第8章
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  Totakeabriefillustration:wehavealludedtothefactthatinthehistoryofourpresentworldthedevelopmentofmentalphenomenahasgoneonhandinhandwiththedevelopmentoforganiclife,whileatthesametimewehavefounditimpossibletoexplainmentalphenomenaasinanysensetheproductofmaterialphenomena。Nowthereisanothersidetoallthis。ThegreatlessonwhichBerkeleytaughtmankindwasthatwhatwecallmaterialphenomenaarereallytheproductsofconsciousnessco-operatingwithsomeUnknownPowernotmaterialexistingbeyondconsciousness。Wedoverywelltospeakof“matter“incommonparlance,butallthatthewordreallymeansisagroupofqualitieswhichhavenoexistenceapartfromourminds。Modernphilosophershavequitegenerallyacceptedthisconclusion,andeveryattempttooverturnBerkeley’sreasoninghashithertoresultedincompleteanddisastrousfailure。Inadmittingthis,wedonotadmittheconclusionofAbsoluteIdealism,thatnothingexistsoutsideofconsciousness。WhatweadmitasexistingindependentlyofourownconsciousnessisthePowerthatcausesinusthoseconsciousstateswhichwecalltheperceptionofmaterialqualities。WehavenoreasonforregardingthisPowerasinitselfmaterial:indeed,wecannotdoso,sincebythetheorymaterialqualitieshavenoexistenceapartfromourminds。IhaveelsewheresoughttoshowthatlessdifficultyisinvolvedinregardingthisPoweroutsideofusasquasi-psychical,orinsomemeasuresimilartothementalpartofourselves;andIhavegoneontoconcludethatthisPowermaybeidenticalwithwhatmenhave,inalltimesandbytheaidofvariousimperfectsymbols,endeavouredtoapprehendasDeity。[12]WearethusledtoaviewofthingsnotveryunliketheviewsentertainedbySpinozaandBerkeley。WeareledtotheinferencethatwhatwecallthematerialuniverseisbutthemanifestationofinfiniteDeitytoourfiniteminds。Obviously,onthisview,Matter——theonlythingtowhichmaterialistsconcederealexistence——issimplyanorderlyphantasmagoria;andGodandtheSoul——whichmaterialistsregardasmerefictionsoftheimagination——aretheonlyconceptionsthatanswertorealexistences。

  SeemyOutlinesofCosmicPhilosophy,PartI。

  IntheforegoingparagraphIhavebeensettingdownopinionswithwhichIampreparedtoagree,andwhicharenotinconflictwithanythingthatourstudyofthedevelopmentoftheobjectiveworldhastaughtus。Insofarasthatstudymaybesupposedtobearonthequestionofafuturelife,twoconclusionsareopentous。

  Firstwemaysaythatsincethephenomenaofmindappearandruntheircoursealongwithcertainspecializedgroupsofmaterialphenomena,so,too,theymustdisappearwhenthesespecializedgroupsarebrokenup。Or,inotherwords,wemaysaythateverylivingpersonisanorganizedwhole;consciousnessissomethingwhichpertainstothisorganizedwhole,asmusicbelongstotheharpthatisentire;butwhentheharpisbrokenitissilent,andwhentheorganizedwholeofpersonalityfallstopiecesconsciousnessceasesforever。Tomanywell-disciplinedmindsthisconclusionseemsirresistible;anddoubtlessitwouldbeasoundone——agoodBaconianconclusion——ifweweretoadmit,withthematerialists,thatthepossibilitiesofexistencearelimitedbyourtinyandephemeralexperience。

  Butnow,supposingsomePlatonicspeculatorweretocomealongandinsistuponourleavingroomforanalternativeconclusion;

  supposeheweretourgeuponusthatallthisprocessofmaterialdevelopment,withthediscoveryofwhichourpatientstudyhasbeenrewarded,maybebutthetemporarymanifestationofrelationsotherwiseunknownbetweenourselvesandtheinfiniteDeity;supposeheweretoarguethatpsychicalqualitiesmaybeinherentinaspiritualsubstancewhichundercertainconditionsbecomesincarnatedinmatter,towearitasaperishablegarmentforabriefseason,butpresentlytocastitoffandenteruponthefreedomofalargerexistence;——whatreplyshouldwebeboundtomake,bearinginmindthatthepossibilitiesofexistenceareinnowiselimitedbyourexperience?Obviouslyweshouldbeboundtoadmitthatinsoundphilosophythisconclusionisjustaslikelytobetrueastheother。Weshould,indeed,warnhimnottocallonustohelphimtoestablishitbyscientificarguments;andweshouldremindhimthathemustnotmakeillicituseofhisextra-experientialhypothesesbybringingthemintothetreatmentofscientificquestionsthatliewithintherangeofexperience。Inscience,forexample,wemakenouseoftheconceptionofa“spiritualsubstance“orofa“materialsubstance“either,becausewecangetalongsufficientlywellbydealingsolelywithqualities。Butwiththisgeneralunderstandingweshouldfeelboundtoconcedetheimpregnablenessofhismainposition。

