SchellingandCousinhadtakenupKant’schallenge，notbyinferringthesimplebeingfromthecomplexofexperiences，butbyprofessingtoshowhowmultiplicitymightbeevolvedoutofabsolutesimplicity。Thisfeat，asHamiltonheld，andasMillofcourseheldwithhim，couldonlybeaccomplishedbyapalpablejuggle。Clearlyyoucannotcount，ifyouarerestrictedtotheuseofanabsolute’one。’Thegermfromwhichanorganicsystemisdevelopedcannotbeitselfabsolutelysimple。Knowledgecanonlybemadeoutofrules；andasimple’is’givesnorule。
Hamiltontriestoexpresstheprincipleimpliedinsuchinstancesintheproperpompofmetaphysicallanguage。Cousinstartsbyadmittingthatknowledgesupposes’plurality，’thatis，anobjectandasubject。Now，saysHamilton，82*the’absolute’mustbeidentifiedwiththesubjectorwiththeobject，orwiththe’indifferencyofboth’whateverthatmaybe。Onthefirstorsecondhypothesis，theabsoluteisnot，asitoughttobe，aunit，foritisoneofapair；ontheotherhypothesis，yousupposethatconsciousnessdoesnotimplyplurality。Aman，letussayinhumblerlanguage，ifhethinks，mustthinkaboutsomething。Ifso，westartfromamanandasomething。Butsupposehimtothinkabouthimself。Thentheremustbesomethingtosayabouthimself；andhewillhavenothingtosayifheisabsolutelysimple。Thatseemstobetrueenough。Everypropositionassertsarelationofsomekind，andapropositioncannotbegotatallifnorelationbegiven。This，therefore，isonemeaningofthe’relativity’ofthought。’Tothinkisthecondition’；thatis，youcannotaffirmordenyunlessyoudenyoraffirmsomething。Ifyoutrythentogettotheabsolutebystrippingoffallrelations，youreallygettozero。Wethinkonlybytheattributionofcertainqualities，andthenegationofthesequalitiesandofthisattributionissofaranegationofthinkingatall。Kant’sargumentsdulycarriedoutprove’theunconditioned，’saysHamilton，tobeamere’fasciculusofnegations。’83*Clearly，wereply，iftheunconditionedisreachedbyunsayingallthatwehavesaid。Aplainpersonis，indeed，chieflyastonishedthatsuchargumentsshouldberequired。Schelling’ssystem，saysHamiltonhimself，isonlyfitfor’LaputaontheEmpire，’84*butSchellingatleastinventedasupernaturalfacultytoperceivean’incogitable’hypothesis。
Cousin’shypothesis，whichtriedtoomitthisfaculty，isworse，foritisself-contradictory。85*ThespectacleofthreeofthemostdistinguishedmeninGermany，France，andEnglandjoininginthisgame，andevenofHamiltonwinninga’Europeanreputation’
bydeclaringthatwecannotbelievetwocontradictorypropositionsatonce，ormakesomethingoutofnothing，isnotedifyingtoabelieverinphilosophy。
V。ANTINOMIES
Milldoesnotwantallthisapparatustogetridofthetranscendentalworld。Itisforhimtooobviouslysuperfluoustorequiretobeexploded。HowthendoeshecomeintoconflictwithHamilton？WemustturnforexplanationtoanotherofKant’sarguments。Theuniversemustberegardedasinsomesenseone，thoughthatdoesnotprovetheexistenceofasimpleandabsoluteBeingasitsgroundorprinciple。Ontheotherhand，theuniverseisanindefinitelycomplexmultitudeofreciprocallydependentthings。Wecanbringthe’laws’intounityandharmony；butthethingsthroughwhichthelawsaremanifestedarethemselvesinfinitelynumerous。Wemaythenaskwhethertheuniverseisnotonlyonebutawhole；whetheritsunityentitlesustocallitasingleobject。Thisleadstothefamous’antinomies。’Theyhavebeenfamiliarenoughinmanyformssincespeculationbegan。Theuniverseisgiveninspaceandtime。Now，wecannotthinkofspaceandtimeeitherasfiniteorinfinite。Wecannotthinkofspaceasfinitebecause，howeverfarwego，thereisstillspacebeyond。Wecannotthinkofspaceasinfinite，becausetoimagineinfinitespacewouldrequireaninfinitemindandinfinitetime。
