Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-18
ON OPEN BOOK OF NATURE
Dr. L. A. Merriam Discusses Scientific
Subject at Philosophical
Society.

At the meeting of the Philosophical So
ciety Sunday afternoon at the Paxton hotel
Dr. L. A. Merriam presented paper on
the subject Of THE open Book OF Ma
ture." being a review of the progress of
science and the value of more intimate
knowledge of nature.
The doctor said that modern physical sci
ence aimed at a mechanical Interpretation
of all of the phenomena of the universe; 1t
has sought to explain these phenomena by
reducing them to the elements of mass and
motion and has sought to exhibit their d.
versities and changes as mere differences
in, the distribution and aggregation of ulti-
mate and invariable bodies or particles In
space.
"AlI essential writers of forty years ago,
said DIR. Merriam, have said that when
a physical phenomenon can be completely
described as a change in the confguration
and motion of a material system the dy-
namical explanation of that phenomenon
is said to be complete and no further ex-
PLANTATION is necessary, desirable or pos
sible. These so-called laws of the universe
are none of them absolute, but all are
faulty in some respect-the very best of
them are only guesses at truth. Lord
Kelvin has resolved the atom of hydrogen
into at least 1000 particles, which he calls
corpuscles, and since the atom of hydro
gen has been resolved there is reason to
suppose that many other II not all atoms
may be resolved into minuter elements.
"Radium has been dscovered-a new
agent of peculiar power, self-luminant, self
heating, or at least a particle of 1t the size
of pea will illuminate a dark room and
give of sensible heat, which may be meas
ured and the amount of radium not be de-
creased; burning and glowing by its owr
intensity, yet not burned-a fact that seems
contrary TO ali established scientific prin-
ciples.
Moses saw the burning bush that was
not consumed. Tyndall said in 1874 that hC
could discover In matter the promise and
potency of every form and quality of life
and the drift OF scientific events today
seems to show that life is but a property
of matter, or that matter is a property ot
| life. In other words that there is no sucr
/ thing as dead matter or empty space"
1.-THE natural selection theory of Darwin
| seems to have received a great modifica
| tion by what is known as the mutation
theory of Prof. Won Hugo De Bries o.
Leipsic, first published in 1901, in which h,
! claims that development OF new species Il
| not by infinitely small gradations, but b,
sharply defined steps. There is really NJ
| such thing as an open book of nature
Nature is not a book The so-called law
OF nature are not inherent In nature, bu
exist only in the minds of the scientist
but human conceptions or guesses at trutl
and wish It so understood In what is L
| follow.
Mature is properly defined as the sun
total of all phenomena, with all cause
| that produce them. All that we can knoy
comes to us through phenomena Few in
understand what is meant by the unity o
nature or the sequence of events; yet the
boldly claim to have solved the most diff
cult problems through inspiration, intro
spection, reflection. and prayer-a metho
science has demonstrated TO be erroneou.
Few realize that law governs In menta
phenomena as well as in the physical. Ou
social customs and all our modes Of though
have been so warped for thousands or year
that 1t is almost impossible for people I
see what is best for them Our publ
schools academies and colleges are onI
beginning. in a few cases. to harmonic
their methods OF instruction with the ad
vanced thought OF modern science"