The Washington times., 1901-09-08

!
number of objects to be estimated gets
beyond his depth of reasoning he may
| thihk there are n hundred when there are
only seventy-five: but as he becomes
more mighty educated he perceiyes more
ana more mathematical truth.
! Inc argument that the ethical systems
OF oiHerent peoples seem essentially to
uiiier is rather a puzzling one, but not ir-
! refutabie. There is, as has before been
| stated, but one principle broad enough to
| hold as foundation of moral law and
that is the principle of acting not only for
ones own good, but for that of others. 1t
| is the foundation of civilized life, and a
| certain measure of obedience to 1t is
necessary If civilized or even social life is
! To ne possible. Owing to widely varying
! circumstances, however and the great
| difference between human beings at diff
| ferent stages of development. the ways in
which this fundamental law is obeyed
| will of necessity differ. In n civilized
state the people find II for their highest
| good to care tenderly for old people and
| train children in such way that physical
| accomplishments will be in measure
| subordinated to the mental. In a savage
! state this would not be possible. The no.
, madic savage, il he carried his aged par
ents with him on long forced marches
! would subject them to suffering far
| greater than death; he therefore does as
| he wishes others to do to him in similar
| circumstances. There is no apparently
| perverted system of morality which has
not originated somehow at some time in
real need of human nature. The system
| becomes harmful only when allowed to
stand in the way of progress toward a
better system of things. In its time 1t was
the best thing to be done; after that time
mas passed conservatism is as injurious as
1t would be for grown man, with the re-
| sponsibilities of 4 family on his shoulders,
to leave his family to starve while he
| played marbles or constructed toy water
wheel.
Haeckei further invaidates his argu-
ment against Kant's categorical irnpera-
tive by pointing out the fact that this
same Golden Rule was formulated inde-
pendently in three or four different coun-
tries; and as a rule of this kind is per-
ceived and obeyed long before 1t is put
into words, 1t looks very much as If man
can in varying degrees ''act in such wise
that the subjective law of his will may
hold good as principle of a universal
law" and that he has so acted through
the whole course of his moral develop
ment, simply because he possesses an
intuitive power of perceiving moral law,
in the same fashion as he recognizes the
law of mathematics and of gravitation.
Ages before Newton lived, men knew that
there was force which drew all things
earthward; and they knew how 1t would
act, and made their daily calculations
with a view to its workings Long before
any moral system is formulated men see
and act upon it. and while corruptions
lnluri0IlS
main. they do SO not so much because
mans natural sense perceives them to be
right. as because he is artificially cdu-
Gated to reverence wrong traditions. or
willfuliy does what he knows to be wrong
There is nothing mysterious in the fact
that the balance between love of self and
love of others is seldom perfect and 1t
will account for most of the involutions
of human conduct But 1t does not there
fore follow that man possesses no power
of knowing right from wrong in d given
case, even if he has not been instructed
on that point and is not forced into de-
cision by self-interest.
The great trouble with nineteenth CEN
tury thought, as Haeckel observes at the
beginning of his book, is that religious
thought has not kept pace with material
progress. Most of the advances which
have been made have been in the
direction of throwing off one old theolog-
ical dogma after another. but it remains
TO establish positive religion. based on
scientific principles, in which the develop
meDt of the soul shall be studied and
understood the development of the
body already is, and in which proof and
thorough reasoning will be held as i'm
portant as they now are in biology. In
this religion sentiment will not be
eliminated, but rather strengthened. The
scientist does not fail to see the glory of
mountain because he is familiar with
the conditions in which it was formed.
In the evolution of such a religion
books like Haeckels are important step
ping stones. There is no possibility of
believing a lie and the truth about the
same subject at the same time 1t is
important to clear away rubbish and
have a clean mind for new ideas. The
absolute materialist causes his reader to
the force and the beauty of law, and
disabuse his mind of Illogical notions He
forms a logical habit of mind, and may
then go on to create d system of religious
thought which will. at any rate, be
enable The great point which Haeckel es-
tablishes is that everything in the uni
verse-moral, intellectual and physical
The philosophy of unity which Goethe
outlined by this very intuitive perception
of law-highly developed in his case,
which has led to all progress from the
bcginning-has been explained in detail
by Haeckel. The next philosopher who
writes on this subject with the care,
thoroughness. and power of Haeckel may
have reached the point where he will see
in Kants attitude not, as Haeckel says
contradictory dualism.' but salient
example of the law that nature is para
doXical and that apparent contradictions
are as common as real correspondences.
The new conception of God is yet
vague, like the conception of mathe-
mates or nature in the mind of the
savage. The Hindoo says that the crea-
ton of the worlds is the breath of
Brahm." The living force which thus
works on inanimate matter, in perfect
harmony with far-reaching, tremendous.
and infinitely varying law partakes of
the nature of God; this has been intui-
lively perceived in all time 1t IL not
possible to conceive of God as contained
in the material universe. but it is possible
10 imagine the spirit of God as permeat-
ing it. and eXerting an influence vivify- |
ing and inspiring, counteracting the natu- |
raj inertia of matter. The imaginative |
thinker, If his brain is not sluggish or
perverted. perceives natural truths not
Yet proved: and this is not inspiration in
the sense of being supernatural, but de- |
velopment as thoroughly in accord with
physical law as the evolution OF the sense |
OF smell through the necessity for it and
the existence of odors- (New York: Har- |
per & Brothers. $780,