HenryLonguevilleMansel1820-1871，5*Hamilton’smostnoteworthyinterpreter，wasatypicalOxforddon，asbecamehisbirth。Hewasthedescendantofanoldfamilyofcountry-gentlemen，theyoungermembersofwhichhadenteredthearmyornavyorheldthefamilyliving。Hehadbeenabrilliantschoolboy，haddistinguishedhimselfinOxfordexaminations，andbecameknownasawitincommon-rooms，awriterofvivacioussquibs，andasoundToryandhighChurchman。Hehadaclearintellect，aforciblestyle，andhadstudiedtheologyandGermanmetaphysicswithremarkableenergy。HeapparentlybeganasaKantian；buthewasgreatlyimpressedbySirWilliamHamilton，withwhomhehadnopersonalrelations；andheadoptedfromHamiltonthepeculiartheorywhichwastoenlistKantintheserviceofthechurchofEngland。HisBamptonLecturesin1858
madehimfamousasachampionoforthodoxy。In1868hewasappointedtothedeaneryofStPaul’s；buthislabourshadbeentoomuchforhisbrain，andhediedsuddenlyin1871。
HamiltonstartedunderthedoubleinfluenceoftheScottishphilosophyandofAristotle。Formallogicwastohimthemostcongenialofstudies。Hewouldhavebeenthoroughlyinhiselementinthemedievalschools，syllogisingtothedeath。
Accordingtoanenthusiasticpupil，helaidthetopstoneonthefabricfoundedbythe’masterhandoftheStagirite。’6*Hewasinhiselementwhendividing，subdividing，andcross-dividingallmannerofphilosophicaltenets。Theaimwasadmirable。Tohaveallopinionsproperlyarticulatedandcorrelatedwouldbethefinalresultofahistoryofphilosophyandasteptofurtherprogress。Thedangerofacceptingsuchaclassificationprematurelyisequallyobvious。Thetechnicaltermsofmetaphysicshavethemostprovokinghabitofshiftingtheirmeaning；theyshadeoffimperceptiblyintoeachother，andsometimesevenchangeplaces；theyrepresentaspectsoftruthcaughtfromaparticularpointofview，whichbecomeinapplicableorcarrydifferentimplicationsasthepointofviewimperceptiblyshifts。Whatappeartobecontradictoryutterancesmaybemerelyqualificationsofeachother，ormaymeanthesamethingindifferentdialects。Asystembuiltofsuchunsubstantialandslipperymaterialsisapttocrumbleintomerechaoswithoutextremecareandpenetration。Hamilton，mostfullyawareofthisingeneralterms，wasneverthelessnotsufficientlyonhisguard。
Healwaysseemstofancythathecanavoidallambiguitiesbyadefinition，anddoesnotrememberthatthewordsbywhichhedefinesareasshiftingintheirsenseastheworddefined。TheconsiderationisespeciallyimportantbecauseitisHamilton’smainpurposetomediatebetweenconflictingopinions。HestartsfromReid’s’common-sense，’andhastoshowhowthepositioncanbeprotectedagainstscepticismontheonesideandmysticismontheother。
Cousin，asadiscipleoftheScottishphilosophers，representedonelineofdeviationfromthejudiciousmean。
BeginningwithReid，hehadbecome，withcertainreserves，afollowerordeveloperofSchelling。Coleridge’s’genialcoincidence’withSchellinghadledtonoverytangibleresult；
butCousin’ssystematicdevelopmentshowedthephilosophydivergingintoafalsetrack，andwastingitselfuponthepursuitofutterlychimericalaims。Hamilton，therefore，endeavouredtoexposethefallaciesinvolvedinthewholeprocedure。Heagreed，asweshallsee，withanimportantpartofKant’sdoctrine；butthoughtthatbycertainoversightsKanthadopenedthedoortoSchelling’semptyspeculations。TherewasanoppositedangertowhichHamiltonwasequallyawake。HeinsisteduponitinanarticlepublishedOctober1830uponthe’PhilosophyofPerception。’Thisis，inthemain，afierceattackuponBrown——
theonephilosophicalwriterofwhomhecannotspeakwithoutbetrayingprejudice。Hamilton’santipathyhasbeenalreadyexplained。BrownshowsScottishphilosophylapsingintomereempiricismand’inductivepsychology。’Hamiltonnevermentionshimwithoutaccusinghimofblundersandofcrassignorance。
Hamiltonthusstandsupfortheorthodoxcommon-sensetheoryofReid，andresentsbackslidingsintotranscendentalismontherighthandandsensationalismontheleft。LiketheexcellentDavidDeans，hewouldkeepthe’ridgeofthehill，wherewindandwatershears。’When，however，hesetabouttheeditionofReid’sworks，hebegantodiscoverinconsistencies。HedoubtedwhetherReidhadreallytaughtthetruefaith；andhewasledtorestatemorearticulatelyhisownview。Totheendofhislife，however，HamiltoncalledhimselfaNaturalRealist；andheld，thoughwithincreasingqualifications，thatReid’sdoctrinewasanapproximatestatementofthesamedoctrine。WhatNaturalRealismmaybeisanotherquestion。
