New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-10-21

ticallv right and vet scientifically ana Demon
strah,v wrong. Consciousness Is certainly the
final function OF knowing mind. but 1t may not
be the first nor the only function. the scieh-
tihc reason for the existence OF the hghest
poetry and the deepest philosophy may lie III
the bvnothesis that the mind knows vast zeal
which II only becomes conscious of by persist
ent discipline In which environment cuts con-
siderable figure. That is to say. there Is
philosophy OF the unconscious even II Won Hart
mann. as Professor Ladd indicates has not MT
IT, And consciousness. having explored us own
domain. 80 tina, philosophers OF all Schools what
ever their starting point. always come out al
the end with the discussion OF the same we'll
worn topics. the only new themes must PLAINLY
lie In the realm Of what is now the UNCONSCIOUS
II anything can be gained for consciousness
there II will be real gain for the map OF
knowledge. If the function Of consciousness is
extended to processes Of mind which are now
carried on in darkness then we may De sure
that man Is really approaching intellectual per-
lection. But now philosophy Is acting very
much like the fox in the churning machine.
always going and never getting anywhere
Suppose that the ideal-reaism which Pro-
fessor Ladd. like many other American phil
osophers. advocates as a fnality In thouGht'
and which Professor Bovine accepts on the
ground that 'n the deepest sense OF the term
we mus, be content with knowing. not how
knowledge is possible, but that 1t is possible
Is accepted altogether. 1t will harmonize the
ancient quarrel between reallsts and ideasts.
but it will do so by proclaimlng that philosophy
after all Its toll comes down to the level Of the
plain man who has always held that his IDEAS
were the counterpart Of reality To rest at
u.in 10 opl1 ~ into barDariSm.
To go over the same round again Will simply
be 70 prove what the philosophy OF the nine
teenth century has demonstrated beyond cavll.
namely. tina, the only possible basis Of human
knowledge is theistic 1t would really be an
agreeable novelty. and 1t might be much more.
II some philosopher were to take all the con-
illusions Of the present theory Of knowledge for
granted and then work back from them to the
apparently insoluble question how knowledge
is possible. Such philosopher would not be
gravelled for lack Of matter. Popular science
has already created whole mythology In which
entities like graviation. attraction. electricity,
natural selection and so on. figure impersonally
but as distinctivey as did ever the gods OF
Greece. Suppose our philosopher asks what
these names rightly mean. 1t Is possible that
the answer might carry the relation OF mind TO
things deeper than has yet been traced. The
process would react on the relation Of the con-
scious functions to the unconscious functions
Of mind for the latter. as Is already known.
shade off imperceptibly into what appear TO be
simply movements OF matter. Where does mind
cease and matter begin or DO they interpene-
trate throughout the universe? If We say with
Professor Bovine that the world is essentially
a going forth Of the divine causality under the
forms Of space and time and In accordance
with a rational plan" then this question be-
comes highly significant. The so-caled philoso-
ply Of the unconscious becomes an Inquiry into
a superhuman consciousness II the!sm goes
further as Professor Bovine does and says that
"the world Is not merely an idea It Is also
an act It exists not only conception In
the divine understanding but also form Of
activity in the divine WILL" It takes into It's
service all that Is vital In the most vivid phil
osophy Of modern times that OF Schopenhauer.
This Is not the only glance at Schopenhauer
in these volumes Professor Ladd. though he
evidently dislikes schopenhauers materaist.c
idealism intensely. cannot avoid those epoch
marking phrases with which schopenhsuer
riched philosophy. Indications Of this sort lead
to the thought that II all schopenhauer wrote
about love and women were made free gift
to the Jewish commercial travellers and Ger
man second ieutenants. who dote on 1t. and
the remainder Of his writings kept for philoso-
ply, the art Of thinking might be greatly bene-
flied. But this Is depression. The rea! point
is that the above remark Of Professor Bovine.
true 1t Is Is nevertheless only hypothetical.
1t requires positive demonstration, and this can
only be sought In that realm which to the hu-
man mind seems the realm Of the unconscious.
but. according TO Professor Bovine. is the unds-
covered moiety OF a superhuman activity In the
universe