The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-07-23
DR.. HYSLOP'S= VIEWS ON
FL sa. .7s SCIENCE AND.FL1TUREL LIFE
Critical Discussion Of the Learned
Scientists Recent Book on
This Subject.

#fF"If man die, shallt he live again?" is
question far older than he who asked
3 It, and yet new to every Individual who
wakes from his naive beliefs to doubt and
inquiry. All men instinctlvely believe in
a continuance of life after death In some
form or other, and those who reflect are
deeply conscious Of an inner greatness
that far transcends the capacity Of the
body to express and that would meet
with snguarly painful and inexplicabe
collapse in its intellectual, moral, and
esthetic aspects II what we call death
meant the end of all. Both religion and
philosophy have supported the belief In
Immortality except occasionally In mo-
ments OF. cultured transition when some
men, becoming confused by an obtruslve
and superficial ma erlalism, have sunk to
5a9 barren agnostcsm or q 5doGmatic de-
NAL sf s5s
Or. James II. EIyslop In his latest hook,
#.sScience and the Future Life (f1erbcrt.
Il %. Turner & Co.. l3oston), seems to be-
alicve that we have come to such ma
tcrialistic mood at the present time and
feels sure that he is putting his finger.
on the causes OF IL In the progress OF
objective natural science and In the
cootaneous decadence Of religious faith.
Appreclatlng the value of some scientific
knowledge assuring us of a future life,
aIf#for no other reason than as n sanction
FOR social morality, DIR. Hyslop. as u
trained psychologist, undertakes to give
such evidence as compels acceptance Of
the spritIstic theory. For evidence OF
supra normal psychic knowledge, not
gained through the ordinary senses, he
confines himself almost entirely to the re-
markab!e case OF Mrs. Piper, whose
trance utternnces and automatic writing
have aroused great interest. 4
Wo have two possible methods OF inter-
pretating these phenomena, that Of tcle-
q pnthy and that OF splrltualisnl. BY de-
handing Of telepathy, II It offers explana-
ton ut all, that 1t must offer It to per-,
4 lection. DR.. GHyslop Is ablefto put It out OF
commission, and by dealing gently with
snirtism, even finding Its defects and
failures but triumphant evidence or ts
validity, he makes out#a good case tor ".
Formally holding himself to the straight
demand OF the dlsinterested scientlllc
spirit, though It lead him to hades, ne
Vat becomes at the close an ardent ndvo-$
cate for spirtisnl, lest is neglect plunge
our civilization, as he fears, INTO some
Ciraeco- Roman eplcmeanism
Neglectlng the question ms to whether
o,,r present day culture on the problem
of the soul is as agnostlc or Indifferent
as he seems to fear, Dr. Eiyslop ought
10 be reminded that mans SUPREME splr-
itual interest Is not that OF future
life hut of Immortality Mere futurlty IN
the line OF phenomenal existence would
decide nothing on the greater question,
however valid The evidence, u we set
aside entirely tho real teaching of Jesus,
who approached the subject from the
moral standpoint. We may find tho whole
question OF Immortality, from the lnta-
IIao,ual ana esthetic pont OF View, treated
in a mastery and final way by KapNa
and Gotama Ave centuries before Christ.
The ''soul.' in It's value and interests,
belongs as tho French would say, to an
entirely different order OF IDEAS from
that supplied by evidence got from OBJ
tectiye science. Science, as Kant long
ago showed. and as science has more and
more demonstrated, Is competent alone
in the realm OF phenomena, But the
Wsoul,p MS mind, transcends, ntgonce and
BY Its very nature, the realm Of phenom-.
'eana and forever dwells In the realm Of
lnoumena or reality Even those preds-
posed to follow Professor Hyslop cannot