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Bank of Wisdom, Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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**** ****
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Pamphlets by Charles Watts, Vol. I.
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DISCREDITABLE TACTICS
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OF
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CHRISTIAN DISPUTANTS.
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by
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Charles Watts
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Vice-President of the National Secular Society
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Watts & Co. 17, Johnson's Court, Fleet Street.
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London, England.
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1880?
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**** ****
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DISCREDITABLE TACTICS
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OF
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CHRISTIAN DISPUTANTS.
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By CHARLES WATTS.
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DURING the past thirty years I have met in public discussion
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fifty Christian disputants, many of whom were fair in controversy.
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But some of my opponents appeared to have peculiar views as to what
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was right and horrorable in their dealings with Secularists. In
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1872 I held a four nights' debate With the Rev. A. Stewart, of
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Aberdeen, who, not content with publishing the debate as it was
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taken down, added to the printed report a long list of notes,
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either explaining the statements which he had made during the
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discussion, or answering points that I had urged upon the platform,
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and which the rev. gentleman had failed to answer at the time. On
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ascertaining that he was doing this, I requested the same privilege
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for myself; but it was not granted, upon the ground that the
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Christian Committee, who were issuing the debate, could not
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"publish new sceptical matter." The result was that the readers of
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the debate had a one-sided report presented to them. Such is the
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love of justice and fair play that is sometimes inspired by
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Chriatiahity. Truly, "the tree is known by its fruits." The Rev.
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Z.B. Woffendale, acted in a similarly discreditable manner in
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reporting a debate he had with Mr. G.W. Foote. Christian disputants
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evidently recognise, after the debate is over, their controversial
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shortcomings, and try to cover their defects by replying to their
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opponents when no rejoinder is allowed.
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The same kind of tactics was resorted to by Dr. A. Jamieson,
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of Glasgow, with whom I debated in 1894. Several months after the
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discussion took place the Doctor published a report of it,
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accompanied by an Appendix of sixteen pages, wherein he manifests
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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1
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DISCREDITABLE TACTICS
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a sad bitterness, of temper, and indicates his disappointment at
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the part he played upon the platform. Here are a few specimens of
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how he deals, in the Appendix, with my arguments, after having had
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months of study to consider what he should say in reply to my
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statement, that I believed in one existence which I called the
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universe, the Doctor says: "The universe is not one, but is
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composed of a multiplicity of diffrent existences, as the sun,
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moon, stars, animals, plants, gold, silver, etc., each of which
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has an existence of its own." Now, the Doctor ought to know that
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the composition does not affect the unity. Its forms and
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appearances -- in other words, its phenomena -- are numerous; but
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its noumenon, which underlies all external aspects, is one, hence
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its name. Why is it called the universe? The name is derived from
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unus, One, and therefore implies all that I contend for. The
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separate existences referred to by Dr. Jamieson such as suns,
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stars, animals, plants, etc., are simply different modes of the one
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existence. They are all phenomenal, and will pass away by changing
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their forms; but the one existance, of which all things are simply
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modes, must remain to all eternity, as it has been from all
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eternity. Besides this there can be no other. This is the doctrine
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of Monism, which is now every day becoming more and more widely
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accepted by men of the profoundest intellect. Dr. Jamieson's
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quibble about the impossibility of an infinite whole being made up
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of finite parts goes to show what Sir W. Hamilton so clearly
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pointed out, that no human conception can be formed of the infinite
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at all, and hence any attempt to theorise about it will involve one
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in a contradiction.
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During the debate I used the following argument, which the
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late Mr. Charles Bradlaugh frequently employed, with the view of
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showing that the universe could not have been created by an
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intelligent power extraneous to itself: --
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"The fact I start from is the fact that something exists.
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Now, this existence is either infinite in duration -- that is,
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unlimited in duration -- that is, eternal -- or else it has
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been created or brought into existence. If created, then it
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must have been by some existence the same as itself, or
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different from it; but it cannot have been created by any
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existence the same as itself, because that would have been but
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a continuation of the same existence; and it cannot have been
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created by any existence differing from itself, because things
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which have nothing in common with each other cannot, be
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conceived in relation to each other and cannot be the cause
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of, or affect, one another."
