South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-02-21

extends to infinite distance. There Is no con-
stellation or nebula, no or planet, in all
the depths Of lmtless space. no passing wan
derer of the starry heavens, that does not
exercise some control over It's destiny-not in
the vague and delusive sense OF astrology, but
In the rigid and positive meaning Of physical
science.
More than this can be said. There is no
thing endowed with life-from man, who is en-
shaving the elements. to the numbest creature
in all this world that does not sway it in
tuTn. Whenever action is born from force,
,nough II be inhnitesimal, the cosmic balance
is upset and universal motion results.
Herbert Spencer has interpreted life as a
continuous adjustment to the environment. a
definition Of this inconceivably complex mani
festation quite in accord with advanced scien-
tifc thought, but, perhaps not broad enough
to express our present views. With each step
forward in the investigation of its laws and
mysteries our conceptions of nature and its
phases 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
cules 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
It does to us-that it lives and feels. fights
for its existence that it suffers and enjoys.
Not only have we found this to be true, but we
havo ascertaned that even matter called inor-
ganic believed TO be dead, responds to irritants
and gives unmistakable evidence OK the pres
ence Of a living principle within.
Thus, everything that exists, organic or IN
organic animated or inert, is susceptible to
stimulus from the outside. There is gap
between, no break of continuity. special and
distinguishing vital agent The same law gov
ems all matter all the universe is alive. The
momentous question of Spencer, What Is 1t
that causes inorganic matter to run into organic
forms?" has been answered. 1t is the suns heat
and light. Wherever they are there is life
Only In the boundless wastes of interstellar
space. in the eternal darkness and cold. is
animation suspended and. possibly. at the
temperature Of absolute zero all matter may
die.
Man as a Machine.
This realistic aspect OF the perceptible uni
verse, as a cockwOrk wound up and running
down. dispensing with the necessity of hyper
mechanical vital principle need not be in dis
cord with our religious and artistic aspirations
those undefnable and beautiful efforts
through which the human mind endeavors to
free itself from material bonds. On the con-
trary, the better understanding of nature. the
consciousness that our knowledge is true, can
only be all the more elevating and inspiring.
It was Descartes, the great French philoso-
pher who in the seventeenth century, laid the
first foundation TO the mechanistic theory OF
life not little assisted by Harvey's epochal
discovery of blood circulation. He held that
animals simply automata without con-
seriousness and recognized that man, though
possessed of a higher and distinctive quality
is incapable of action other than those char
acteristic of a 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-
tons were erroneous.
Great strides have since been made in the
art of anatomy, physiology and all branches OF
science. and the workings of the man-machine
are now perfectly clear. Yet the very fewest
among US are 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-
tablished in years of close reasoning and OBJ
servation and which may be summed up as
follows:
/ The human being is a self-propelled autom-
atom entirely under the control of external
influences. Willful and predetermined though
they appear, his actions are governed not from
within but from without. He is like a float
tossed about by the waves OF turbulent
2 There is no memory or retentiye faculty
based on lasting impression What desig-
nate as memory is but increased responsive
ness to repeated stimuli
3. IL is not true, as DeSCartes taught. that
the brain is an accumulation. There is no per.
nanent record in the brain, there is no stored
spOnse 10 disturbances directly received on the
knowledge. knowledge is something akin to
an echo that needs a disturbance 10 be called
into being.
4. 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 20 the rlost important tenet OF
Cartesian philosophy that the perceptions OF
the mind are missionary the eye transmits to
i the true and accurate likeness OF external
things This is because light propagates in
saraighs lines and the image cast on the retina