The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-02-19
D|SSECTS THE
EDISON THEORY
Cardinal Gibbons Sums In the
Philosophy of the Great
American Inventor.
NOTES THE D0GMAS,
BUT SEES NO PROOFS
Nothing to Back Up Assertion
of Existence of Intelligence
in Brain-CeII.
By Leased Wire to The Tribune.

place Edison He is not a materialist.
Neither is he an idealist, monostic,
agnostic or pantheist. I do not know
what school claims him. He dogma
tizes on his own account. -
That was the best Cardinal Gibbons
said he could do in an interview
printed here today, in summing up the
philosophy of Thomas A, Edison, the
inventor. in the latter IS denial of inn
mortality.
The cardinal said he had read the
celebrated interview that had stirred
up the religious world carefully, very
carefully and the cardinal added that
! he regretted that the inventor had
given such views 20 the public Then
he, started in to dissect those views
! of the inventor in has usual straight
| forward manner.
"In the first place" the cardinal
said, 81 admire Mr.. Edison IS genius.
Some belittle him as mere mechanic.
| have no patience with such view,
for no man could achieve what Mr..
Edison has without extraordinary men
tai powers. He is the representative
of American inventive genius and has
| brought glory upon our country He
| is in truth marvel. and as well
great benefactor of the race. He has
been intensely devoted TO his own pur-
suits and he has paid the penalty, Just
as Darwin did, just as so many of our
great men do. y
Edison Dogmatic,
The cardinal did not find Edison
skeptical.
mot in the least, he is shiningly
dogmatic. said the cardinal. ''Asser.
tion, assertion everywhere. The proofs?
He does not offer any. Such a pro-
cedure is not expected of an eminent
scientist. 1t is expected. indeed. of a
pope. for it is pope's office to decide
and define. while he leaves it To theo"
logians to discuss and prove, Even the
pope does not dogmatlze until the ques-
tion had been discussed for centuries
and settled by the voice of experts.
But here is scientist who preclaims
dogmas TO the public; and he seems to
ask us to believe them--because he
believes them. If he spoke at the
head of a school he might refer us
to their arguments; but i do not know
for whom he speaks. Not for the ma
terialists. because he believes matter
cannot explain all; not for the idealists,
because he believes in matter; not for
the mcnoists evidently; not for the ag-
nostics. for he acknowledges a supreme
intelligence; not for the pautheists, so
far at least as he reveals his mind. In
fact. I cannot place Mr.. Edison. ] do
not know any school that would claim
him. All / can be sure of is, that he
dogmatiZes on his own account.
HMr. Edison IS real view seems to
he that man $ intelligence is com
posed of the combined intelligence of
his brain cells. But how does Mr..
Ediso know that n man S intelligence
is made up Of the combined intelligence
of brain cells? He claims to have
study Of hard facts; we wish, IN scien-
tific fashion he had given his facts
to the world before his conclusion.
''The facts are these-at least until
Mr.. Edison produces new facts, as yet
unknown to the scientific world; no one
knows anything about the existence of
an intelligence cell. No proof, not the
Slightest. ever has been advanced to
show intelligence in brain-cell. So
far as science knows, there is no more
nroof of the existence of intelligence
| In n brain cell than there is in the cells
| of potato or in tho molecules of the
matter that make up this paper We
do not know there is connection be.
| tween the brain and the mind, that
the mind thinks through the acts of
the brain, as il sees through and Of the
nerves of the eye; but that does not
prove the brain thinks any more than
| II proves the nerves of the eye see.
No more than ever it would prove that
The strings Of violin enjoy their own
music.
"FMr. Edison speaks of his 'investi-
cations into the soul; he seems 10 have
| looked for il with a microscope, st.
| Paul was a true philosopher: for what
! knoweth the things Of a man, save the
spirit Of man that is in him? 1t is
only by searching into our conscious
ness that the spirit of mind or soul can
| be discovered.
In conclusion Cardina! Gibbons said
he is glad of one thing. and that, is
that Mr. Edison recognizes the exist
ence of supreme intelligence.
f'To me- he said, Hthe whole world
testifes this, and ] cannot understand
how any man today can conceive OF
this world as the result of blind forces.
Mr.. Edison sees supreme Intelligence
directing the formation of the human
ear.
U Mechanism alone, he says, cannot
explain this world; only supreme intel
lipencc could produce 1t, rule it. and
bring it to its perfection. There is one
point [ can hardly understand: Mr.,
Edison admits n supreme Intelligence
with the will and power to direct the
forces of nature. Philosophers, / be-
Iieve. would call such being a person,
vet Mr.. Edison refuses to believe in Il
personal God, without telling us what
he means by person. | trust be does
not, with some, consider that per.