of the Evolution Plulosojjhy. 15 



ology of a scientific understanding of the nature of sense- 

 perception; there is nothing speculative or metaphysical 

 about it, whatsoever. 



The Materialist's position in philosophy reminds one of 

 certain crude attempts at art, which, ignoring all sense of 

 perspective, and disregarding the beautiful blending of 

 lights and shadows as we see them in tlie natural land- 

 scape, illustrates a sort of sharply-defined wooden realism, 

 which is as distressing to the cultivated eye as it is thor- 

 oughly materialistic in its conception and execution. 



The Ided,list's position, on the contrary, reminds one of 

 an artist who should eschew the use of vulgar material 

 paint, and attempt to dip his pencil in the prismatic hues 

 of the rainbow. Of the two, it must be admitted that the 

 materialistic painter would produce something, though it 

 would not resemble anything that we ever see in Xature ; 

 while the idealist would produce nothing, external to his 

 own imagination.* 



In the language of Professor Fiske : 



" Our conclusion is simply this, that no theory of phe- 

 nomena, external or internal, can be framed without postu- 

 lating an Absolute Existence of which phenomena are the 

 manifestations. And now let us note carefully what 

 follows. We cannot identify this Absolute Existence with 

 Mind, since what we know as Mind is a series of phenom- 

 enal manifestations : it Avas the irrefragable part of Hume's 

 argument that, in the eye of science as in the eye of com- 

 mon sense, Mind means not the occult reality but the group 

 of phenomena which we know as thoughts and feelings. 

 Xor can we identify this Absolute Existence with Matter, 

 since what we know as Matter is a series of phenomenal 

 manifestations; it was the irrefragable part of Berkeley's 

 argument that, in the eye of science as in the eye of com- 

 mon sense. Matter means not the occult reality but the 

 group of sensations which we know as extension, resist- 

 ance, color, etc. Absolute Existence, therefore, the 

 Reality which persists independently of us, and of which 

 Mind and Matter are phenomenal manifestations, cannot 

 be identified either with ]Nrind or with Matter. Thus is Ma- 

 terialism included in the same condemnation with Idealism, "f 



That which the Idealist would produce in his imagination, however, might 

 be infinitely finer than the crude ol)jective production of the Materialist. 



t Cosmic Philoso])hy, Vol. 1. The Evolutionist is justified in affirming "the 

 eternity and uncreatability of matter," which is the datum on which the 



