﻿MAR. 
  19, 
  1922 
  troland: 
  psychophysics 
  the 
  key 
  of 
  physics, 
  etc. 
  159 
  

  

  components 
  of 
  the 
  universe, 
  it 
  greatly 
  simplifies 
  its 
  structure. 
  The 
  

   necessity 
  for 
  a 
  principle 
  of 
  this 
  sort 
  operating 
  in 
  the 
  psychical 
  universe 
  

   first 
  appears 
  in 
  a 
  consideration 
  of 
  the 
  relations 
  between 
  so-called 
  

   elementary 
  components 
  of 
  experience 
  — 
  such 
  as 
  any 
  point 
  sensation 
  

   of 
  color 
  — 
  and 
  the 
  corresponding 
  brain 
  components. 
  Although 
  the 
  

   former 
  seem 
  simple 
  the 
  latter 
  must 
  almost 
  certainly 
  be 
  complex. 
  

   There 
  are 
  only 
  two 
  kinds 
  of 
  ultimate 
  physical 
  elements, 
  positive 
  and 
  

   negative 
  electricity, 
  while 
  there 
  are 
  thousands 
  and 
  probably 
  millions 
  

   of 
  qualitatively 
  distinct, 
  irreducible, 
  elements 
  of 
  consciousness. 
  Clearly 
  

   these 
  psychic 
  units 
  cannot 
  correspond 
  to 
  protons 
  and 
  electrons 
  or 
  

   even 
  to 
  specific 
  chemical 
  elements, 
  but 
  must 
  be 
  correlated 
  with 
  molec- 
  

   ular, 
  colloidal, 
  or 
  crystal 
  species. 
  

  

  Here 
  the 
  parallelism 
  of 
  structure 
  between 
  the 
  physical 
  and 
  the 
  

   psychical 
  systems 
  appears 
  to 
  break 
  down 
  ; 
  only 
  in 
  the 
  grosser 
  and 
  more 
  

   disperse 
  organizations 
  of 
  matter 
  can 
  it 
  be 
  conceived 
  to 
  hold 
  at 
  all 
  

   rigidly. 
  Possibly 
  there 
  is 
  some 
  slight 
  degree 
  of 
  structure 
  in 
  so-called 
  

   elementary 
  qualities, 
  but 
  not 
  enough 
  to 
  arouse 
  an 
  analytic 
  judgment. 
  

   At 
  any 
  rate 
  we 
  may 
  suppose 
  that 
  when 
  such 
  qualities 
  decompose, 
  

   as 
  in 
  the 
  analysis 
  of 
  a 
  musical 
  chord 
  or 
  clang, 
  they 
  always 
  yield 
  definite 
  

   end 
  products 
  in 
  a 
  definite 
  structural 
  relation, 
  so 
  that 
  they 
  may 
  always 
  

   be 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  potential 
  structure. 
  Physics 
  derives 
  its 
  physical 
  

   diagrams 
  of 
  the 
  constitution 
  of 
  these 
  finer 
  parts 
  of 
  its 
  universe 
  almost 
  

   entirely 
  from 
  a 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  ways 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  can 
  be 
  formed 
  or 
  the 
  

   manner 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  break 
  down, 
  and 
  hence 
  may 
  be 
  accused 
  of 
  read- 
  

   ing 
  into 
  them 
  an 
  exaggerated 
  structurality. 
  In 
  terms 
  of 
  given 
  exis- 
  

   tence 
  rather 
  than 
  of 
  history 
  or 
  prophecy, 
  however, 
  the 
  translation 
  of 
  

   physical 
  space 
  structures 
  into 
  psychical 
  realities 
  will 
  involve 
  the 
  trans- 
  

   mutation 
  of 
  an 
  increasing 
  fraction 
  of 
  structurality 
  into 
  specific 
  quality, 
  

   as 
  the 
  physical 
  mosaics 
  become 
  more 
  cohesive 
  and 
  in 
  general 
  more 
  

   microscopic. 
  

  

  These 
  considerations 
  indicate 
  that 
  although 
  the 
  technique 
  of 
  physi- 
  

   cal 
  thinking 
  — 
  according 
  to 
  our 
  interpretation 
  — 
  is 
  implicitly 
  aimed 
  

   at 
  a 
  determination 
  of 
  the 
  abstract 
  structure 
  of 
  the 
  psychical 
  universe, 
  

   this 
  technique 
  is 
  not 
  as 
  yet 
  perfectly 
  adapted 
  to 
  that 
  purpose. 
  In 
  

   regard 
  to 
  structure, 
  it 
  overshoots 
  the 
  mark. 
  In 
  other 
  ways, 
  it 
  may 
  

   introduce 
  into 
  the 
  physical 
  scheme 
  of 
  concepts, 
  artif 
  actual 
  terms 
  and 
  

   relationships, 
  which 
  have 
  the 
  same 
  irrelevancy 
  to 
  the 
  real 
  universe 
  

   which 
  the 
  surds 
  and 
  irrational 
  numbers 
  of 
  mathematical 
  technique 
  

   have 
  to 
  the 
  physical 
  scheme 
  by 
  itself. 
  Considerations 
  of 
  this 
  sort 
  

  

  