66o NATURAL SCIENCE. j,^,... 



of the pipe as a mental product : the latter belonging to the 

 subjective sphere. In the more extended sense an object is that which 

 is in the focus of the mind's eye. My pipe is an object of perception, 

 in the focus of the organic visual sense. Molecular vibrations are 

 objects of conception in the focus of the eye of thought. Both 

 are objects-in-consciousness, and both are equally real. Physical 

 science, then, takes up the objective side (in the narrower sense) of the 

 fundamental fact of experience, and endeavours to explain it in terms 

 of other objects-in-consciousness, such as modes of energy. 



Psychology, on the other hand, takes up the subjective side of 

 the basal fact of experience, namely, the consciousness-of-the-object. 

 It explains the existence of the pipe in terms of perceptions, impres- 

 sions and ideas, sensations, and so forth. It may thus reach the 

 conclusion that my pipe is what I have elsewhere termed a " con- 

 struct," and that the mind has, at the bidding of an external stimulus, 

 the power of building up the results of previous experience into 

 that particular object-in-consciousness. But it can never shake 

 consciousness free of the object-in-consciousness. Inseparably given 

 in the simplest observation of daily life, they remain inseparably 

 united throughout the whole range of knowable existence. 



This may be enforced by an analogy which is somewhat more 

 than an analogy. Let consciousness be represented by the visual 

 sense, and the object-in-consciousness by the light waves which stimu- 

 late it. For clear vision, there are required not only a highly-developed 

 organ of vision, but also a well-illuminated object in the focus of 

 vision ; and for any vision at all, however elementary vague or dull, 

 both factors must co-operate. There must be some sort of visual 

 sense, however rudimentary, and some sort of light stimulation, 

 however indefinite. So, too, for consciousness there must be some form 

 of sentience, however rudimentary, and some sort of object, how- 

 ever indefinite. Consciousness without an object is a metaphysical 

 abstraction. And psychology, when it takes up the subject-side of 

 the fundamental fact of experience, and endeavours to explain it in 

 terms of those objects-in-consciousness which we call perceptions, 

 sensations, and the like, does not attempt to tell us anything about 

 consciousness out of relation to objects. 



Now there are certain people called metaphysicians, who try to 

 get beyond the bounds of this inevitable relationship. On the one 

 hand there are some who say that objectixe matter or energy exists 

 as such independently of consciousness. On the other hand, there 

 are others who say that subjective consciousness or mind-stuff has 

 this independent existence ; and the exasperatingly confusing thing 

 is, that these people must needs apply the term yeal in a new sense 

 to these most unreal of all abstractions. Dr. Johnstone Stoney has 

 suggested in place of the word real in this unnatural sense the word 

 antic ; and it would be a great blessing if his suggestion were gene- 

 rally adopted. Aulic existences are called noumena as opposed to 



