THE BELFAST ADDRESS 199 



By myriad blows (to use a Lucretian phrase) the image 

 and superscription of the external world are stamped as 

 states of consciousness upon the organism, the depth of 

 the impression depending on the number of the blows. 

 When two or more phenomena occur in the environment 

 invariably together, they are stamped to the same depth 

 or to the same relief, and indissolubly connected. And 

 here we come to the threshold of a great question. See- 

 ing that he could in no way rid himself of the conscious- 

 ness of Space and Time, Kant assumed them to be nec- 

 essary "forms of intuition," the molds and shapes into 

 which our intuitions are thrown belonging to ourselves, 

 and without objective existence. With unexpected power 

 and success, Mr. Spencer brings the hereditary experience 

 theory, as he holds it, to bear upon this question. "If 

 there exist certain external relations which are experienced 

 by all organisms at all instants of their waking lives re- 

 lations which are absolutely constant and universal there 

 will be established answering internal relations that are 

 absolutely constant and universal. Such relations we 

 have in those of Space and Time. As the substratum 

 of all other relations of the Non-ego, they must be re- 

 sponded to by conceptions that are the substrata of all 

 other relations in the Ego. Being the constant and infi- 

 nitely repeated elements of thought, they must become the 

 automatic elements of thought the elements of thought 

 which it is impossible to get rid of the 'forms of intui- 

 tion.' " 



Throughout this application and extension of Hartley's 

 and Mill's "Law of Inseparable Association," Mr. Spencer 

 stands upon his own ground, invoking, instead of the ex- 

 periences of the individual, the registered experiences of 



