Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-02-21
Dy V1T. N1hOld eSla
The Distinguished Scientist Expert and Inventor

n the WheelwOrk OF the UNIVERSE lnOuBu
- seemingly affected only by It's immediate
surrounding, the sphere of external influence
extends to infinite distance. There is no con-
s,ellation or nebula, no planet. IN all
lie depths Of limitess space, no passing wan
derer OF the starry heavens, that does not
exercise some control over its destiny-not In
the vague and dclusve OF astrology, but
in the rigid and positive meaning OF physical
science.
More than this can be said. There is
thing endowed with life-from man. who Is
shaving the elements. to the numDlest creature
in all this world that does not sway It in
turn. Whenever action is born from force.
though 1t be infnitesmal. the cosmic balance
is upset and universal motion results.
Herbert Spencer has interpreted life
continuous adjustment TO the environment. a
definition OF this inconceivably complex mani.
festation quite in accord with advanced scien.
tihc thought, but. perhaps, not broad enough
to express our present views. With each step
forward tn the investigation OF its laws and
myAteries conceptions Of nature and its
phasen have been gaining in depth and breadth.
In the early stages OF intellectual develop
ment man WAS conscious OF but small part
Of the macrocosm He knew nothing OF the
wonders OF the microscopic world. Of the mole
culsn composing It. OF the atoms making up
the molecules and Of the dwindlingly small
world OF electrons within the atoms To him
life was synonymous with voluntary motion and
action. plant did not suggest to him what
II does TO us-that 1t lives and feels, fights
for its existence. that it suffers and enjoys.
Not only have We found this to be true but We
havo Ascertained that even matter called inor-
ganic. believed TO be dead. responds to irHtants
snd gives unmisakable evidence OK the pres
epce OF living principle within.
Thus, everything that exists organic in
organic, animated or inert. is susceptible to
stimulus from the outside There Is no gap
between. no break OF continuity, special and
distinguishing vital agent. The same law gov
arms all matter. all the universe Is alive. Tho
momentous question OF Spencer. What is It
that causes inorganic matter to run into organic
forms?" has been answered. 1t is the suns heat
and light. Wherever they there is life.
Only in the boundless wastes OF nterstellar
space, In the eternal darkness and cold, Is
animation suspended, and, possibly. at the
temperature OF absolute zero all matter may
die.
Man as Machine.
This realistic aspect OF the perceptibe uni.
verse. a. clockwork wound up and running
down, dispensing with the necessity of hyper.
mechanical vital principle. need not be In dis
cord with religious and artistic aspirations
those undennable and beautiful efforts
through WnlCh the human nina enueaNOTs 10
free itself from material bonds. On the
trary, the better understanding OF nature, the
consciousness that knowledge is true. can
only be all the more elevating and inspiring,
II was Descartes. the greet French Hhioso
ph or, who in the seventeenth century, laid the
%hrst foundation to the mechanstic theory OF
life, not little assisted by Harvey's epochal
discovery Of blood circulation. fe held that
animals were simply automatic without con-
seriousness and recognized that man, though
possessed OF higher and distinctive quality.
is incapable OF action other than those char
acteristic OF machine He also made the
first attempt to explain the physical mechan
ism Of memory. But in his time many func
lions OF the human body were not as yet under.
stood, and in this respect some OF his assump
lions were erroneous
Great strides have since been made In tho
art OF anatomy, physiology and all branches OF
science and the workings Of the manmachins
are now perfectly clear. Yet the very fewest
among able to trace their actions to
primary external causes. 1t is indispensable
to the arguments l shall advance to keep in
mind the main facts which have myself es.
tabshed in years Of close reasoning and OBJ
servation and which may be summed up
follows:
l. The human being Is self.propelled autom.
atom entirely under the control Of external
they appear, his actions are governed not from
within, but from without He is like a float
tossed about By the waves Of turbulent sea.
2. There Is no memory retentive faculty
based on lasting impression. What We desig-
nate as memory is but increased responsive.
ness to repeated stimuli.
3. 1t Is not true, as Descartes taught. that
The brain Is an accumulation There is no per.
monent record in the brain, there Ia no stored
spouse TO disturbances directly received on the
knowledge. knowledge is something akin to
in echo that needs a disturbance to be called
into being.
l. All knowledge or form conception Is evoked
through the medium OF the eye, either in
retIna or to their fainter secondary effects and
reverberations. Other sense organs can only
call forth feelings which have no reality OF
existence and OF which no conception can be
formed.
5. Contrary to the most important tenet OF
Caresian philosophy that the perceptions of
the mind are llusionary, the eye transmits to
1t the true and accurate likeness Of external
things This Is because light propagates in
straight lines and the image cast on the retina
Ef - xXSNg $3.50 8