第6章

***How，indeed，itcouldeverbedoubtedthatthoughtisonlyoftheconditioned，

maywellbedeemedamatteroftheprofoundestadmiration。Thoughtcannot

transcendconsciousness;consciousnessisonlypossibleundertheantithesis

ofasubjectandobjectofthought，knownonlyincorrelation，andmutually

limitingeachother;while，independentlyofthis，allthatweknoweither

ofsubjectorobject，eitherofmindormatter，isonlyaknowledgeineach

oftheparticular，oftheplural，ofthedifferent，ofthemodified，ofthe

phaenomenal。Weadmitthattheconsequenceofthisdoctrineis，——thatphilosophy，

ifviewedasmorethanascienceoftheconditioned，isimpossible。Departing

fromtheparticular，weadmit，thatwecannever，inourhighestgeneralizations，

riseabovethefinite;thatourknowledge，whetherofmindormatter，can

benothingmorethanaknowledgeoftherelativemanifestationsofanexistence，

whichinitselfitisourhighestwisdomtorecognizeaSbeyondthereachofphilosophy。***"Wearethustaughtthesalutarylesson，thatthecapacityofthought

isnottobeconstitutedintothemeasureofexistence;andarewarnedfrom

recognizingthedomainofourknowledgeasnecessarilyco—extensivewith

thehorizonofourfaith。Andbyawonderfulrevelation，wearethus，in

theveryconsciousnessofourinabilitytoconceiveaughtabovetherelative

andfinite，inspiredwithabeliefintheexistenceofsomethingunconditionedbeyondthesphereofallcomprehensiblereality。"Clearandconclusiveasthisstatementofthecaseappearswhencarefully

studied，itisexpressedinsoabstractamannerastobenotveryintelligible

tothegeneralreader。Amorepopularpresentationofit。withillustrative

applications，asgivenbyMr。ManselinhisLimitsofReligiousThought，

willmakeitmorefullyunderstood。Thefollowingextracts，whichItakethelibertyofmakingfromhispages，willsuffice。"Theveryconceptionofconsciousnessinwhatevermodeitmaybe

manifested，necessarilyimpliesdistinctionbetweenoneobjectandanother。

Tobeconscious，wemustbeconsciousofsomething;andthatsomethingcan

onlybeknown，asthatwhichitis，bybeingdistinguishedfromthatwhich

itisnot。Butdistinctionisnecessarilyimitation;for，ifoneobjectis

tobedistinguishedfromanother，itmustpossesssomeformofexistence

whichtheotherhasnot，oritmustnotpossesssomeformwhichtheother

has。***Ifallthoughtislimitation;——ifwhateverweconceiveis，by

theveryactofconception，regardedasfinite，——theinfinite，fromahuman

pointofview，ismerelyanamefortheabsenceofthoseconditionsunder

whichthoughtispossible。TospeakofaConceptionoftheInfiniteis，therefore，

atoncetoaffirmthoseconditionsandtodenythem。Thecontradiction，which

wediscoverinsuchaconception，isonlythatwhichwehaveourselvesplaced

there，bytacitlyassumingtheconceivabilityoftheinconceivable。Thecondition

ofconsciousnessisdistinction;andconditionofdistinctionislimitation。

WecanhavenoconsciousnessofBeingingeneralwhichisnotsomeBeing

inparticular:athing，inconsciousness，isonethingoutofmany。Inassuming

thepossibilityofaninfiniteobjectofconsciousness，Iassume，therefore，

thatitisatthesametimelimitedandunlimited;——actuallysomething，

withoutwhichitcouldnotbeanobjectofconsciousness，andactuallynothing，withoutwhichitcouldnotbeinfinite。***"AsecondcharacteristicofConsciousnessis，thatitisonlypossible

intheformofarelation。TheremustbeaSubject，orpersonconscious，

andanObject，orthingofwhichheisconscious。Therecanbenoconsciousness

withouttheunionofthesetwofactors;and，inthatunion，eachexistsonly

asitisrelatedtotheother。Thesubjectisasubject，onlyinsofaras

itisconsciousofanobject;theobjectisanobject，onlyinsofaras

itisapprehendedbyasubject:andthedestructionofeitheristhedestruction

ofconsciousnessitself。Itisthusmanifestthataconsciousnessofthe

Absoluteisequallyself—contradictorywiththatoftheInfinite。Tobeconscious

oftheAbsoluteassuch，wemustknowthatanobject，whichisgiveninrelation

toourconsciousness，isidenticalwithonewhichexistsinitsownnature，

outofallrelationtoconsciousness。Buttoknowthisidentity，wemust

beabletocomparethetwotogether;andsuchacomparisonisitselfacontradiction。

Weareinfactrequiredtocomparethatofwhichweareconsciouswiththat

ofwhichwearenotconscious;thecomparisonitselfbeinganactofconsciousness，

andonlypossiblethroughtheconsciousnessofbothitsobjects。Itisthus

manifestthat，evenifwecouldbeconsciousoftheabsolutewecouldnot

possiblyknowthatitistheabsolute:and，aswecanbeconsciousofan

objectassuch，onlybyknowingittobewhatitis，thisisequivalentto

anadmissionthatwecannotbeconsciousoftheabsoluteatall。Asanobject

ofCOnsciousness，everythingisnecessarilyrelative;andwhatathingmaybeoutofconsciousnessnomodeofconsciousnesscantellus。***"Thiscontradiction，again，admitsofthesameexplanationasthe

former，***Existence，asweconceiveit，isbutanamefortheseveral

waysinwhichobjectsarepresentedtoourconsciousness，——ageneralterm，

embracingavarietyofrelations。TheAbsolute，ontheotherhand，isaterm

expressingnoobjectofthought，butonlyadenialoftherelationbywhichthoughtisconstituted。"Hereletmepointouthowthesamegeneralinferencemaybeevolvedfrom

