The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-10-11

in sense organs transmitted along nerve fibres
/ should determine changes In brain substance.
/ But now there appear. and It Ia impossible to
imagine how. consciousness. thought, emotion.
and will, phenomena OF an entirely different
order belonging to an entirely different world.
30 different that It is impossible to imagine
the nature Of the nexus between physiological
and psychological phenomena. or to construe
| the one in terms OF tho other. Brain cells are
aeitated and thought appears: Aladdin's lamp
| is rubbed and the genie shows himself. There
| is Just as much Ineligible causal relation be-
| tween the two sets OF phenomena in the one case
as In the other. Nor is this mystery ono Of those
| whose nature It is to vanish under the light OF
| knowledge. On the contrary. science only
brings It out In sharper relief and emphasizes
| its absolute unsolvableness. Suppose. by way
OF illustration. that we could expose the brain
OF living man in a state OF intense activity:
suppose. further. that our senses were abso-
lutely perfect. so that we could see every
change Of whatever sort taking place in the
brain substance What should we seer OBJ
viously nothing but molecular changes. ply
steal and chemical. for to the outside observer
there Is absolutely nothing else there to see
But tho subject OF this experiment sees moth
Ing OF all this. His experiences are Of a differ
ent order. viz: consciousness, thought. ono
ton. &c. Viewed from the outside there is and
can be nothing but motions: Viewed
from the inside nothing but thought, &C.: from
tho one side only physical phenomena: from
tho other side only psychical phenomena:
from the nature OF the case it must ever be so.
There arc. SO to speak. two sheets OF blotting
paper pasted together: the one is the brain.
the other the mind Certain Ink scratches or
blotches utterly meaningless on tho one sonk
through and appear on tho other as tntelliGi-
bio writing. but how we know not and can
never hope to guess. When tho paste dis
solves shall the writing remain That is the
question to which all OF US would like to see
decisive answer.
II may. indeed. be objected that there Is
nothing specially strange. nothing unique in
the unintelligibility OF psychical experiences
from a physiological view point. for the same
mystery enfolds the essential nature Of all
kinds OF force and matter. and therefore all
phenomena. There is this difference. however.
Physical and chemical forces and phenomena
are indeed incomprehensible In their essential
nature: but once accept their existence and
all their different forms are mutually converti-
ble construable in terms OF each other and all
in terms OF notion But 1t Is impossible by
any stretch ofthe imagination to thus construe
mental forces and mental phenomena.
In word. material forces and phe-
nomena are indeed mystery. but only
OF the first order. They cease to be q mystery
and become Ineligible from the moment we
take our stand upon the postuluted plane OF
material existence On the other hand. mental
and moral forces are mystery e"en from the
standpoint Of material existence. and are
therefore a mystery of the second ordcr-a
mystery within mystery. Materialism. there
fore. does not explain. 1t does not enable us
even to imagine, as between physical and psy
chical phenomena. a relation OF cause and
;.,l,
terms IN physical science
~.
Let us see now whether we do not encounter
q corresponding shOrtcoming in the other
branch of the argument for materialsm.
that. namely. which is derived from the law OF
evolution. II. az the materialsts say. tho con-
geries OF psychical qualities. which we call the
spirit OF man. be. like his body. the product of
evolution 1t seems incumbent upon them to
tell us at what point in the ascending scale Of
evolution 1t entered. This. however. they can
not do. What are the psychical qualities
Evidently consciousness, thought. will. men,
ory love. hate. fear. and desire. are some Of
them. But has not dog or monkey all OF
these? Pressed with this difficulty some
have felt compelled to accord even i'm |
mortality to the higher animals. But We
cannot stop here. II spirit belongs to
these. then it belongs also to all animals. |
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We stop even mere and make spirit coextensive
with life? We cannot for life-force is certain
ly correlated with. transmutable into. and |
deriyable from physicaI and mental forces.
We must. then. rceorpize thc existep.e n,
spirit In dead nature also. II follows that
everything Ia immortal or TINT nothing il.
Our boosted or coveted Immortality has Inv
continued extension become thinner and thin.
ner until it has evaporated into air. II has
sbrunk into nnurht but conservation Of
energy. and has kent no troce Of the honod.
for conservation OF sclf.conscious personalitv.
This difficulty presented IN tho texonomi,
series again confronts us IN tho omhrvoric
series. Each one OF MS, individually. was
formed gradually in his motber,s womb