The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-09-17
PERSONALITY after DEATH.
DIsCARNATE INTELLIGENCE MAY
INTERACT WITH THOSE ON
MATERIAL SIDE, SAYS
OLIVER LODGE.
In Address Before British Associa-
tion He Declares Rapid Progress
and Fundamental skcptic.sm are
characteristics OF This Age -
b, "Scienee Incompetent to Make
Comprehensive Denials."


Published forecasts Of the address
Of Sir Oliver Lodge, president Of the
British Association for the Advance
ment OF Science. intimating that he
would make statements of a startling
character concerning Immortality and
the proof of life after death, although
publicly denied by Sir oliver himself,
caused his address at the meeting Of
the association held I'm Birmingham.
England on the 10th inst to be an
ticipated with lively interest and
heard with profound attention.
His subject was Continuity" and.
summarized In his own words, sir
divers argument was:
"A marked feature Of the present
scientific era Is tho discovery Of, and
interest I'm. various kinds OF atomlsm,
20 that continuity seems In danger of
being lost sight of.
Another tendency is toward COM
prehensive negative generalizations
from q limited point OF view.
Another 10 to take refuge In rath.
or vague forms OF statements and to
shrink from closer examination OF
the puzzling and the obscure.
Another Ii to deny the existence of
anything which makes no appeal to
organs OF sense and no ready response
to laboratory experiment"
Against these tendencies the author
contends. He urges belief in uiti-
mate continuity as essential to science;
he regards scientific concentration as
IN inadequate basis for philosophic
generalization: he believes that OBJ
scurc phenomena may be expressed
simply IL properly faced. and he
points out that the non-appearance of
anything perfectly uniform and omnL.
present 10 only what should be expect
% and is no argument against it's real
substantial existence.
In conclusion Sir Oliver touched up
on the question OF life after death. He
declared his conviction that occur
rences now regarded as occult can be
examined and reduced to order by the
methods OF science. carefully and per-
sistently applied" and that already
the facts 90 examined have convinced
mo that memory and affection are not
limited to that association with mat
ter by which, they can manifest them
selves here and now. and that per-
sonality persists beyond bodily
death"
81 Oliver further declared the 'evi-
dence to my mind goes to prove that
discarnate intelligence. under certain
conditions. may interact with us on
the material side," and that I'VE may
hope to attain some understanding of
the nature Of larger, perhaps ether
iai. existence. ard OF the conditions
regulating intercourse across the
chasm."
In his remarks leading up to these
eliminating from our purview, as
IL always necessary. a great mass of
human activity. and limiting ourselves
TO a scrutiny on the side Of pure
science alone. let US ask what. In the
main. Is the characteristic OF the
promising though perturbing period,
I'm which we live. Different persons
would give different answers, but the
answer j venture to give Is. rapid
progress. combined with fundamental
skepticism.
with the real zation of predicted
ether waves In 1888 the discovery OF
x-rays In 1895. Dpontanenous radio
activity In 1896 and the isolation Of
the electron In 1898. expectation of
further achievement became vivid;
and novelties. experimental. theoreti-
cal and speculative. have been show
cred upon us ever since this century
began. That Is why speak OF rapid
progress"
Sir Oliver explained by fundamen-
tai skepticism that he did not mean
the "well-worn and almost antique
theme OF theological skepticism. Z"
That controversy was practically In
abeyance just now.
In physiology the conflict ranges
round vitalism." he said. 'In chem.
istry the debate concerns atomic struc-
ture. In biology the dispute is on tho
laws OF inheritance. In economic and
political science. or sociology. what is
there that Is not under discussion? In
the vast group OF mathematical and
physical science present day criticism
concerns what. IL l had To express II
In one word. 1 should call continuity