Spacemustbeeitherinfiniteorfinite，becauseoneoftwocontradictoriesmustbetrue，andyeteachis’inconceivable。’I
mustconfesswithduehumilitythatIcouldneverseeanyantinomyatall。InthisIagreewithMill，86*thoughIcannotagreewithhisattempttoexplainourbeliefsintheinfinityofspacebyan’inseparableassociation。’Theapparentantinomyisdue，Ifancy，toashiftinthemeaningof’infinite。’Themathematiciancallsspace’infinite’becausespaceislimitedbyspace，andtherecannotbea’whole’ofspace。Ifby’infinite’I
meanthecompletionofaprocesswhichexhypothesicannotbecompleted，Ibecomeself-contradictory。Thereisnomeaningin’awhole’ofspace，thougheveryparticularspaceisawhole。Acuterreasoners，however，canseethedifficulty，andwewillthereforeadmitthe’antinomy。’Thenwemustobservethat，accordingtoKant，theantinomiesapplysolelytothecosmologicalidea。Thereisnothing，hesays，87*antinomialinthepsychologicalandtheologicalideas；forthey’containnocontradiction。’Heinfersthattheirrealitycanbenomoredeniedthanaffirmed。IffromtheorganismIinferasoulIfallintoa’paralogism，’butnotintoan’antinomy。’Wedonotprovethatsoulandno-soularenecessaryalternativesandboth’inconceivable，’butsimplythatthesoul，asamonad，isasuperfluitywhichexplainsnothing——
athoughtinterpretedasathing。Theantinomyoccursonlywhenwedealwiththeperceiveduniverse，andaskwhetherithasorhasnotlimits。IthasnoapplicationtotheargumentaboutGodorthesoul。Sincetheyarenotinspacetheyhavenoconcernwiththeantinomiesinvolvedintheconceptionofspace。
Hamilton’smisappropriationofthisargumentisthemasterfallacyofhissystem。IntheCousinessayhelaysdownadogmawithouttheslightestattempttoproveit。’Theconditionedisthemeanbetweentwoextremes——twoinconditionates——exclusiveofeachother，neitherofwhichcanbeconceivedaspossible，butofwhich，ontheprinciplesofcontradictionandtheexcludedmiddle，onemustbeadmittedasnecessary。’88*Headdsthatourfacultiesarethusshowntobeweak，butnotdeceitful。Welearn，moreover，the’salutarylesson’thatthecapacityof’thoughtisnottobeconstitutedintothemeasureofexistence，’andwearewarnedfrom’recognisingthedomainofourknowledgeasnecessarilycoextensivewiththehorizonofourfaith。’Inanoteweareinvitedtoacceptastruethedeclaration’ofapiousphilosophy——aGodunderstoodwouldbenoGodatall’；andwearetoldthat’thelastandhighestconsecrationofalltruereligionmustbeanaltartotheunknownGod，’——whichdoesnotappeartohavebeenSt。Paul’sopinion。Thisdoctrinewasrepeatedagainandagaininvariouslecturesandnotes。ItwasappliedbyManseltodefendChristianity，andwasinasenseacceptedbyMr。HerbertSpencerasasupportofAgnosticism。89*
Yetitissprunguponusinthisabruptfashion，notonlywithoutproof，butwithoutanyclearstatementofitsmeaning；and，asI
think，isreallytheexpressionofaconfusionoftwolinesofargument。Anexpositionofthisgreataxiom，hesays，90*wouldshowthat’someofthemostillustriousprinciples’areonlyits’subordinatemodificationsappliedtocertainprimarynotions。’