  Ihavesupposedthistheoryonlyasanillustration,notasatheorywhichIampreparedtoadopt。Mypresentpurposeisnottotreatasanadvocatethequestionofafuturelife,buttoendeavourtopointoutwhatconditionsshouldbeobservedintreatingthequestionphilosophically。Itseemstomethatagreatdealisgainedwhenwehavedistinctlysetbeforeuswhatarethepeculiarconditionsofproofinthecaseofsuchtranscendentalquestions。Wehavegainedagreatdealwhenwehavelearnedhowthoroughlyimpotent,howtrulyirrelevant,isphysicalinvestigationinthepresenceofsuchaquestion。Ifwegetnotmuchpositivesatisfactionforourunquietyearnings,weoccupyatanyrateasounderphilosophicpositionwhenwerecognizethelimitswithinwhichourconclusions,whetherpositiveornegative,arevalid。

  ItseemsnotimprobablethatMr。Millmayhavehadinmindsomethingliketheforegoingconsiderationswhenhesuggestedthatthereisnoreasonwhyoneshouldnotentertainthebeliefinafuturelifeifthebeliefbenecessarytoone’sspiritualcomfort。PerhapsnosuggestioninMr。Mill’srichlysuggestiveposthumousworkhasbeenmoregenerallycondemnedasunphilosophical,onthegroundthatinmattersofbeliefwemustbeguided,notbyourlikesanddislikes,butbytheevidencethatisaccessible。Theobjectioniscertainlyasoundonesofarasitrelatestoscientificquestionswhereevidenceisaccessible。Tohesitatetoadoptawell-supportedtheorybecauseofsomevaguepreferenceforadifferentviewisinscientificmatterstheoneunpardonablesin,——asinwhichhasbeenonlytoooftencommitted。Eveninmatterswhichliebeyondtherangeofexperience,whereevidenceisinaccessible,desireisnottoberegardedasbyitselfanadequatebasisforbelief。ButitseemstomethatMr。Millshowedadeeperknowledgeofthelimitationsofscientificmethodthanhiscritics,whenhethushintedatthepossibilityofentertainingabeliefnotamenabletoscientifictests。Thehypothesisofapurelyspiritualunseenworld,asabovedescribed,isentirelyremovedfromthejurisdictionofphysicalinquiry,andcanonlybejudgedongeneralconsiderationsofwhathasbeencalled“moralprobability“;andconsiderationsofthissortarelikely,inthefutureasinthepast,topossessdifferentvaluesfordifferentminds。Hewho,onsuchconsiderations,entertainsabeliefinafuturelifemaynotdemandthathisscepticalneighbourshallbeconvincedbythesameconsiderations;buthisneighbourisatthesametimeestoppedfromstigmatizinghisbeliefasunphilosophical。

  Theconsiderationwhichmustinfluencemostmindsintheirattitudetowardthisquestion,isthecraving,almostuniversallyfelt,forsometeleologicalsolutiontotheproblemofexistence。

  Whyweareherenowisaquestionofevenprofounderinterestthanwhetherwearetolivehereafter。Unfortunatelyitssolutioncarriesusnolesscompletelybeyondtherangeofexperience!Thebeliefthatallthingsareworkingtogetherforsomegoodendisthemostessentialexpressionofreligiousfaith:ofallintellectualpropositionsitistheonemostcloselyrelatedtothatemotionalyearningforahigherandbetterlifewhichisthesumandsubstanceofreligion。Yetallthetreatisesonnaturaltheologythathaveeverbeenwrittenhavebarelysucceededinestablishingalowdegreeofscientificprobabilityforthisbelief。InspiteoftheeightBridgewaterTreatises,andthe“Ninth“beside,dysteleologystillholdsfullhalfthefieldasagainstteleology。Mostofthisdifficulty,however,resultsfromthecrudeanthropomorphicviewswhichtheologianshaveheldconcerningGod。OnceadmittingthattheDivineattributesmaybeastheymustbeincommensurablygreaterthanhumanattributes,ourfaiththatallthingsareworkingtogetherforgoodmayremainunimpugned。

