DISCOVERY 



in the realm of mind takes place, according to our 

 author, by taking constant heed, on the one hand, 

 of the play of external forces upon man, and, on the 

 other, by taking heed of what actually occurs within 

 the various forces of the mind itself. The world and 

 we ourselves have to be taken into account before a 

 satisfactory meaning and value can be given to human 

 personality. Any new light cast on the working of 

 the forces of the mind contributes as actual a dis- 

 covery as the observation of a new star or the be- 

 haviour of a new kind of insect-life hitherto unex- 

 plored. Let ns, then, see what light Bergson has cast 

 on man in his relationship to the universe and to life. 



The Universe and Life in Relation to Man 



He points out that it is absolutely impossible to 

 interpret the physical univer.se from the old material- 

 istic point of view. It is impossible here to describe 

 all the evidence of this which Bergson shows to be 

 present in his explanation of the physical universe- 

 He takes matter as something which would have re- 

 mained eternally stagnant, unchangeable, had it not 

 been that there was some other element present 

 besides a material one, an element which was working 

 upon matter, compelling it to undergo the myriad 

 transformations which have taken place on the face 

 of this earth. This other element is spirit or life. 

 It is the actual work of this higher element which has 

 compelled matter to bend and change into the various 

 forms which we perceive in the physical universe. 

 Ostwald, the great chemist, states something similar 

 with regard to his conception of energy. Had it not 

 been for the presence of energy as the vehicle of 

 matter, no evolutionary process would have happened. 

 We are, then, warranted in holding that from the very 

 constitution of the physical universe there have been 

 present from the beginning (if there ever was a begin- 

 ning) two elements, matter and life. Bergson has 

 not as yet spoken of this element, life, in a religious 

 sense, but his results lead to the conclusion that 

 whatever comes out in the phj'sical world must have 

 been caused by something akin to itself, eternally 

 present and active. Here we seem to be on the level 

 of something like a religious idealism in our scientific 

 conception of the universe. 



When we pass from his conception of the relation of 

 matter and life to his conception of the origin of life 

 itself, we come face to face with results strikingly 

 similar. He is aware that mechanical and biochemical 

 elements play a very important part in all forms of 

 life, but he would dissent entirely from every attempt 

 made to reduce life to these material elements. In- 

 deed, he would go so far as to say that everything 

 that changes must be more than material. We have 

 already seen that Bergson conceives matter as re- 



maining for ever the same unless life works upon it. 

 Once life starts working upon matter, transformations 

 immediately begin to appear ; and if the work con- 

 tinues, matter rises by means of this work of life to 

 ever higher levels on the ladder of existence. Years 

 of investigation in the realm of biologj' had led Berg- 

 son to this conclusion, which is in harmony with that 

 of a largo number of the most prominent biologists in 

 all the countries of the world. Life can only be truly 

 interpreted in the terms of life itelf. Bergson here 

 again is insistent on the fact that in every form of 

 life there is present an element higher in its nature 

 than the material, chemical combinations which we 

 find present. The latter are present certainly, but 

 nothing less than life itself, by means of its own in- 

 herent nature, is capable of enabling these elements 

 to work, and of directing matter along certain definite 

 courses — " first the blade, then the ear, and then the 

 full corn in the ear." 



Instinct and Intelligence 



Perhaps one of the most important contributions 

 to knowledge which Bergson has made is that which 

 relates to instinct. The origin oi this he traces to 

 the workings of the element termed life. In his book 

 on Creative Evolution the workings of this unexplain- 

 able capacity are delineated with a master's hand. 

 The animal has remained at this level of instinct. But 

 it is a level not to be disparaged. The animals, the 

 birds, and the insects are superior to us in many 

 important ways. This fact came vividly to my mind 

 m crossing the English Channel during the month of 

 August of this year. The small boat behaved badly 

 on the choppy sea. Practically all the passengers 

 were wet through with sea-water, and the strong wind 

 made progress difficult. But the gulls were flying 

 around us and, as it seemed to me, thoroughly enjoy- 

 ing the elements and smiling on man's clumsiness and 

 helplessness. We could not fly, and were at the mercy 

 of a poor boat. Bergson shows how at a high stage 

 in the evolutionary process a tremendous change took 

 place. Prior to this change every living thing on the 

 face of the earth lived on its ready-made capacity — 

 instinct. Very probably this ready-made capacity 

 has been gradually weakening in some of the higher 

 apes, who may have found their food without having 

 to call into activity much of the ready-made capacity, 

 since a few rough natural tools enabled them to secure 

 what they required. In any case, intelligence came 

 into the world, and the two forms of life separated and 

 have remained separate ever since. The animal 

 continued to live on its instinct ; man began to live 

 by his intelligence. This intelligence became the 

 power of creating tools for man's needs. He had now 

 lost a great deal of his instincts, and was forced to 



