East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1906-11-26

AS curious an example of specula-
tive philosophy as has been developed
in many years, Is outlined in the fol-
| lowing article from the Literary Di-
gest:
The probability or even the possi-
bility of life in other worlds than our
own Is denied by the veteran English
scientist, DR.. Alfred Russell Wallace
in his book on MANS Place in the
| Universe" This opinion is vigorous
ly combated in pamphlet reprinted
from the Transactions of the Royal
Astronomical Society of Canada (To-
ronto, 1906), by DR.. A. Kirschman,
professor of philosophy in the Univer-
sity of Toronto. Space forbids allu-
sion to all of DR.. Kirschmann's argu-
ments. but he makes, in particular, an
ingenious use of the hypothesis of the
relativity of things, which is worthy
| of notice. To the relatively of magni-
tudes, for instance, he will admit alb
solutely no limit, and he therefore
maintains the possibility of living be-
ings so huge that every molecule of
| their bodies Is as great as our solar
| system, or so small that countless
hosts of them dwell together on one
of our molecules. perhaps" he says,
'the whole galactic system is nothing
but one cell of an immense organism" :"
To one who holds this view of matter
and life, arguments designed to show
that there are no human beings on
Venus or Mars are evidently made
quate Says Professor Kirschmann:
I'VE must not forget that the great
ness of the universe known to us Is
only relative. The law of relativity of
all magnitudes is not a speculation,
but a fact which is given with every
experience, and which can be verified
at any moment. But we have become
| accustomed to close our eyes to It..
There is nothing absolutely great or
small in the world; and the mathe-
matical conception, so much INDUCED
in, of the approximation to zero is one
of the worst fictions which human IN
| telligence ever invented. There can
be no part of substance or of empty
| space though ever so small, which,
| regarded from another standpoint, is
I a
Consequently, a single molecule OF
chalk with its atoms of calcium, and
oxygen and carbon-these again con-
sisting of millions of ions, and those
again of sub-ions and so on ad int:li'
tum-may be a whole solar system
again with central body, and planet:
and satellites containing life in many
FORMS but for our measure too small
to be ever perceived. And, on the
other hand, the whole universe as far
as we can fathom 1t may be only t
small aggregation of particles or cell:
of a greater and higher organism alb
solutely unfathomable by us"
Somewhat similar to this infinity OF
magnitudes is the infinity of physica
conditions which the writer invokeS
as another argument in favor of the
possibility of life in other worlds
The laws of nature, 1t is true, may be
constant throughout all space and al
time-though Professor Kirschmanr
reminds us that even this is not sus-
ceptiblc to proof-but the variation
of conditions may still be infinite. We
have NO reason to believe that life
may not be possible under all these
variations, for all conditions are rei-
ative just as magnitude is. F. every
change i'm temperature, i'm tn" intensl-
" of gravity and in the chemical
composition OF atmospheres, and for
every possible combination Of these
three, there may be a specially adapt
ed organism somewhere. Says he
writer;
physically there is no such thing
as cold. The transformation of the
uniform series of possible physical
temperatures from zero to infinite
different only in intensity, into a man.
ifoldness of two antagonistic quail
ties, heat and cold, with even a
changeabe zero-point between, is
purely psychical. If this zero-point
can vary for us in the different sea-
sons-or on account of after-effects
and contrast-we should assume that
II can vary considerably more under
other conditions of gravity and pres
sure. 1t is said that life could not eX-
ist on Jupiter because its surface is
still redhot. But II the zero-point of
the sense OF temperature of the Jo-
vians Is shifted for few hundred de-
grees they will have as pleasant a
walk on that redhot surface as we do
on the green grass.
AFTER all, the ordinary notions OF
physical temperature as used in cos
mology are rather vague and mis-
leading. If temperature con-
sists in time and space relations Of the
kinetic or dynamic elements Of mat
ter or in changes Of those relations
then 1t is clear that the elements
themselves, no matter whether they
are atoms, centers of force, ions, OF
electrons, can not have any tempera-
ture at ALL"
Even Wallace's contention that life
is dependent on the presence Of car
l