  Tomanymindssuchafaithwillseemincompatiblewithbeliefintheultimatedestructionofsentiencyamidthegeneraldoomofthematerialuniverse。Agoodendcanhavenomeaningtoussaveinrelationtoconsciousnessthatdistinguishesandknowsthegoodfromtheevil。Therecouldbenobetterillustrationofhowwearehemmedinthantheveryinadequacyofthewordswithwhichwetrytodiscussthissubject。Suchwordshaveallgainedtheirmeaningsfromhumanexperience,andhenceofnecessitycarryanthropomorphicimplications。Butwecannothelpthis。Wemustthinkwiththesymbolswithwhichexperiencehasfurnishedus;

  andwhenwesothink,theredoesseemtobelittlethatisevenintellectuallysatisfyingintheawfulpicturewhichscienceshowsus,ofgiantworldsconcentratingoutofnebulousvapour,developingwithprodigiouswasteofenergyintotheatresofallthatisgrandandsacredinspiritualendeavour,clashingandexplodingagainintodeadvapour-balls,onlytorenewthesametoilfulprocesswithoutend,——asenselessbubble-playofTitanforces,withlife,love,andaspirationbroughtforthonlytobeextinguished。Thehumanmind,however“scientific“itstraining,mustoftenrecoilfromtheconclusionthatthisisall;andtherearemomentswhenonepassionatelyfeelsthatthiscannotbeall。

  OnwarmJunemorningsingreencountrylanes,withsweetpine-odourswaftedinthebreezewhichsighsthroughthebranches,andcloud-shadowsflittingoverfar-offbluemountains,whilelittlebirdssingtheirlove-songs,andgolden-hairedchildrenweavegarlandsofwildroses;orwheninthesolemntwilightwelistentowondrousharmoniesofBeethovenandChopinthatstirtheheartlikevoicesfromanunseenworld;atsuchtimesonefeelsthattheprofoundestanswerwhichsciencecangivetoourquestioningsisbutasuperficialanswerafterall。

  Atthesemoments,whentheworldseemsfullestofbeauty,onefeelsmoststronglythatitisbuttheharbingerofsomethingelse,——thattheceaselessplayofphenomenaisnomeresportofTitans,butanorderlyscene,withitsreasonforexisting,its“Onedivinefar-offeventTowhichthewholecreationmoves。“

  Difficultasitistodisentangletheelementsofreasoningthatenterintothesecomplexgroupsoffeeling,onemaystillsee,I

  think,thatitisspeculativeinterestintheworld,ratherthananxiousinterestinself,thatpredominates。Thedesireforimmortalityinitslowestphaseismerelytheoutcomeoftherepugnancewefeeltowardthinkingofthefinalcessationofvigorousvitalactivity。Suchafeelingisnaturallystrongwithhealthypeople。ButinthemoodwhichIhaveabovetriedtodepict,thisfeeling,oranyotherwhichismerelyself-regarding,islostsightofinthefeelingwhichassociatesafuturelifewithsomesolutionoftheburdensomeproblemofexistence。Hadwebutfaithenoughtolightentheburdenofthisproblem,theinferiorquestionwouldperhapsbelessabsorbing。

  Couldwebutknowthatourpresentlivesareworkingtogethertowardsomegoodend,evenanendinnowiseanthropomorphic,itwouldbeoflessconsequencewhetherwewereindividuallytoendure。Tothedogundertheknifeoftheexperimenter,theworldisaworldofpureevil;yetcouldthepoorbeastbutunderstandthealleviationofhumansufferingtowhichheiscontributing,hewouldbeforcedtoownthatthisisnotquitetrue;andifhewerealsoaheroicorChristiandog,thethoughtwouldperhapstakeawayfromdeathitssting。Theanalogymaybeacrudeone;

  butthereasonablenessoftheuniverseisatleastasfaraboveourcomprehensionasthepurposesofmansurpasstheunderstandingofthedog。Believing,however,thoughasasimpleactoftrust,thattheendwillcrownthework,wemayrisesuperiortothequestionwhichhashereconcernedus,andexclaim,inthesupremelanguageoffaith,“ThoughHeslayme,yetwillItrustinHim!“

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