetralia of his own interior
in search of proof Of his divinity; striving
vainly to bridge the chasm between the sen
sible and the superSensible in the hope 10
extend his explorations beyond the region of
his consciousness, and. with a sense Of failure
in his heart, dealing sophisticaly with his
own intelligence in attempts to convince him
self that he has succeeded, man has mani
tested the iuPotency of his reason under the
dominion of his conceit, and has perpetuated
the clearest possible proofs Of his littleneSs
in his abortive essays 10 illustrate his own
immensity. Ills case Is that Of one who puts
the records Of hersldry to torture for evil
dence Of his bobility instead of creating it by
a course of conduct corresponding to the
dignity to wsich he pretends.
At what period in the history of the human
race, and by. what authority the dogma of
the immaculate conception Of the mind was
promulgate is a question which the records,
sacred and secular alike, leave unanswered.
Its consec aces, however, are distinguish
able from the earliest down TO the latest
ages. They consist l) in the drawing of an
arbitrary line Of distinction between the
conscious intellect and other elements of the
psychical constitution which are only known
through their phenomena-the disproportion-
ate exaltation OF the one, and the unworthy
disparagement or utter denial Of the exist
ence Of the other; and e9 in the arbitrary
division Of the total spiritual principles of
animate nature into two parts, one of which,
Al. -. ind int -
appropriated exclusively to humanity, while
the other, under the title Of instinct, il al
lotted with equal exclusiveness to the inferior
orders of the creation.
The time is past, except in those regions
where erudition stands in the light of intel
ligence and learning presents insupcrable
10 knowledge-that is 10 say, in
the domain -. .metaphysics-for such notions
to lid supporters. 1t is questionable
whether in the distribution of the psychical
faculties. man does greater injustice To the
brutes or TO himself The former have,
without doubt, been the severest losers, I'M
der this system Of anticipated ignorance.
The dogma Of the earliest philosophers that
the orders Of inferior criminals are simply
automata, destitute Of feelings, sensibilities,
the capacity for suffering or enjoyment,
consciousness OF right and wrong, aptitudes
for friendship and enmity-which has been
and still continues 10 be the cause Of an in
amount Of cruelty-is the nat
ural and necessary concomitant of that
Of the intellect in which so vat
a capital Of human vanity is invested.
The philosopher, Of course, has freedom to
choose the field and the predicates of his
speculation. He has the right TO measure
himself for his undertaking, and his under
taking by himself. But if he sees fit 10 de-
vote his faculties to a useless and unpro-
ductive manipulation-to the marshaling of
forces, or to computations with
quantities, the measure Of the
good he accomplishes should be the measure
of the fame he is permitted TO enjoy. Any
form of anthropological philosophy, in order
TO be entitled to any respect whatever, must
take the actual human being-not the hypo-
thetical man, made up to suit some precon-
ceived t1eory-as thesubject Of its inquiries.
Did any one ever take the trouble TO con-
slider what would be the probable fate Of
creatures constructed according to the most
approved metaphysical formulas from mind
and matter of the best qualities. and in such
as to be free from objection,
.