EVOLUTION THE MASTER-KEY 



Admitting this, it is possible to explain what 

 appears to be a difficulty of determinism. In 

 argument the other day a friend insisted upon 

 the fact that, though men of science deny the 

 freedom of the will, yet they admit the existence 

 of a something which they see to vary in different 

 individuals. A lunatic has volition; in a lucid 

 interval he has volition, but when he is insane we 

 recognize that his actions are &quot;impulsive,&quot; while 

 during sanity they are rational. Insane, he is 

 enslaved; sane, is he not free? If, then, there is a 

 power of choice which varies in different persons 

 or in the same person at different times, how can 

 we defend determinism ? 



The difficulty vanishes when we appreciate the 

 conception of reason as the pilot. Sane and in 

 sane alike are subject to the gusts of passion- 

 gusts which no pilot reason can abate ; they do not 

 own his jurisdiction. The reason does not furnish 

 motives. But the rational man has a remote 

 objective for which he steers; and, though his 

 reason cannot drive him thither, it can direct the 

 forces that do drive him. The image is not per 

 fect, but it may serve to illustrate the point that 

 the function of reason is directive and not motor. 

 The dictates of reason are not dictates in the sense 

 that a gale is dictator; they are dictates as to the 

 way in which to ride the gale. In any case I want 

 happiness whether by self-seeking or serving 

 others matters not and my reason, which docs 

 not furnish my desire for happiness, fulfils the 



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