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Not once throughout the discussion did Dr. Jamieson notice this,
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but in his Appendix he elegantly remarks: --
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"This argument (?) is not only weak, but it is supremely
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silly, and by it it could be easily proved that Mr. Watts
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himself is infinite, both in extent and duration, and,
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consequently, that he himself is the 'one existence.' If we
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substitute the words, Mr. Watts exists, for the phrase
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'something exists,' throughout the argument, we will at once
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see the absurdity of which both Mr. Bradlaugh and Mr. Watts
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are guilty. The argument would then read thus: The fact I
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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2
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DISCREDITABLE TACTICS
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start from is, that Mr. Watts exists. This existence (Mr.
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Watts) is either infinite in duration, which is unlimited in
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duration -- that is, eternal -- or else he has been created or
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brought into existence. If created, then it must have been by
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some existence the same as himself, or different from himself;
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but he cannot have been created by an existence the same as
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himself, because that would have been but a continuation of
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the same existence; and he cannot have been created by any
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existence different from himself, because things which have
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nothing in common with each other cannot be conceived as
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having any relation to each other, and cannot be either the
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cause or effect of each other. The argument carried out in the
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same way with regard to extent would prove Mr. Watts to be
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infinite in that respect as well. An argument that leads to
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such an absurdity must itself be the very essence of
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absurdity. In face of the statement quoted, I think I may
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safely say that Mr. Watts's positron is 'gone.'"
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This is another of those sophisms which play so conspicuous a
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part in the Doctor's reasoning. Can he not see that Mr. Watts was
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not, and does not pretend to have been, "created," but to have been
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formed out of preexistent material of the same nature as himself?
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What possible analogy is there between this process of moulding or
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forming and the calling into existedee of a material universe from
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nothing? Mr. Watts was formed out of an existence the same as
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himself, and which existence, in one of its phases, is continued in
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him. The argument which I employed is irrefutable when applied to
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a supposed creation as I applied it; but, of course, it has no
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bearing upon the mere modification of things out of preexistent
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material. It remains, therefore, in full force, and will remain
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until a better reason than Dr. Jamieson has furnished is
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forthcoming to set it aside.
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Dr. Jamieson prides himself on having produced a "new
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argument," and no doubt he hopes to attain to a sort of immortality
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as its inventor. Strange that so many centuries should have passed
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before this marvellous proof of God's existence was made known to
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the benighted world. Paley may now hide his diminished head, and
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all the Bridgewater Treatises be consigned to oblivion, since a new
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natural theologian has arisen with a brand-new argument, which must
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silence all Atheists, Agnostics, and doubters of the Divine. Here
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is this wonderful argument (?): "It is admitted that the universe
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in whole or in part is cooling. It is also admitted that cooling
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bodies contract. That which has contrarted occupies less space than
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it once did. The material universe, in whole or in part, has
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contracted, consequently it now occupies less space than it once,
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did. It must then be finite in extent. If finite in one way, it
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must be finite in all ways, and, consequently, in duration. If
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finite in duration, it must have had a beginning, and consequently
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a Cause. There must, then, be a Powerful Being distinct from the
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material universe upon whom it depends for its existence."
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Such is this new argument (?), which the Doctor invites me to
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answer. I do so by pronouncing it as being the very essence of
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sophistry. The whole "argument" is based upon a mistake, and, upon
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this mistake, certain "ifs" are stated, and then the imperative
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there "must" have been "a powerful Being," etc., is assumed. This
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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3
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DISCREDITABLE TACTICS
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is a fair sample of the Doctor's metaphysics. Now, what are the
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facts? It is not true that cooling bodies always contract, for snow
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and ice occupy more space than water, although the temperature of
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the former is much lower than that of the latter. Cooling in this
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case expands, instead of contracting, Mark the sophism of the
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Doctor's. He says "the material universe in whole or in part has
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contracted; consequently it [what? -- the whole or the part?]
