The Scientific Basis of Morality overlooked. 1 19^ 



MORAL PROGRESS. 



At the present time few competent persons have 

 largely investigated the fundamental relations of 

 morality to Physical Science, consequently moral 

 actions are usually considered not to have a scientific 

 basis, and the doctrine is "still extensively taught that 

 some moral phenomena are essentially supernatural. 



As new scientific knowledge has increased, belief in' 

 witchcraft, sorcery, demonology, exorcism, evil influ- 

 ences and omens, unseen spirits, a God of evil, super- 

 natural and occult powers, supernatural sources of 

 strange diseases, evil presages from comets and 

 eclipses, fetishism, worship of images and of the Sun,, 

 a belief that the Earth is the chief body in the 

 Universe, that man is the "Lord of Creation," &c., &c.,. 

 have largely passed away, and beliefs more consistent 

 with facts and with true inferences drawn from them,, 

 have taken their place. