The Washington herald., 1921-08-11

necessary To add to IL the notion
contained in the workings OF the
conative powers. The full definition
OF the soul, therefore, becomes: The
collective feelings OF organic beings
and their resultant efforts.
No subject can be thoroughly
understood without prolonged inves-
tigstion. and profound reflection.
Down TO the last century the soul,
notwithstanding the amount Of time
and energy expended upon IL, had
never been the subject Of any criti-
cal study. A great amount Of keen
analysis and ingenious speculation
had been given to the thinking and
knowing faculty, and il must be
admitted that the real knowledge of
the objective side OF the mind had
been consider rably advanced But the
philosophers who were capable OF
doing this studiously, avoided turn
ing their attention to the soul.
doubtless from a vague apprehen-
sion that should they do so il might
prove capable Of analysis whereby
its ontological oneness would be de-
stroyed and the supposed founda-
tions OF religion and hope for the
future would be put in jeopardy. On
the other hand theologians and re-
ligious writers usually possessed no
such powers OF analysis, and accept
ing their alleged knowledge OF the
soul from the sacred writ, had no
disposition or inducement to make
II the subject of speculative inquiry.
Although laboring directly for a
state of infinite happiness for the
soul they would resent any insinu-
| alton that this was equivalent 70
| seeking the maximum Of pleasure
and although hoping eventually to
attain to a condition of the most ex-
allied feeling. they would deny with
! warmth that feeling was in any
sense proper end to pensure. All
men We'd in their efforts to degrade
the feelings and by constantly
measuring all feelings by the low
/ est, succeeded in fastening a stigma
upon most terms employed to de-
scribe them, as witness the words
sensual and sensuality. Even the
wealth of the German language in
its vocabulary of attributes of the
mind was incapable of furnishing
such master OF it as Kant with a
term for the subjective psychic phe-
| NoulQ Oc lTOT
these Implications. and he was
driven to use for this purpose the
word Sinnlichkcit in an altogether
new and technical sense, the popu-
lar one implying something even
more gross or specialized than It's
English analogue sensuality. Thus
tabooed, the animated feelings, Ui
true soul, could not be expected to
receive that penetrating criticism
which alone could yield a true con-
ception Of its nature, and the whole
subject remained, philosophically
and scientifically speaking a terra
incognita. 1t was given over en-
tirely to other agencies, to art, lit
erature, religion, and government
all of which proceeded, blindly and
added nothing to its extent or fruit
fulness.
But with the introduction OF the
scientific method and its all-explor-
| ing spirit. SO fe-tile a field could not
longer remain uncultivsted. As the
body began to be made q theater OF
research and the brain and nervous
system to BE- studied. the functions
| OF theseSorgans attracted more and
more the attention Of Psychologists;
and a new psychology was intro
duced which, naturally enough has
no sSmpathy or patience with the
old. But by a sort of induction In
the varied approximate electric
| thought currents, the students OF
pure mind began to feel the new
impulse and unconsciously TO change
the base of their speculations. This
change Of base consisted chiefly In
overcoming the former aversion to
the study OF the subjective side OF
mind. and taking the bare hint
thrown out by Kant. to subject the
| feelings and covative faculty TO the
cold glance of reason.
The birth OF the soul was the
dawn OF the psychic faculty. II
/ marks an eva In the cosmical his
tory of the earth. Dimiy and Inn
| perceptibly IL worked through the
primordisl ages In the Silurian mol
.usk. the Devonian fieh. and the
Mesozoic reptile. producing scarcely
i shs.r kN. kA n