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occupies less space than it once did." If the whole has contracted,
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no doubt that is so. But the Doctor does not venture to assert that
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the whole has contracted, but that the contraction may have been in
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part only. Yet the conclusion drawn is on the supposition that
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there has been contraction of the entire mass. This is manifestly
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illogical. What do we know of distant parts of the universe as to
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whether the matter in existence there is cooling or not? In one
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part the temperature falls, and in another it rises, leaving
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probably the same amount of heat on the whole. No one can assert
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that the entire universe is cooling, and, therefore, undergoing
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contraction; hence the "new argument" that was to revolutionise the
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Theistic philosophy is not worth the paper it is written on.
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Dr. Jamieson persists in his contention that "the effect can
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never be superior to the cause," and upon this assumption he gives
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what he terms "a fatal blow to the Atheistic hypothesis." In the
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debate I quoted J.S. Mill, who said: "How vastly nobler and more
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precious, for instance, are the vegetables and animals than the
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soil and manure out of which they are raised up." "But," says the
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Doctor, "the soil and the manure are not the cause either of
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vegetables or animals," but the cause is "a living germ" which is
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there. Granted; yet surely it will not be urged that this simple
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unicellular germ is greater than the oak tree which springs from
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it, or the animal -- perhaps man -- in which it developes. That
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germ has no intelligence, yet from it comes a Milton, a Bacon, or
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a Shakespeare. Was not the effect greater than the cause in such a
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case? Take another illustration of an opposite character. A
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baccilus, almost inconceivable in its minuteness, several millions
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of which could pass at the same time through the eye of an ordinary
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sewing-needle, enters the body of a strong man and sets up an
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action which stops all the vital forces of the powerful and well-
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knit organism. The cause here was this tiny thing, composed of just
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a single cell; the result, the death of a man of great vigor of
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body and strength of mind. Surely no one out of a lunatic asylum
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will maintain in such a case as this that the effect was inferior
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to the cause.
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Dr. Jamieson's statement, that life precedes organisation, is
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so startling that one can hardly imagine it possible for anyone to
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make it who is acquainted with the merest rudiments of biology. Can
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we even imagine life apart from organisation? Will the Doctor tell
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us where it is to be found, and what it is like? That organisation
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and life are always found associated no one, we presume, will deny,
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just as force is always found in connection with matter. But it
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would be no less absurd to say that force was the cause of matter
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than that life was the cause of organization. Most of the
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quotations given by Dr. Jamieson from men of science are quite
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beside the question, and only show that the writers held life to be
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something distinct from organisation, which no more proves life to
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have been the causc of organisation than the holding that
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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4
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DISCREDITABLE TACTICS
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electricity is something distinct from the battery proves it to
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have been the cause of the combination of metals and acids
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employed. However, the quotations themselves are from books written
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long ago. The one most in harmony with the views under
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consideration is that from the 'Reign of Law' by the Duke of
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Argyll. And this book was written nearly thirty years since, and
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its author was certainly never considered an authority upon
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questions of biology. Huxley most assuredly hild a view
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diametricaiiy opposed to this, as any one can see who will take the
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trouble to read his 'Physical Basis of Life.' In that discourse he
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redoculed the notion that life is anything more than a result of
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organisation, by comparing it with the old theory that acquaosity
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was something added to the hydrogen and oxygen in the formation of
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water. For instance, the Professor wrote: "It will be observed that
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the existence of the matter of life depends on the pre-existence of
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certain compounds -- namely, carbonic acid, water, and ammonia.
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Withdraw any one of these three from the world, and all vital
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phenomena come to an end. They are related to the protoplasm of the
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plant, as the protoplasm of the plant is to that of the animal.
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Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogon are all lifeless bodies. Of
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these, carbon and oxygen unite in certain proportions, and under
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certain conditions, to give rise to carbonic acid; hydrogen and
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oxygen produce water; nitrogen and hydrogeyn give rise to ammonia.
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These new compounds, like the elementary bodies of which they are
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composed, are lifeless. But when they are brought together ander
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certain conditions they give rise to the still more complex body,
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protoplasm, and this protoplasm exhibits the phenomena of life"
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("Physical Basis of Life," Lay Sermons, p. 135).
