Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-02-13
REVIEWING HERBERT SPENCER.
Bishop keane Lectures on 'Ultimate
Religious IDEAS"

Bishop Kesne continued yesterday afternoon
at the Catholic university his course Of weekly
lectures on Herbert Spencer's first principles
| and discussed the second chapter, entitled
"Ultimate Religious Ideas" He showed Spen-
GERS argument in this chapter to be based upon
his peculiar views Of mental concepts. Ac-
cordng to his view, concept is only clear and
perfect when the object presented to the mind
can be fully reproduced in the Imagination.
Thus we can have clear conception Of table
or a single man. but We cannot picture to our
! selves the whole earth, or a numerous body of
men; and still less is our Imagination capable
Of grasping the solar system or the universe
The imperfect conceptions which alone we
can possess under such circumstances are not,
Mr.. Spencer says, true conceptions at all, but
only symbols Of ideas, or symbolic concep-
tons" He considers whatever cannot be
pictured in the imagination to be inconceiv-
| le-unknowable-uni
After reviewing at some length Mr.. Spen-
GERS argument the bishop said: There are two
kinds of inconceivablity. First anything is
uncomfortable, according to Mr.. Spencer opin-
ION. II you cannot form clear picture or
| image OF 1t in your mind. Second a thing is
really uncomfortable when you recognize that
1t contains ideas between which there is a con-
tradiction and incompatibility. Herbert Spen-
Ger tells us that the solar system is utterly in
conceivable, but we know that it exists On
the other hand il talk to you Of square cir
Gle, of n virtuous electric light, of a green or
blue thought or sensation, you realize at once
that l am trying to put together things that do
not ut, that are utterly incompatible. The
fact that a thing can or cannot be conceived in
the hrst sense OF the word Is no argument for
or against Its existence, as can form perfectly
! In my mind the image of centaur or sphinx,
which do not exist. and I can possibly do so of
gravitation. of force, OF truth, or of honor. all
OF which are realities about which have clear
Ideas and which know perfectly well how to
distinguish from anything else. On the other
hand the fact that anything Is inconceivable in
the second sense, that it IS a contradiction of
terms. proves conclusively that it does not
exist and that it is absolutely impossible. You
talk OF square circle, of q triangle which does
not inclose space, of an infinite number of in
finite space, of a cause without an effect and
know at once that it does not and cannot
exist.
Applying these principles to the arguments
OF MIR. Spencer's chosen witness, Mr. Mansell,
we find that while they disapprove the self
existence OF the universe, which involves the
contradictory notion of infinite past time and
self-created universe, which involves the
equally contradictory one of an effect without
cause, they leave the hypothesis of universe
created by a self-existent first cause unim-
peached, since the only argument advanced
against it was the impossibility Of picturng
such being to the imagination. If the solar
system exists, though unimaginable, SO the
being of God, though even further beyond the
reach OF our imaginations, is yet more pro-
foundry real"
Next Wednesday afternoon at 4:45 o'clock
the subject will be resumed and the chapters
on ultimate Scientific IDEAS and .'The Rela-
tlvlty OF All knowledge" will be discussed