CHAPTEE XIV 



MONISM AND DUALISM 



BY dualism we mean the belief that mind and matter 

 are distinct things, of which either could exist with- 

 out the other. Monism, on the contrary, is the be- 

 lief that there is only one principle in nature, from 

 which all phenomena have been derived. The 

 materialistic monist holds that either matter or 

 energy has produced mind, while the idealistic 

 monist holds that mind has produced matter. But 

 since the middle of last century a new form of belief 

 has sprung up among scientific men, and the "Scien- 

 tific Monist ' ' now says that mind and matter are 

 identical "two sides of the same substance;" 56 

 whatever that may mean. 



If we wish to form definite ideas as to which of 

 these hypotheses has the best claim to be considered 

 true, we must commence with an examination of 

 what is known about matter and mind on the earth , 

 and then compare them. 



Our knowledge of matter. In the first place, then, 

 what do we know about matter and energy? We 

 define matter as the substance of which the universe 



56 Lloyd Morgan, " Animal Life and Intelligence," 2nd ed., 

 p. 468. 



226 