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In my debate with Dr. Jamieson upon the soul question I used
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the phrase, "Diseased brain impaired thought." In reply to this the
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Doctor, in his Appendix, gives a long string of authorities to
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prove the contrary. But they do nothing of the kind. I am reminded
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that Professor Ferrer said that "the half of the brain has been
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diseased, and that the intellectual powers of the patient have not
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been interfered with." Well, what of it? So a man may have a
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disease in one eye or one ear, and yet see or hear very well with
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the other. The brain is double, like the eye or the ear. There are
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two hemispheres, and if one is affected with disease the other can
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act bealthily. And it was to illustrate this very fact that Dr.
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Ferrier introduced the case. Then there is a reference to cases in
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which mental derangement has occurred, and after death no lesion of
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the brain has been found. Doubtless; yet I suppose there is no
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physiologist who does not believe but that there was some brain
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disease which escaped detection, in consequence probably of its
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minute character. But if the Doctor thinks differently, will he
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kindly inform us what was diseased if the brain was not? Can the
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immortal soul suffer from derangement? Is the immaterial spirit
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liable to disease and decay? For, if so, would it not be a fair
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deduction that death also might be the culminating point of such an
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abnormal condition? Then, what would become of the supposed
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immortality?
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Dr. T. Cromwell, in his work upon 'The Soul and a Future
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Life,' says: "Immaterialists have dwelt much on cases of
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considerable, though always partial, injury to the brain, with
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which no perceptible mental disorder was associated. But to this
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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5
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DISCREDITABLE TACTICS
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there are adequate replies. 'Many instances are on record in which
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extensive disease has occurred in one hemisphere (of the cerebrum)
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so as almost entirely to destroy it, without any obvious injury to
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the mental powers, or any interruption of the influence of the mind
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upon the body. But there is no case on record of any severe lesion
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of both hemispheres, in which morbid phenomona were not evident
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during life' (Carpenter's Human Physiology, p. 775). 'In every
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instance where there exists any corresponding lesion or disease on
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each side of the brain, there we are sure to find some express
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injury or impairment of the mental functions' (Sir. H. Holland's
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'Chapters on Mental Physiology,' p. 184). 'There are no cases on
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record in which the mental faculties have remained undisturbed when
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the disorganisation has extended to both sides of the brain' (Solly
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on 'The Human Brai,' p. 349 1836). Dr. Maudsley, in his 'Physiology
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of Mind, p. 126, observes that he has come to the assured
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conviction that mind does not exist in nature apart from brain; all
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his experience of it is in connection with brain. Lawrence, in his
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'Lectures on Comparative Anatomy,' p. 112, says: 'I firmly believe
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that the various forms of insanity, that all the affections
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comprehended under the general term of mental derangement, are only
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evidences of cerebral affections, disordirred manifestations of
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those organs whose healthy action produces the phoriomena called
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mental -- in short, symptoms of diseased brain'" (quoted by
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Cromwell, p. 97).
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The Doctor accuses me of ignorance because, I spoke of scars
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in connection with anatomy, which, he says, belong to the province
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of physiology. Let me tell my learned opponent, who informs me that
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he has "successfully passed examinations in two universities," that
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it would have beed still more correct to have relegated sears to
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the region of pathology, or the wound which caused the sear to the
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domain of surgery. Anatomy is a general term applied to the human
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body, and is not always limited to a cut-and-dried description of
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the bones, muscles, nerves, etc. Strictly speaking, the word
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anatomy is derived from a Greek word which signifies to cut up; but
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it is used by all persons -- except, perhaps, first-year students
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in a medical school -- in a much broader sense. And no man who is
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not bent on hair-splitting would have accused me of ignorance in
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consequence of my applying it to scars. Then we are told that
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sometimes scars disappear. That is true, but not always, for I have
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now a scar upon my forehead that has been visible for over forty
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years. In my debate with the Doctor I gave scientific reasons why
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scars could remain, notwithstanding the many changes the body
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undergoes. But the disappearance of some scars does not in any way
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prove the Doctor's contention. Ideas sometimes disappear,
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especially late in life. Memory fails almost invariably at advanced
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age, and even childishness supervenes. If that be not due to brain
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decay, then to what is it due?
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PRICE ONE PENNY.
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Published by WATTS & CO, 17 Johnson's-court, Fleet-street,
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London; 1895.
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**** ****
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|
||
Reproducible Electronic Publishing can defeat censorship.
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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||
6
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