anotherfundamentalconditiontothought，omittedbySirW。Hamiltonand

notsuppliedbyMr。Mansel;——aconditionwhich，underitsobverseaspect，

wehavealreadycontemplatedinthelastsection。Everycompleteactofconsciousness，

besidesdistinctionandrelation，alsoimplieslikeness。Beforeitcanconstitute

apieceofknowledge，orevenbecomeanidea，amentalstatemustbeknown

notonlyasseparateinkindorqualityfromcertainforegoingstatesto

whichitisknownasrelatedbysuccession，butitmustfurtherbeknown

asofthesamekindorqualitywithcertainotherforegoingstates。That

organizationofchangeswhichconstitutesthinking，involvescontinuousintegration

aswellascontinuousdifferentiation。Wereeachnewaffectionofthemind

perceivedsimplyasanaffectioninsomewaycontestedwithprecedingones

——weretherebutachainofimpressions，eachofwhichasitarosewasmerely

distinguishedfromitspredecessors;consciousnesswouldbeachaos。Toproduce

thatorderlyconsciousnesswhichwecallintelligence，thererequiresthe

assimilationofeachimpressiontoothersthatoccurredearlierintheseries。

Boththesuccessivementalstates，andthesuccessiverelationswhichthey

beartooneanother，mustbeclassified;andclassificationinvolvesnot

onlyapartingoftheunlike，butalsoabindingtogetherofthelike。In

brief，atruecognitionispossibleonlythroughanaccompanyingrecognition。

Shoulditbeobjectedthatifsotherecannotbeafirstcognition，andhence

therecanbenocognition，thereplyisthatcognitionproperarisesgradually

——thatduringthefirststageofincipientintelligence，beforethefeelings

producedbyintercoursewiththeouterworldhavebeenputintoorder，there

arenocognitions;andthat，aseveryinfantshowsus，theseslowlyemerge

outoftheconfusionofunfoldingconsciousnessasfastastheexperiences

arearrangedintogroups——asfastasthemostfrequentlyrepeatedsensations，

andtheirrelationstooneanother，becomefamiliarenoughtoadmitoftheir

recognitionassuchorsuch，whenevertheyrecur。Shoulditbefurtherobjected

thatifcognitionpresupposesrecognition，therecanbenocognition，even

byanadult，ofanobjectneverbeforeseen;thereisstillthesufficient

answerthatinsofarasitisnotassimilatedtopreviously—seenobjects

itisnotknown，andthatitisknownonlyinsofarasitisassimilated

tothem。Ofthisparadoxtheinterpretationis，thatanobjectisclassifiable

invariouswayswithvariousdegressofcompleteness。Ananimalhitherto

unknown（marktheword），thoughnotreferabletoanyestablishedspecies

orgenus，isyetrecognizedasbelongingtooneofthelargerdivisions—mammals，

birds，reptiles，orfishes;orshoulditbesoanomalousthatitsalliance

withanyoftheseisnotdeterminable，itmayyetbeclassedasvertebrate

orinvertebrate;orifitbeoneofthoseorganismsinwhichitisdoubtful

whethertheanimalorvegetaltraitspredominate，itisstillknownasa

livingbody。Evenshoulditbequestionedwhetheritisorganic，itremains

beyondquestionthatitisamaterialobject，anditiscognizedbybeing

recognizedassuch。Whenceitisclearthatathingisperfectlyknownonly

whenitisinallrespectslikecertainthingspreviouslyobserved。that

inproportiontothenumberofrespectsinwhichitisunlikethem，isthe

extenttowhichitisunknown;andthathencewhenithasabsolutelynoattributeincommonwithanythingelse，itmustbeabsolutelybeyondtheboundofknowledge。Observethecorollarywhichhereconcernsus。AcognitionoftheReal，

asdistinguishedfromthePhenomenal，must，ifitexists，conformtothis

lawofcognitioningeneral。TheFirstCause，theInfinite，theAbsolute，

tobeknownatall，mustbeclassed。Tobepositivelythoughtof，itmust

bethoughtofassuchorsuch——asofthisorthatkind。Canitbelike

inkindtoanythingofwhichwehaveexperience？Obviouslynot。Betweenthe

creatingandthecreated，theremustbeadistinctiontranscendinganyof

thedistinctionsbetweendifferentdivisionsofthecreated。Thatwhichis

UnCauSedcannotbeassimilatedtothatwhichiscaused:thetwobeing，in

theverynaming，antitheticallyopposed。TheInfinitecannotbegroupedalong

withsomethingfinite;since，inbeingsogrouped，itmustberegardedas

notinfinite。ItisimpossibletoputtheAbsoluteinthesamecategorywith

anythingrelative，solongastheAbsoluteisdefinedasthatofwhichno

necessaryrelationcanbepredicated。IsitthenthattheActual，though

unthinkablebyclassificationwiththeApparent，isthinkablebyclassification

withitself？Thissuppositionisequallyabsurdwiththeother。Itimplies

thepluralityoftheFirstCause，theInfinite，theAbsolute;andthisimplication

isself—contradictory。TherecannotbemorethanoneFirstCause;seeing

thattheexistenceofmorethanonewouldinvolvetheexistenceofsomething

necessitatingmorethanone，whichsomethingwouldbethetrueFirstCause。

Howself—destructiveistheassumptionoftwoormoreInfinites，ismanifest

onrememberingthatsuchInfinites，bylimitingeachother，wouldbecome

finite。Andsimilarly，anAbsolutewhichexistednotalonebutalongwith

otherAbsolutes，wouldnolongerbeanabsolutebutarelative。TheUnconditioned

therefore，asclassableneitherwithanyformoftheconditionednorwith

anyotherUnconditioned，cannotbeclassedatall。Andtoadmitthatitcannotbeknownasofsuchorsuchkind，istoadmitthatitisunknowable。Thus，fromtheverynatureofthought，therelativityofourknowledge

isinferableinthreeways。Aswefindbyanalyzingit，andasweseeit

objectivelydisplayedineveryproposition，athoughtinvolvesrelation，

difference，likeness。Whateverdoesnotpresenteachofthesedoesnotadmit

ofcognition。AndhencewemaysaythattheUnconditioned，aspresentingnoneofthem，istreblyunthinkable。§25。Fromyetanotherpointofviewwemaydiscernthesamegreat

