xv PHILOSOPHY AND A FUTURE LIFE 279 



comer, who, for aught we know, might find that, as 

 upon his entry upon this scene, a period of helplessness 

 and dependence analogous to infancy had to be passed 

 through. 



It would seem probable, therefore, that to render 

 communication effective, quite as systematic and sustained 

 an effort would be needed on the other side as is being 

 made by the S.P.R. on this, while the self- regarding 

 motives for making it would be indefinitely less potent. 

 For while each of us ought to have l the strongest personal 

 interest in determining what his prospects may be after 

 death, no such case could be made out for a retrospective 

 interest of the departed in our world. And in their 

 world the prevalent social sentiment might esteem it 

 better to leave us in our present doubt and discourage 

 attempts to pry into the possibilities of communication 

 with another world. That would only be to suppose that 

 their social sentiment is the same as ours. Only it would 

 in their case be more reasonable. For why should they 

 incommode themselves to impart to us a knowledge which 

 each one of us is bound to gather for himself within a 

 few years more? And this suggestion will appear the 

 more probable when we remember that, according to the 

 principle of psychic continuity, the same people will be 

 making the same sentiment in both cases. Nevertheless, 

 it is conceivable that some day a fortunate coincidence 

 of the efforts of an infinitesimal minority on both sides 

 should succeed in establishing spirit-identity and forcing 

 upon the reluctant masses of men the scientific fact of a 

 future life which they did not in the least desire to have 

 so established. Even then, however, we should still be 

 very far from any definite and detailed knowledge of the 

 nature of the future life in itself, the difficulties of trans 

 mitting which would increase enormously in proportion 

 as the dissociation between the two spheres of existence 

 became greater. 



Thus the general upshot of our discussion so far would 



1 I emphasise the ought, for, as a matter of empirical fact, the present 

 number of those who are scientifically interested in the question to the extent of 

 a guinea per annum appears to be about 1400 ! 



