Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-04-06
The Distinguished Professor of Psychology at
Yale University Tells Why He Believes the
Universe to Be All Intelligence and Not Merely
All Mechanism

THERE are now left only two battle
grounds in the field of intelligent
= and scientific Interpretation of the
living universe. One is a downright ma
terialism and the other downright amin
ism, which means conscious vitalism or
pan-psychism.
The universe is either all mechanism or
it is all telligence-imminent intell
gence
The priority of conscious life is denied
by asserting the priority of force OF mat
ter. Animism AYERS the priority of mind
or consciousness and imminence, that in
visible life which is in all things Ma
terialists say that there is nothing but
atoms, and that such atoms are the ulti-
mate elements which make up every de.
tail of the universe they define an atom
as molecular whirlpool, or a cyclone of
force. But now let us define Atom and
Force:
Professor Huxley defines an atom as "a
divinely manufactured article" and force
he defines as impact" Bergson defines
force as a primitive push" We ask, how
can there be primitive push without a
primitive pusher?
matter without force, and no force with
out matter" But, pray, what is matter
but a resultant or product of force? And
how can force produce or result in won
derful cosmos-including Plato's brain and
Christ's heart-without intelligence, con-
sciousness, which is that pusher behind
the push?
As Herbert Spencer says: Nothing in
one end of your machine hat went not in
at the other" That is, there must be
nothing in the consequence different from
that which was in the cause. OF the in.
ter-relation of matter ard consciousness,
Mr. Du Bots Raymond, as all agnostics,
says this one word, "ignOrabimus, which
means. we do not know. ] affirm in reply
that all things are to be known by their
behavior.
How does matter behave? How does
force behave? How do chemical elements,
plants, animals, men-or eyen the IN
knowable-behave? The behavior of any
entity or being suggests its character.
Materalists say that all things are au-
donations. AS soon as superficial men find
out how a thing is done, they name it an
automaton There is 40 such thing; there
can be no such thing as an autOmaton.
Consciousness or intelligence must be
priori as well as a posteriori-that is,
there must be a primitive pusher as well
as a dynamic factor, creator as well as
creature. One who makes an engine or
any kind Of machine-an autOmatOn that
seems to go by itself--must have had in
telligence to produce it, and an intelli.
gence must superintend what is supposed
to be done by that automatOn. The intel
Hgence that the eyes of the inventor have
put in must exist to make it work.
per Sc automatic clock, engine, dynamo
or machine of any Sort without con-
sciOus, designing inventor is inconceiva-
BILE, and equally inconceivable is ma
chine needing no outside regulator or SUI
perintendent, be it a picture motion show
or anything else.
Even radio-activity and gravitatiOn are
unthinkable without both the priority and
the continuity of conscience and intelli-
gence The bark of a toy dog, the talking
and the singing of a phOnograph, the
music of a pianOla, the motion of moving
pictures all are a priOri and a posteriori
representations of the consciousness of the
creator. That is, consciousness, both pro
ducing and experimenting; even so Of
heat, light chemical affinity, blood circula-
ton. nerve action and their cOrrelatives.
such as sensation, emotion, desire asplra-
ton, will-all are unthinkable except as
both a priori and a pOsteriori.
In the speck that forms a nucleus OF a
crystal in the cell that forms the nucleus
Of a seaweed, in the heart OF complex
acorn that forms the nucleus OF an oak,
the oyum or germ of an insect, animal
man, as really as in the brains OF the
ristotles and the Newtons, the Buddhas
i'd the Christs of the world, conscious