truth。If，insteadofexaminingourintellectualpowersdirectlyasdisplayed

intheactofthought，orindirectlyasdisplayedinthoughtwhenexpressed

bywords，welookattheconnexionbetweenthemindandtheworld，alike

conclusionisforcedonus。TheverydefinitionofLife，phenomenallyconsidered，whenreducedtoitsmostabstractshape，disclosesthisultimateimplication。Allvitalactions，considerednotseparatelybutintheirensemble，have

fortheirfinalpurposethebalancingofcertainouterprocessesbycertain

innerprocesses。Thereareexternalforceshavingatendencytobringthe

matterofwhichlivingbodiesconsist，intothatstableequilibriumshown

byinorganicbodies;thereareinternalforcesbywhichthistendencyis

constantlyantagonized;andtheunceasingchangeswhichconstituteLife，

mayberegardedasincidentaltothemaintenanceoftheantagonism。Forinstance，

topreservetheerectposturecertainweightshavetobeneutralizedbycertain

strains:eachlimborotherorgan，gravitatingtotheEarthandpullingdown

thepartstowhichitisattached，hastobepreservedinpositionbythe

tensionofsundrymuscles;or，inotherwords，theforceswhichwouldif

allowedbringthebodytotheground，havetobecounterbalancedbyother

forces。Again，tokeepupthetemperatureataparticularpoint，theexternal

processofradiationandabsorptionofheatbythesurroundingmedium，must

bemetbyacorrespondinginternalprocessofchemicalcombination，whereby

moreheatmaybeevolved;towhichaddthatiffromatmosphericchangesthe

lossbecomesgreaterorless，theproductionmustbecomegreaterorless。Similarlythroughouttheorganicactionsatlarge。Inthelowerkindsoflifetheadjustmentsthusmaintainedaredirect

andsimple;asinaplant，thevitalityofwhichmainlyconsistsinosmotic

andchemicalactionsrespondingtotheco—existenceoflight，heat，water，

andcarbon—dioxidearoundit。Butinanimals，andespeciallyinthehigher

ordersofthem，theadjustmentsbecomeextremelycomplex。Materialsforgrowth

andrepairnotbeing，likethosewhichplantsrequire，everywherepresent，

butbeingwidelydispersedandunderspecialforms，havetobefound，to

besecured，andtobereducedtoafitstateforassimilation。Hencethe

needforlocomotion;hencetheneedforthesenses;hencetheneedforprehensile

anddestructiveappliances;hencetheneedforanelaboratedigestiveapparatus。

Observe，however，thatthesecomplicationsarenothingbutaidstothemaintenance

oftheorganicbalance，inoppositiontothosephysical，chemical，andother

agencieswhichtendtooverturnit。Andobserve，further，thatwhilethese

complicationsaidthisfundamentaladaptationofinnertoouteractions，

theyarethemselvesnothingbutadditionaladaptationsofinnertoouter

actions。Forwhatarethosemovementsbywhichapredatorycreaturepursues

itsprey，orbywhichitspreyseekstoescape，butcertainchangesinthe

organismfittedtomeetcertainchangesinitsenvironment？Whatisthat

operationwhichconstitutestheperceptionofapieceoffood，butaparticular

correlationofnervousmodifications，answeringtoaparticularcorrelation

ofphysicalproperties？Whatisthatprocessbywhichfoodwhenswallowed

ismadefitforassimilation，butasetofmechanicalandchemicalactions

respondingtothemechanicalandchemicalcharactersofthefood？Hence，

whileLifeinitssimplestformisthecorrespondenceofcertaininnerphysico—chemical

actionswithcertainouterphysico—chemicalactions，eachadvancetoahigher

formofLifeconsistsinabetterpreservationofthisprimarycorrespondencebytheestablishmentofothercorrespondences。Sothat，passingoveritsnoumenalnatureofwhichweknownothing，Life

