The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1905-02-02
Tho Basis of Ethics


use of the word ideal: ITO use the
word ideal in such sense is to quar-
rel with the dictionaries and with the
ordinary usage of men," And then Mr..
Client proceeds to use the word in the
latter part of his article in exactly the
same sense. The Independent resents
Mr.. Clients accusation that a quotation
from his book twas mangled somewhat
iii it's tranference to the columns OF
The Independent and transformed into
sheer nonsense" The quotations in
The Independent are verbatim repro
auctions from the book Mass and
Glass;" and are exactly the same words
that Mr.. Client uses in his reply, the
only difference is that Mr.. Client
quotes more. The Independent is not
responsible for the s'sheer nonsense"
That IS inherent in the doctrine that
Mr.. Client proclaims.
The difference in the two principles
! is this. The Independent holds that
there is principle of right and wrong
as eternal and Interchangeable as God
himself. Mr.. Client claims that the
idea of right and wrong is product
OF economic environment, constantly
charging and ever varying, in fact,
there is no such thing as right and
wrong, per sc. Between these two
ideas there is great gulf, and to
change from the former to the latter
means that man is only mass of ma
terial atoms, which by their action and
reaction, produce thought. It is the
denial of the spiritual nature Of man.
Mr.. Client joins that innumeral
throng of latter day scientists who are
ever attempting to spread Darwin over
the whole universe, trying to make him
authority for every fad that is promul-
gated from the intricacies of higher
mathematics to stay laws in times OF
depression and panics. Darwin was a
pure scientist and dealt in known faces
Ionly. If he ever expressed an opinion
we do not recall it. With the field OF
mind" Darwin had nothing to do.
In the early sixties there were assaults
made by theologians upon Darwin
works, but they were made by men
who never studied them. AS soon as
: the text itself became available, theolo-
gians soon found that sheir field OF
thought had nothing to do with OAR
win Theology and winism had
no connection whatever-even the Dor
ders of the two fields of research never
approached each other. What has Oar.
wins doctrine of the Survival of The
Fittest'' to do with the mind" Of
how its concepts are formed? Mos
men claim that man is dual creature
composed of mind and matter. Mrs
! Eddy says he is all mind and Mr.
7 Client that he is all matter, for thu
: "materialistic conception Of history
,, amounts to that. The independent goe'
SO far as to assert that man has mine
| and that the basis of ethics is no
: economic FORCE" that the changin.
economic conditions do not change tn
law that it is wrong to lie, steal, Sian
D |der and murder, making these act
I, right at one time and wrong at an
> lother.
a If by far reaching, any part of tn
!. doctrine of the "Perpetuation of tn
: ISpecies" can be applied to ethics, it i
: not on the side Of socialism. The gen
! uine socialist always saws: mot re
+ form, but revolution The populis
Q says that the advancement of the hui
man race must come not by revolu
tion, but by evolution.