Thetwoessaysjustmentioned7*givethepithofHamilton’sphilosophicaltheories。Hisotherwritingsonphilosophyaremainlyremodelledversionsofthesameviews，orclassificationsof。othersolutionsoftheproblems。Hisspeculationsinlogic，whatevertheirvalue，belongtoaspherewhichfortunatelyliesoutsidemyprovince。Intreatingofperception，Hamiltongivestherationaleofourbeliefintheexternalworld；andintreatingofthe’Unconditioned’therationaleofourbeliefinadeity。Theresultsareinbothcasesremarkable。
II。HAMILTONONPERCEPTION
Whatistherelationbetweentheworldofmatterandtheworldofmind？ThathadbeenReid’sproblem，andHamiltonstartsfromtheacceptanceofReid’scommon-sensereply。Wehavetosteerbetweenopposingdifficulties。Givetoomuchtothemindandyouwilldriftintomysticism，idealism，orultimatelyto’nihilism。’Givetoomuchtomatterandyouwillbecomeamaterialistorameresensationalist。Commonsensegivesthetrueanswer。Reidwasintherightpathwhenhedeclaredhimselftobeonthesideofthe’vulgar。’8*Thingsarejustwhattheyseemtobe。Itisthephilosopherswho，inBerkeley’sfamousphrase，haveraisedadust，andcomplainthattheycannotsee。Thisdoctrinegivestheprincipleofanelaborateclassificationofphilosophersgenerally，andsuppliesthetestoftheirsoundness。9*Thetruthlieswiththe’NaturalRealists’or’NaturalDualists，’whodojusticetobothsides。Theybelievebothinmindandmatter’inabsoluteco-equality’；ina’duality’
whichpresentstheelementsofconsciousnessin’equalcounterpoiseandindependence。’10*Unluckily，thereisamockdualismwhichvirtuallymakesthetruepositionuntenable。Itsurrenderstherealkeyoftheposition。Thisistheunfortunatecaseofthe’CosmotheticIdealists，’whosetheoryrepresentsanillogicalcompromise。Theyassertthatthemindperceives——notmatterbut——somethingwhich’represents’matter。Itisconsciousonlyofitsown’ideas。’Theseformthevisibleimagery，anunrealscreen，somehow’representing’arealworldbehind。Thesceptic，then，hadonlytopointoutthattheworldbehindwasasuperfluity，andourwholeworldturnsouttobeillusion。ReidhadansweredHumebysweepingawayallthissuperfluousmachinery，andprovingoratleastassertingthatwhatweseeisitselfreal。Reid’sanalysisofconsciousness，whendulycorrected，showingthat，wehave，aswebelievewehave，animmediateknowledgeofthematerialworld，accomplishedeverythingatonce。’11*’NaturalRealism’and’AbsoluteIdealism’aretheonlysystemsworthyofaphilosopher。12*TheCosmotheticIdealistoccupiesapositionfromwhichhecanbedrivenatanymomentbythemorethoroughgoingidealist。Yet，asHamiltondeclares，CosmotheticIdealismhasbeenheldinvariousformsbytheimmensemajorityofphilosophers，13*indeed，byalmostallwhohavenotbeendrivenbyitsabsurdityintomaterialismorscepticism。Afew’strayspeculators’14*alonehavefoundthenarrowway。ThelistisapparentlyexhaustedbythenamesofPeterPoiret，Reid，andSirWilliamHamilton，15*
andevenReidmaybesaidwithmuchplausibilitytohaveheldaversionofthecreedwhichwouldmakehiswholephilosophy’onemightyblunder。’16*Whathascausedthisuniversalapostasy？
Theanswerisremarkable。Itisduetoa’crotchetofphilosophers’17*——acrotchet，moreover，notonlyunsupportedby，butopposedto，alltheevidence。ItappearedfirstwithEmpedocles；itproducedthe’gnosticreasons’ofthePlatonists；
the’pre-existingspecies’ofAvicenna；thecommonintellectofThemistiusandAverroes；the’intentionalspecies’oftheschools；the’occasionalcauses’oftheCartesians；thepredeterminedharmonyofLeibniz；theplasticmediumofCudworthandthephenomenaofKant。WhensomanymastersofthoughthaveinVentedtheoriesitisunhappilyeasytobelievethattheyhaveallgonewrong；butonewouldatleastinferthattherewassomedifficultytobesolved。Andyetallthesefabricsofshamphilosophyarefoundedupona’baselessfancy，’whichReidalonewastooindependenttotakeforgranted。That’fancy’wasthatthe’relationofknowledgeinferredananalogyofexistence。’18*NorrisofBemertonhadurgedthatadirectperceptionofmatterwasimpossiblebecause’materialobjects’
areremovedfromthemind’bythewholediameterofBeing。’Reid，with’anignorancewiserthanknowledge，’confessedhisinabilitytounderstandthisargument。Seeingnodifficultyinsupposinganimmediateperceptionofatotallydisparatething，hedidnotmakean’irrationalattempttoexplainwhatisinitselfinexplicable。’19*Wecannomoreknowhowthemindisconsciousofitselfthanhowitispercipientofitscontrary。Thewholepuzzle，then，isgratuitous；——whichisaconsolingresultforordinarycommon-sense。