isdefinableasthecontinuousadjustmentofinternalrelationstoexternal

relations。Andwhenwesodefineit，wediscoverthatthephysicalandthe

psychicallifeareequallycomprehendedbythedefinition。Thiswhichwe

callIntelligence，ariseswhentheexternalrelationstowhichtheinternal

onesareadjustedbecomenumerous，complex，andremoteintimeorspace。

EveryadvanceinIntelligenceessentiallyconsistsintheestablishmentof

morevaried，morecomplete，ormoreinvolvedadjustments。Andeventhehighest

generalizationsofscienceconsistofmentalrelationsofco—existenceand

sequence，soco—ordinatedasexactlytotallywithcertainrelationsofco—existence

andsequencethatoccurexternally。Acaterpillar，findingitswayonto

aplanthavingacertainodour，beginstoeat——hasinsideofitanorganic

relationbetweenaparticularimpressionandaparticularsetofactions，

answeringtotherelationoutsideofitbetweenscentandnutriment。The

sparrow，guidedbythemorecomplexcorrelationofimpressionswhichthe

colourform，andmovementsofthecaterpillargaveit，andguidedbyother

correlationswhichmeasurethepositionanddistanceofthecaterpillar，

adjustscertaincorrelatedmuscularmovementssoastoseizethecaterpillar。

throughamuchgreaterdistanceisthehawk，hoveringabove，affectedby

therelationsofshapeandmotionwhichthesparrowpresents;andthemuch

morecomplicatedandprolongedseriesofrelatednervousandmuscularchanges，

gonethroughincorrespondencewiththesparrow\'schangingrelationsofposition，

finallysucceedwhentheyarepreciselyadjustedtothesechangingrelations。

Inthefowler，experiencehasestablishedarelationbetweentheappearance

andflightofahawkandthedestructionofotherbirds，includinggame。

Thereisalsoinhimanestablishedrelationbetweenthosevisualimpressions

answeringtoacertaindistanceinspace，andtherangeofhisgun。Andhe

haslearned，too，whatrelationsofpositionthesightsmustbeartoapoint

somewhatinadvanceoftheflyingbird，beforehecanfirewithsuccess。

Similarlyifwegobacktothemanufactureofthegun。Byrelationsofco—existence

betweencolour，density，andplaceintheearth，aparticularmineralis

knownasonewhichyieldsiron;andtheobtainmentofironfromit，results

whencertaincorrelatedactsofoursareadjustedtocertaincorrelatedaffinities

displayedbyironstone，coal，andlime，atahightemperature。Ifwedescend

yetastepfurther，andaskachemisttoexplaintheexplosionofgunpowder，

orapplytoamathematicianforatheoryofprojectiles，westillfindthat

specialorgeneralrelationsofco—existenceandsequenceamongproperties，

motions，spaces，etc。，arealltheycanteachus。Andlastly，letitbenoted

thatwhatwecalltruthguidingustosuccessfulactionandconsequentmaintenance

oflife，issimplytheaccuratecorrespondenceofsubjectivetoobjective

relations;whileerror，leadingtofailureandthereforetowardsdeath，istheabsenceofsuchaccuratecorrespondence。If，then，Life，asknowablebyus，inclusiveofIntelligenceinitshighest

forms，consistsinthecontinuousadjustmentofinternalrelationstoexternal

relations，therelativecharacterofourknowledgeisnecessarilyimplied。

Thesimplestcognitionbeingtheestablishmentofsomeconnexionbetween

subjectivestates，answeringtosomeconnexionbetweenobjectiveagencies;

andeachsuccessivelymorecomplexcognitionbeingtheestablishmentofsome

moreinvolvedconnexionofsuchstates，answeringtosomemoreinvolvedconnexion

ofsuchagencies;itisclearthattheprocess，nomatterhowfaritbecarried，

canneverbringwithinthereachofIntelligence，eitherthestatesthemselves

ortheagenciesthemselves。Ascertainingwhichthingsoccuralongwithwhich，

andwhatthingsfollowwhat，supposingittobepursuedexhaustivelymust

stillleaveuswithco—existencesandsequencesonly。Ifeveryactofknowing

istheformationofarelationinconsciousnessansweringtoarelationin

theenvironment，thentherelativityofknowledgeisself—evident——becomes

indeedatruism。Thinkingbeingrelationing，nothoughtcaneverexpressmorethanrelations。Andhereletusnotehowthattowhichourintelligenceisconfined，is

thatwithwhichaloneourintelligenceisconcerned。Theknowledgewithin

ourreachistheonlyknowledgethatcanbeofservicetous。Thismaintenance

ofacorrespondencebetweeninternalactionsandexternalactions，merely

requiresthattheagenciesactinguponusshallbeknownintheirco—existences

andsequences，andnotthattheyshallbeknowninthemselves。Ifxandy

aretwouniformlyconnectedpropertiesinsomeouterobject，whileaand

baretheeffectstheyproduceinourconsciousness，thenthesoleneedis

thataandbandtherelationbetweenthem，shallalwaysanswertoxand

yandtherelationbetweenthem。Itmattersnothingtousifaandbare

likexandyornot。Couldtheybeidenticalwiththem，weshouldnotbeonewhitthebetteroff;andtheirtotaldissimilarityisnodisadvantage。DeepdownthenintheverynatureofLife，therelativityofourknowledge

isdiscernible。Theanalysisofvitalactionsingeneral，leadsnotonly

totheconclusionthatthingsinthemselvescannotbeknowntous，butalsototheconclusionthatknowledgeofthem，wereitpossible，wouldbeuseless。§26。Thereremainsthefinalquestion——Whatmustwesayconcerning

thatwhichtranscendsknowledge？Arewetorestwhollyintheconsciousness

ofphenomena？Istheresultofinquirytoexcludeutterlyfromourminds

everythingbuttherelative？ormustwealsobelieveinsomethingbeyondtherelative？Theanswerofpurelogicisheldtobethatbythelimitsofourintelligence

wearerigorouslyconfinedwithintherelative，andthatanythingtranscending

therelativecanbethoughtofasapurenegation，orasanon—existence。

"Theabsoluteisconceivedmerelybyanegationofconceivability"

writesSirWilliamHamilton。"TheAbsoluteandtheInfinite，"says

Mr。Mansel，"arethus，liketheInconceivableandtheImperceptible，

namesindicating，notanobjectofthoughtorofconsciousnessatall，but

themereabsenceoftheconditionsunderwhichconsciousnessispossible。"

Sothatsincereasoncannotwarrantusinaffirmingthepositiveexistence

ofthatwhichiscognizableonlyasanegation，wecannotrationallyaffirmthepositiveexistenceofanythingbeyondphenomena。Unavoidableasthisconclusionseems，itinvolves，Ithink，agraveerror。

Ifthepremissbegrantedtheinferencemustbeadmitted;butthepremiss，

intheformpresentedbySirWilliamHamiltonandMr。Mansel，isnotstrictly

true。Though，intheforegoingpages，theargumentsusedbythesewriters

toshowthattheAbsoluteisunknowable，havebeenapprovinglyquoted;and

thoughtheseargumentshavebeenenforcedbyothersequallythoroughgoing;

yetthereremainstobestatedaqualificationwhichsavesusfromthescepticism

otherwisenecessitated。Itisnottobedeniedthatsolongasweconfine

ourselvestothepurelylogicalaspectofthequestion，thepropositions

quotedabovemustbeacceptedintheirentirety;butwhenwecontemplate

itsmoregeneral，orpsychological，aspect，wefindthatthesepropositions

areimperfectstatementsofthetruth:omitting，orratherexcluding，as

theydo，anall—importantfact。Tospeakspecifically:——Besidesthatdefinite

consciousnessofwhichLogicformulatesthelaws，thereisalsoanindefinite

consciousnesswhichcannotbeformulated。Besidescompletethoughts，and

besidesthethoughtswhichthoughincompleteadmitofcompletion，thereare

thoughtswhichitisimpossibletocomplete;andyetwhicharestillreal，inthesensethattheyarenormalaffectionsoftheintellect。###第7章Observe，inthefirstplace，thateveryoneoftheargumentsbywhich