Amongsuchnotionsarethoseof’causeandeffect’and’substanceandphenomenon。’ThediscussionofCauseandEffect91*
illustratessufficientlythecuriousshiftingoftheargument。
Ourinabilitytoconceiveabeginningeitheroftimeoroftheexistenceofthingsintimegivestheapparentnecessityofcausation。Butaswecannotsupposeaninfiniteregress，thenecessitycorrespondsonlytoan’impotence’ofourminds。Hence，heargues，inthecaseofthehumanwill，wemustadmitthepossibility，thoughnottheconceivability，ofanabsolutebeginning，andthereforeoffreewill。Theargument，ifsound，isapplicabletocauseingeneralaswellastothewill。Hamiltonmaymeanthatsinceanabsolutebeginningispossibleatsometime，itispossibleatanytime。Wemightthenhaveanantinomy。
Oneofthepropositions，’thingsarecaused’and’thingsarenotcaused，’mustbetrue，andbothareinconceivable。Butthiswouldbetodestroytheaxiomofcausation。Theappearanceofanantinomyisobtainedbychangingthequestion。Insteadofaskingwhywetakethingstobecaused，weaskwhetherwecanimagineaninfiniteseriesofcauses。Theantinomyinthiscaseissimplytheoldformulaoveragain。ThiscentralpositionofHamilton’sphilosophyisthusanillegitimateapplicationofKant’sargument。Kantadmitsanantinomyonlywhereitisatleastplausible，namely，asappliedtotheuniversewhichweclearlyhavetoextendindefinitelyifnottoabsoluteinfinity。Butnosuchdifficultyisinvolvedintheproblemofunity。Hamiltonseemstohavebeensodelightedwiththe’antinomy’thathe’enounces’itasagenerallaw；appliesitwhereithasnomeaningwhatever，andinvariably’illustrates’itbyrepeatingthecaseinwhichitisplausible。
Hamiltonthuscontrivestoblendtwoargumentsintoone。Hisviewisthegermofinextricableconfusions，and，onemighthavethought，tooobviousabitoflogicallegerdemaintoimposeevenuponametaphysician。Itplays，however，amostimportantpartintheattemptmadebyManseltobringHamiltontobearagainsttheunbeliever。Mansel’swholeaimistoputhisantagonistsinadilemma。Theymustnotbeallowedtosaysimplythatanargumentbecomesmeaningless；theymustbetakentosaythatitleadstoabalancebetweentwoalternatives。Wethereforegetadoubleresult。Ontheonehand，wearereducedtocompletescepticism——
thatis，reasonismadeimpotentinregardtoaquestionwhichnecessarilyarises。Ontheotherhand，weareleftwithanimpressionthatwearecompelledtotakesomepositioninthisregionofinconceivables，andthisistranslatedintothepiousassertionthat’belief’extendsbeyond’knowledge。’ThusHamiltonemphaticallydeclaresthatitisthe’mainscope’ofhisspeculationtoshowarticulatelythatwe’mustbelieveasactualmuchthatweareunablepositivelytoconceiveasactual。’92*
Tofollowhimthroughthemazeof’inconceivables，’
’absolutes，’’infinites，’’unconditioneds’andsoforthwouldbeidle。93*IshallbecontentwithoneargumentwhichinMansel’shandsledtoanimportantconflictwithMill。TheInfinite，saysMansel，’ifitistobeconceivedatall，mustbeconceivedaspotentially’everythingandactuallynothing；forifthereisanythingingeneralwhichitcannotbecome，itistherebylimited；andifthereisanythinginparticularwhichitactuallyis，itistherebyexcludedfrombeinganyotherthing。94*Itmustalsobeconceivedas’actuallyeverythingandpotentiallynothing；foranunrealisedpotentialityislikewisealimitation。’Hamiltonhadputthesameargument。’Theinfiniteisconceivedonlybythinkingawayeverycharacterbywhichthefinitewasconceived。’