Philosophershadthusbewilderedthemselvesbyrefusingtoadmitaplain，thoughultimate，fact。Thereisagulfbetweenmindandmatteroverwhichnobridgecanbethrown，butnobridgeiswanted。Theattempttoconstructoneissuperfluous。Yetinadifferentformthequestionisstillprominent，andmodernsciencehasinvesteditwithfreshinterest。Howarewetoconceiveoftherelationbetweenthementalandthematerialspheres？How，afterall，dowedrawthelinebetweenthingsandthoughts，objectandsubject，egoandnon-ego？Wheredowereachtheimpassablegulf，andwhat，therefore，istheprecisesenseinwhichwemustpronounceallattemptatbridgingittobepreposterous？Hamilton’sfirstpositionisthatweareboundtostandby’consciousness。’The’watchword’oftheNaturalRealistis’thefactsofconsciousness，thewholefactsandnothingbutthefacts。’20*Heconstantlyappealstothe’deliveranceofconsciousness，’andassuresusagainandagainthatunlesswecanbelievethisdeliverance，wemustsupposemantohavebeenformedonlyto’becomethedupeandvictimofaperfidiouscreator。’21*TheerroroftheCosmotheticIdealistsconsistedpreciselyinthearbitraryrejectionofatruthgivenbythetestimonyofconsciousness。Anoriginalconvictionistobedistinguishedfromderivativeknowledge，ashetellsus，byvariouscharacteristics，amongwhichisespeciallyits’necessity。’Wecannotreallyresistit。22*Ifadisbeliefinconsciousnessbeimpossible，whyargueagainstit？Ifnotimpossible，howcanyouassertthatthebeliefisnecessary？Youhaveonlytostatethebeliefand，onyourshowing，itwillproveitself。TothisHamiltonanswersthat’necessity’maybeoftwokinds。Wecannotbelieveaself-contradictorystatement；andwearethereforesufficientlyguardedbylogicagainsterrorswhichareinthissenseimpossible。Butthereareotherassertionswhichmaybedeniedwithoutself-contradiction，andofwhich，notwithstandingthis，thedenialwouldleadtouniversalscepticism。Thiscorrespondsapparentlytothedifferencebetweenastatementoffactandastatementofjudgment。Afalsestatementoffactsmaybeasconsistentasatruestatement，andcanOnlybemetbysomehowappealingtoexperience。23*Sofar，then，asconsciousnessassuresusofafact，wemaydenyitwithoutcontradictingourselves；butyet，bydenyingit，we’makeGodadeceiverandtherootofournaturealie。’24*Wemaythussaywithoutself-contradiction，thatmemoryingeneralisanillusion，andtheworldameredreamorbundleofbaselessappearances；25*butwecannotsaysowithoutdenyingtheprimarydeliveranceofconsciousness，andstrikingatthebaseofallknowledge。Certaintruths，thoughnotlogicallyself-supporting，sorunthroughthewholefabricofbelief，astobeessentialtoitsexistence。IfIamconscious，Icannotreallydoubtthefactofconsciousness。Theknowledgeofthefactandthefactbecomeidentical。Thepossibilityoferrorbeginswithjudgment，orwiththeinterpretationofthefact。Itisundeniable，again，that，insomesenseorother，Ibelieveinanexternalworld。Everyphilosopher，asHamiltonsays，admitsthistobeafact，andBerkeleyappealstothecommonsenseofmankindwhendenying，asconfidentlyasReidwhenaffirming，theexistenceofmatter。Wemustinquire，then，whatpreciselyisthisultimatedeliverance。Doesconsciousnesstestifymerelytothefactofthebelief，oralsotothetruthofthebelief；and，ineithercase，ofwhatbelief？ThisiswhatHamiltonhastoanswer，beforesummoningustoadmitthetruthonpenaltyofmakingGodaliar。
ThehighwatermarkofhisopinionseemstobegiveninapassageoftheLectures。Hetheretellsusthat，thoughitisastrange，itisacorrect，expressiontosay，’Iamconscious’——
notmerelyofperceivingtheinkstandbut——’oftheinkstand。’26*Reid’sblunder——which，ifhereallymadeit，wouldconverthiswholephilosophyintoonemightyblunder——layinmisunderstandingthis。Reidhadbeenstartledathisownboldnessinassertingtheimmediacy’ofourknowledgeofexternalthings’；27*andthereforeweaklyadmittedthatweareconsciousofperceivingtherose，notconsciousoftheroseitself。Thiscomesofdistinguishing’consciousness’fromperception，andwouldendinphilosophicalsuicide。Itwouldseem，then，thataccordingtothisdoctrineweareboundeithertoassertthattherose——thevisible，coloured，scentedobject，isrevealedinconsciousnessaspartofthe’materialworld’andthereforeexistsindependentlyofus，ortoadmitthatGodisaliar。Itis’palpablyimpossiblethatwecanbeconsciousofanactwithoutbeingconsciousoftheobjecttowhichtheactisrelative。’28*