therelativityofourknowledgeisdemonstrated，distinctlypostulatesthe

positiveexistenceofsomethingbeyondtherelative。Tosaythatwecannot

knowtheAbsolute，is，byimplication，toaffirmthatthereisanAbsolute。

IntheverydenialofourpowertolearnwhattheAbsoluteis，therelies

hiddentheassumptionthatitis;andthemakingofthisassumptionproves

thattheAbsolutehasbeenpresenttothemind，notasanothingbutasa

something。Similarlywitheverystepinthereasoningbywhichthisdoctrine

isupheld。TheNoumenon，everywherenamedastheantithesistothePhenomenon，

isnecessarilythoughtofasanactuality。Itisimpossibletoconceivethat

ourknowledgeisaknowledgeofAppearancesonlywithoutatthesametime

assumingaRealityofwhichtheyareappearances;forappearancewithout

realityisunthinkable。StrikeoutfromtheargumentthetermsUnconditioned，

Infinite，Absolute，andinplaceofthemwrite，"negationofconceivability，"

or"absenceoftheconditionsunderwhichconsciousnessispossible，"

andtheargumentbecomesnonsense。Torealizeinthoughtanyoneofthepropositions

ofwhichtheargumentconsists，theUnconditionedmustberepresentedas

positiveandnotnegative。Howthencanitbealegitimateconclusionfrom

theargument，thatourconsciousnessofitisnegative？Anargumentthevery

constructionofwhichassignstoacertaintermacertainmeaning，butwhich

endsinshowingthatthistermhasnosuchmeaning，issimplyanelaborate

suicide。Clearly，then，theverydemonstrationthatadefiniteconsciousness

oftheAbsoluteisimpossibletous，unavoidablypresupposesanindefiniteconsciousnessofit。Perhapsthebestwayofshowingthatweareobligedtoformapositive

thoughVagueconsciousnessofthiswhichtranscendsdistinctconsciousness，

istoanalyzeourconceptionoftheantithesisbetweenRelativeandAbsolute。

Itisadoctrinecalledinquestionbynone，thatsuchantinomiesofthought

asWholeandPart，EqualandUnequal，SingularandPlural，arenecessarily

conceivedascorrelatives:theconceptionofapartisimpossiblewithout

theconceptionofawhole;therecanbenoideaofequalitywithoutoneof

inequality。Anditisundeniablethatinthesamemanner，theRelativeis

itselfconceivableassuch，onlybyoppositiontotheIrrelativeorAbsolute。

SirWilliamHamilton，however，inhistrenchant（andinmostpartsunanswerable）

criticismonCousin，contends，inconformitywithhispositionabovestated，

thatoneofthesecorrelativesisnothingmorethanthenegationoftheother。

"Correlatives，\'hesays，"certainlysuggesteachother，butcorrelatives

may，ormaynot，beequallyrealandpositive。Inthoughtcontradictories

necessarilyimplyeachother，fortheknowledgeofcontradictoriesisone。

Buttherealityofonecontradictory，sofarfromguaranteeingthereality

oftheother，isnothingelsethanitsnegation。Thuseverypositivenotion

（theconceptofathingbywhatitis）suggestsanegativenotion（theconcept

ofathingbywhatitisnot）;andthehighestpositivenotion，thenotion

oftheconceivable，isnotwithoutitscorrespondingnegativeinthenotion

oftheinconceivable。Butthoughthesemutuallysuggesteachother，thepositive

aloneisreal;thenegativeisonlyanabstractionoftheother，andinthe

highestgenerality，evenanabstractionofthoughtitself。"Nowthe

assertionthatofsuchcontradictories"thenegativeisonlyanabstraction

oftheother"——"isnothingelsethanitsnegation，"——is

nottrue。InsuchcorrelativesasEqualandUnequal，itisobviousenough

thatthenegativeconceptcontainssomethingbesidesthenegationofthe

positiveone;forthethingsofwhichequalityisdeniedarenotabolished

fromconsciousnessbythedenial。AndthefactoverlookedbySirWilliam

Hamiltonis，thatthelikeholdsevenwiththosecorrelativesofwhichthe

negativeisinconceivable，inthestrictsenseoftheword。Takeforexample

theLimitedandtheUnlimited。OurnotionoftheLimitediscomposed，firstly

ofaconsciousnessofsomekindofbeing，andsecondlyofaconsciousness

ofthelimitsunderwhichitisknown。Intheantitheticalnotionofthe

Unlimited，theconsciousnessoflimitsisabolished，butnottheconsciousness

ofsomekindofbeing。Itisquitetruethatintheabsenceofconceived

limits，thisconsciousnessceasestobeaconceptproperlysocalled;but

itisnonethelesstruethatitremainsasamodeofconsciousness。If，

insuchcases，thenegativecontradictorywere，asalleged，"nothing

else"thanthenegationoftheother，andthereforeamerenon—entity

thenitwouldfollowthatnegativecontradictoriescouldbeusedinterchangeably:

theUnlimitedmightbethoughtofasantitheticaltotheDivisible;andthe

IndivisibleasantitheticaltotheLimited。Whilethefactthattheycannot

besoused，provesthatinconsciousnesstheUnlimitedandtheIndivisible

arequalitativelydistinct，andthereforepositiveorreal;sincedistinction

cannotexistbetweennothings。Theerror，（naturallyfallenintobyphilosophers

intentondemonstratingthelimitsandconditionsofconsciousness，）consists

inassumingthatconsciousnesscontainsnothingbutlimitsandconditions;

totheentireneglectofthatwhichislimitedandconditioned。Itisforgotten

thatthereissomethingwhichalikeformstherawmaterialofdefinitethought

andremainsafterthedefinitenesswhichthinkinggaveithasbeendestroyed。

Nowallthisappliesbychangeoftermstothelastandhighestofthese

antinomies——thatbetweentheRelativeandtheNon—relative。Weareconscious

oftheRelativeasexistenceunderconditionsandlimits。Itisimpossible

thattheseconditionsandlimitscanbethoughtofapartfromsomethingto

whichtheygivetheform。Theabstractionoftheseconditionsandlimits

is，bythehypothesis，theabstractionofthemonly。Consequentlytheremust

bearesiduaryconsciousnessofsomethingwhichfilleduptheiroutlines。

AndthisindefinitesomethingconstitutesourconsciousnessoftheNon—relative

orAbsolute。Impossiblethoughitistogivetothisconsciousnessanyqualitative

orquantitativeexpressionwhatever，itisnotthelesscertainthatitremainswithusasapositiveandindestructibleelementofthought。Moremanifeststillwillthistruthbecomewhenitisobservedthatour