95*Thatis，the’infinite’isequivalenttothe’indeterminate，’ortheresultofunsayingallthatyouhavesaid。Thislogicallyleadstopurenothing，nottoanantinomy。Wearetoldthatwemustbelievesomethingwherewegetnottoacontradictionbuttoanabsolutevacuum。Millmakesanobviouscriticism。96*WhenItalkofinfinitespace，Idonot’thinkaway’thecharacterofspace，butIonlythinkofanindefiniteextensionofspace。Tobelieveininfinitespacewouldotherwisebetodisbelieveingeometry。Wecannotthinkatallaboutanutterlyindeterminateobject，butwecanthinkofspacewithoutaskinghowmuchspacethereisintheuniverse。’TheInfinite’maybemeaningless，buttopredicateinfinityofspacedoesnotdestroythespaceconception。If，then，theinfinityofspacedoesnothinderusfromobtainingaperfectlyaccurateknowledgeofitsproperties，doestheinfiniteorabsolutenatureoftheDeitypreventusfromunderstandinghisattributes？Hereistherealproblem；anditleadstotheoddspectacleofthescepticarguingonbehalfoftheologyagainstthedivine。Thereisnocontradiction，asMillargues，inspeakingofaninfinitelyknowingorpowerfulorgoodbeing。Abeinghasinfiniteknowledgeifnothingisunknowntohim；andisinfinitelypowerfulifnothingisimpossibletohim。Thatgivesaplainmeaningonthehumanside，thoughweareofcourseunableadequatelytoimaginetheresultonthedivineside。Infinitegoodnessis，indeed，alessnaturalphrasethan’absolute，’becauseabsolutedoesnotsuggestanumericalmeasureof’goodness。’Goodnessisaquality，notaquantity。But，understoodasmeaningtheabsenceofevenaninfinitesimaldegreeofbadness，itmaybecalledinfinite，andthe’limit’whichisdeniedisnotthatimpliedby’good，’butbythedegreeofgoodness。Infinite，ifitmeansanything，mustmeananinfiniteamountordegreeofsomethingdefinite。
Millthusappearstoarguethattheologyisnotasirrationalasitsdefendersupposes。Theintroductionofsuchpredicatesasinfiniteandabsolutedonotmakeknowledgeoftheirsubjectimpossible。ItwouldhaveclearedthematterifMillhadgoneontoexplainhisownviewofthe’Absolute。’Wemayguesswhatheoughttohavesaidinconformitywithhisprinciples。Ifallknowingisessentiallyaknowledgeofrelations，itisidletoseekforan’absolute’inthesenseofathingwhichonMansel’sdefinition’existsinandbyitself，havingnonecessaryrelationstoanyotherbeing。’97*Since，insayinganythingaboutit，weassertarelation，wecannotevenspeakofsuchan’absolute’withoutcontradiction。’Absolute，’likecertain，necessary，andsoforth，isanamereferringtoourknowledge。Anassertionaboutfactsmaybe’absolutely’true，howevertriflingthefact。Itmaybeasabsolutelytruethatasparrowfelltothegroundat9A。M。onthe1stofJanuarylastasthatthesunexistsorthattwoandtwomakefour。Knowledgeimpliesnotan’absolutefact’butan’absolutetruth’——atruthwhichrequiresnoqualificationnotexplicitlygiveninthepropositionasserted。Tosaythatathingexistsabsolutelyistoaddnothingbutemphasistothestatementthatitexists。Nordoesthestatementthatitexists’conditionally’alterthecase。Itisconditionalinsofarasithasacause，orasfromitsexistencewemayinfersomepreviousstateofthings。If，however，itexists，theconditionshaveexhypothesibeenfulfilled。Itexistsnow’absolutely，’howeveritcametoexist。Itisapartofthewholesystemofinterdependentandcontinuousprocesseswhichmakeuptheuniverse。98*Ifweknowthatanything，then，ispartoftheactualworld，wehaveall’theabsolute’required；