conceptionoftheRelativeitselfdisappears\'ifourconsciousnessofthe

Absoluteisapurenegation。Itisadmitted，orratheritiscontended，by

thewritersIhavequotedabove，thatcontradictoriescanbeknownonlyin

relationtoeachother——thatequality，forinstance，isunthinkableapart

fromInequality;andthatthustheRelativecanitselfbeconceivedonly

byoppositiontotheNon—relative。Itisalsoadmitted，orrathercontended，

thattheconsciousnessofarelationimpliesaconsciousnessofboththe

relatedterms。IfwearerequiredtoconceivetherelationbetweentheRelative

andNon—relativewithoutbeingconsciousofboth，"weareinfact"

（toquotethewordsofMr。Manseldifferentlyapplied）"requiredto

comparethatofwhichweareconsciouswiththatofwhichwearenotconscious;

thecomparisonitselfbeinganactofconsciousness，andonlypossiblethrough

theconsciousnessofbothitsobjects。"Whatthenbecomesoftheassertion

that"theAbsoluteisconceivedmerelybyanegationofconceivability，"

oras"themereabsenceoftheconditionsunderwhichconsciousness

ispossible？"IftheNon—relativeorAbsolute，ispresentinthought

onlyasamerenegation，thentherelationbetweenitandtheRelativebecomes

unthinkable，becauseoneofthetermsoftherelationisabsentfromconsciousness。

Andifthisrelationisunthinkable，thenistheRelativeitselfunthinkable，

forwantofitsantithesis:whenceresultsthedisappearanceofallthoughtwhatever。BothSirWilliamHamiltonandMr。Manseldo，inotherplaces，distinctly

implythatourconsciousnessoftheAbsolute，indefinitethoughitis，is

positive。TheverypassageinwhichSirWilliamHamiltonassertsthat"the

absoluteisconceivedmerelybyanegationofconceivability，"itself

endswiththeremarkthat，"byawonderfulrevelationwearethus，in

theveryconsciousnessofourinabilitytoconceiveaughtabovetherelative

andfinite，inspiredwithabeliefintheexistenceofsomethingunconditioned

beyondthesphereofallcomprehensiblereality。"Thelastofthese

assertionspracticallyadmitsthatwhichthefirstdenies。Bythelawsof

thoughtasSirWilliamHamiltoninterpretsthem，hefindshimselfforced

totheconclusionthatourconsciousnessoftheAbsoluteisapurenegation。

Heneverthelessfindsthattheredoesexistinconsciousnessanirresistible

convictionofthereal"existenceofsomethingunconditioned。"

Andhegetsovertheinconsistencybyspeakingofthisconvictionas"a

wonderfulrevelation，""abelief"withwhichweare"inspired:"

thusapparentlyhintingthatitissupernaturallyatvariancewiththelaws

ofthought。Mr。Manselisbetrayedintoalikeinconsistency。Whenhesays

that"wearecompelled，bytheconstitutionofourminds，tobelieve

intheexistenceofanAbsoluteandInfiniteBeing，——abeliefwhichappears

forceduponus，asthecomplementofourconsciousnessoftherelativeand

thefinite;"heclearlysaysbyimplicationthatthisconsciousness

ispositive，andnotnegative。Hetacitlyadmitsthatweareobligedtoregard

theAbsoluteassomethingmorethananegation——thatourconsciousness

ofitisnot"themereabsenceoftheconditionsunderwhichconsciousnessispossible。"Thesupremeimportanceofthisquestionmustbemyapologyfortaxing

thereader\'sattentionalittlefurther，inthehopeofclearinguptheremaining

difficulties。Thenecessarilypositivecharacterofourconsciousnessof

theUnconditioned，which，aswehaveseen，followsfromanultimatelawofthought，willbebetterunderstoodoncontemplatingtheprocessofthought。Oneoftheargumentsusedtoprovetherelativityofourknowledge，is，

thatwecannotconceiveSpaceorTimeaseitherlimitedorunlimited。It

ispointedoutthatwhenweimaginealimit，theresimultaneouslyarises

theconsciousnessofaspaceortimebeyondthelimit。Thisremoterspace

ortime，thoughnotcontemplatedasdefinite，isyetcontemplatedasreal。

Thoughwedonotformofitaconceptionproper，sincewedonotbringit

withinbounds，thereisyetinourmindstheunshapedmaterialofaconception。

SimilarlywithourconsciousnessofCause。Wearenomoreabletoforma

circumscribedideaofCause，thanofSpaceorTime;andweareconsequently

obligedtothinkoftheCausewhichtranscendsthelimitsofourthought

aspositivethoughindefinite。Asonconceivinganyboundedspace，there

arisesanascentconsciousnessofspaceoutsidethebounds;so，whenwethink

ofanydefinitecause，therearisesanascentconsciousnessofacausebehind

it;andintheonecaseasintheother，thisnascentconsciousnessisin

substancelikethatwhichsuggestsit，thoughwithoutform。Themomentum

ofthoughtcarriesusbeyondconditionedexistencetounconditionedexistence;

andthiseverpersistsinusasthebodyofathoughttowhichwecangivenoshape。Henceourfirmbeliefinobjectivereality。Whenwearetaughtthata

pieceofmatter，regardedbyusasexistingexternally，cannotbereally

known，butthatwecanknowonlycertainimpressionsproducedonus，weare

yet，bytherelativityofthought，compelledtothinkoftheseinrelation

toacause——thenotionofarealexistencewhichgeneratedtheseimpressions

becomesnascent。Ifitbeprovedthateverynotionofarealexistencewhich

wecanframe，isinconsistentwithitself——thatmatter，howeverconceived

byus，cannotbematterasitactuallyis，ourconception，thoughtransfigured，

isnotdestroyed:thereremainsthesenseofreality，dissociatedasfar

aspossiblefromthosespecialformsunderwhichitwasbeforerepresented

inthought。ThoughPhilosophycondemnssuccessivelyeachattemptedconception

oftheAbsolute——thoughinobediencetoitwenegative，oneafteranother;

eachideaasitarises;yet，aswecannotexpeltheentirecontentsofconsciousness，

thereeverremainsbehindanelementwhichpassesintonewshapes。Thecontinual

negationofeachparticularformandlimit，simplyresultsinthemoreor

lesscompleteabstractionofallformsandlimits;andsoendsinanindefiniteconsciousnessoftheunformedandunlimited。Andherewecomefacetofacewiththeultimatedifficulty——Howcan

therebeconstitutedaconsciousnessoftheunformedandunlimited，when，

byitsverynature，consciousnessispossibleonlyunderformsandlimits？

Thoughnotdirectlywithdrawnbythewithdrawalofitsconditions，mustnot

therawmaterialofconsciousnessbewithdrawnbyimplication？Mustitnot

vanishwhentheconditionsofitsexistencevanish？Thattheremustbea

solutionofthisdifficultyismanifest;sinceeventhosewhowouldputit

do，asalreadyshown，admitthatwehavesomesuchconsciousness;andthe

solutionappearstobethataboveshadowedforth。Suchconsciousnessisnot，

andcannotbe，constitutedbyanysingleact，butistheproductofmany

mentalacts。Ineachconceptthereisanelementwhichpersists。Itisimpossible

forthiselementtobeabsentfromconsciousness，orforittobepresent

inconsciousnessalone。Eitheralternativeinvolvesunconsciousness——the

onefromwantofthesubstance;theotherfromwantoftheform。Butthe

persistenceofthiselementundersuccessiveconditions，necessitatesasense

ofitasdistinguishedfromtheconditions，andindependentofthem。The

senseofasomethingthatisconditionedineverythoughtcannotbegotrid

of，becausethesomethingcannotbegotridof。Howthenmustthesenseof

thissomethingbeconstituted？Evidentlybycombiningsuccessiveconcepts

deprivedoftheirlimitsandconditions。Weformthisindefinitethought，

asweformmanyofourdefinitethoughts，bythecoalescenceofaseries

ofthoughts。Letmeillustratethis。Alargecomplexobject，havingattributes

toonumeroustoberepresentedatonce，isyettolerablywellconceivedby

theunionofseveralrepresentations，eachstandingforpartofitsattributes。

Onthinkingofapiano，therefirstrisesinimaginationitsouterappearance，

towhichareinstantlyadded（thoughbyseparatementalacts）theideasof

itsremotesideandofitssolidsubstance。Acompleteconception，however，

involvesthestrings，thehammers，thedampers，thepedals;andwhilesuccessively

addingthese，theattributesfirstthoughtoflapsepartiallyorwhollyout

ofconsciousness。Nevertheless，thewholegroupconstitutesarepresentation

ofthepiano。Nowasinthiscaseweformadefiniteconceptofaspecial

existence，byimposinglimitsandconditionsinsuccessiveacts;so，inthe

conversecase，bytakingawaylimitsandconditionsinsuccessiveacts，we

formanindefinitenotionofgeneralexistence。Byfusingaseriesofstates

ofconsciousness，fromeachofwhich，asitarises，thelimitationsandconditions

areabolished，thereisproducedaconsciousnessofsomethingunconditioned。

Tospeakmorerigorously:——thisconsciousnessisnottheabstractofany

onegroupofthoughts，ideas，orconceptions;butitistheabstractofall

thoughts，ideas，orconceptions。Thatwhichiscommontothemallwepredicate

bythewordexistence。Dissociatedasthisbecomesfromeachofitsmodes

bytheperpetualchangeofthosemodes，itremainsasanindefiniteconsciousness

ofsomethingconstantunderallmodes——ofbeingapartfromitsappearances。

Thedistinctionwefeelbetweenspecializedexistencesandgeneralexistence，

isthedistinctionbetweenthatwhichischangeableinusandthatwhich

isunchangeable。ThecontrastbetweentheAbsoluteandtheRelativeinour

minds，isreallythecontrastbetweenthatmentalelementwhichexistsabsolutely，andthosewhichexistrelatively。Sothatthisultimatementalelementisatoncenecessarilyindefinite

andnecessarilyindestructible。Ourconsciousnessoftheunconditionedbeing

literallytheunconditionedconsciousness，orrawmaterialofthoughtto

whichinthinkingwegivedefiniteforms，itfollowsthatanever—present

senseofrealexistenceisthebasisofourintelligence。Aswecaninsuccessive

mentalactsgetridofallparticularconditionsandreplacethembyothers，

butcannotgetridofthatundifferentiatedsubstanceofconsciousnesswhich

isconditionedanewineverythought，thereeverremainswithusasense

ofthatwhichexistspersistentlyandindependentlyofconditions。While

bythelawsofthoughtwearepreventedfromformingaconceptionofabsolute

existence;wearebythelawsofthoughtpreventedfromexcludingtheconsciousness

ofabsoluteexistence:thisconsciousnessbeing，asweheresee，theobverse

ofself—consciousness。Andsincethemeasureofrelativevalidityamongour

beliefs，isthedegreeoftheirpersistenceinoppositiontotheefforts

madetochangethem，itfollowsthatthiswhichpersistsatalltimes，underallcircumstances，hasthehighestvalidityofany。Thepointsinthissomewhattooelaborateargumentarethese:Inthevery

assertionthatallknowledge，properlysocalled，isRelative，thereisinvolved

theassertionthatthereexistsaNon—relative。Ineachstepoftheargument

bywhichthisdoctrineisestablished，thesameassumptionismade。From

thenecessityofthinkinginrelations，itfollowsthattheRelativeisitself

inconceivable，exceptasrelatedtoarealNon—relative。UnlessarealNon—relative

orAbsolutebepostulated，theRelativeitselfbecomesabsolute，andsobrings

theargumenttoacontradiction。Andonwatchingourthoughtswehaveseen

howimpossibleitistogetridoftheconsciousnessofanActualitylying

behindAppearances;andhowfromthisimpossibility，resultsourindestructible

beliefinthatActuality。

Chapter5TheReconcilation§27。Thusdoalllinesofargumentconvergetothesameconclusion。

Thoseimbecilitiesoftheunderstandingwhichdisclosethemselveswhenwe

trytoanswerthehighestquestionsofobjectivescience，subjectivescience

provestobenecessitatedbythelawsofthatunderstanding。Finallywediscover

thatthisconclusionwhich，initsunqualifiedform，seemsopposedtothe

instinctiveconvictionsofmankind，fallsintoharmonywiththemwhenthe

missingqualificationissupplied。Here，then，isthatbasisofagreement

wesetouttoseek。Thisconclusionwhichobjectivescienceillustratesand

subjectivescienceshowstobeunavoidable，——thisconclusionwhichbrings

theresultsofspeculationintoharmonywiththoseofcommonsense;isalso

theconclusionwhichreconcilesReligionwithScience。CommonSenseasserts

theexistenceofareality;ObjectiveScienceprovesthatthisrealitycannot

bewhatwethinkit;SubjectiveScienceshowswhywecannotthinkofitas

itis，andyetarecompelledtothinkofitasexisting;andinthisassertion

ofaRealityutterlyinscrutableinnature，Religionfindsanassertionessentially

coincidingwithherown。Weareobligedtoregardeveryphenomenonasamanifestation

ofsomePowerbywhichweareactedupon;thoughomnipresenceisunthinkable，

yet，asexperiencedisclosesnoboundstothediffusionofphenomena，we

areunabletothinkoflimitstothepresenceofthisPower;whilethecriticisms

ofScienceteachusthatthisPowerisIncomprehensible。Andthisconsciousness

ofanIncomprehensiblePower，calledomnipresentfrominabilitytoassignitslimits，isjustthatconsciousnessonwhichReligiondwells。Tounderstandfullyhowrealisthereconciliationthusreached，itwill

beneedfultolookattherespectiveattitudesthatReligionandSciencehaveallalongmaintainedtowardsthisconclusion。§28。InitsearliestandcrudestformsReligionmanifested，however

vaguelyandinconsistently，anintuitionformingthegermofthishighest

beliefinwhichphilosophiesfinallyunite。Theconsciousnessofamystery

istraceableintherudestghost—theory。Eachhighercreed，rejectingthose

definiteandsimpleinterpretationsofNaturepreviouslygiven，hasbecome

morereligiousbydoingthis。Astheconcreteandconceivableagenciesassigned

asthecausesofthings，havebeenreplacedbyagencieslessconcreteand

conceivable，theelementofmysteryhasnecessarybecomemorepredominant。

Throughallitsphasesthedisappearanceofthosedogmasbywhichthemystery

wasmadeunmysterious，hasformedtheessentialchangedelineatedinreligious

history。AndsoReligionhasbeenapproachingtowardsthatcompleterecognitionofthismysterywhichisitsgoal。ForitsessentiallyvalidbeliefReligionhasconstantlydonebattle。

Grossaswerethedisguisesunderwhichitfirstespousedthisbelief，and

cherishingthisbelief，evenstill，underdisfiguringvestments，ithasnever

ceasedtomaintainanddefendit。ThoughfromagetoageSciencehascontinually

defeateditwherevertheyhavecomeincollision，andhasobligedittorelinquish

oneormoreofitspositions，ithasheldtheremainingoneswithundiminished

tenacity。Aftercriticismhasabolisheditsarguments，therehasstillremained

withittheindestructibleconsciousnessofatruthwhich，howeverfaultythemodeinwhichithadbeenexpressed，isyetatruthbeyondcavil。Butwhilefromthebeginning，Religionhashadtheall—essentialoffice

ofpreventingmenfrombeingwhollyabsorbedintherelativeorimmediate，

andofawakeningthemtoaconsciousnessofsomethingbeyondit，thisoffice

hasbeenbutveryimperfectlydischarged。Initsearlystagestheconsciousness

ofsupernaturebeingsimplytheconsciousnessofnumeroussupernaturalpersons

essentiallyman—like，wasnotfarremovedfromtheordinaryconsciousness。

Asthusconstituted，Religionwasandhaseverbeenmoreorlessirreligious;

andindeedcontinuestobelargelyirreligiousevennow。Inthefirstplace

（restrictingourselvestoReligioninitsmoredevelopedform），ithasall

alongprofessedtohavesomeknowledgeofthatwhichtranscendsknowledge，

andhassocontradicteditsownteachings。Whilewithonebreathithasasserted

thattheCauseofallthingspassesunderstanding，ithas，withthenext

breath，assertedthattheCauseofallthingspossessessuchorsuchattributes

——canbeinsofarunderstood。Inthesecondplace，whileingreatpart

sincereinitsfealtytothegreattruthithashadtouphold，ithasoften

beeninsincere，andconsequentlyirreligious，inmaintainingtheuntenable

doctrinesbywhichithasobscuredthisgreattruth。Eachassertionrespecting

thenature，acts，ormotivesofthatPowerwhichtheUniversemanifeststo

us，hasbeenrepeatedlycalledinquestion，andprovedtobeinconsistent

withitself，orwithaccompanyingassertions。Yeteachofthemhasbeenage

afterageinsistedon。Justasthoughunawarethatitscentralpositionwas

impregnable，Religionhasobstinatelyheldeveryoutpostlongafteritwas

obviouslyindefensible。Andthisintroducesustothethirdandmostserious

formofirreligionwhichReligionhasdisplayed;namely，animperfectbelief

inthatwhichitespeciallyprofessestobelieve。Howtrulyitscentralposition

isimpregnable，Religionhasneveradequatelyrealized。Inthedevoutest

faithaswecommonlyseeit，therelieshiddenacoreofscepticism;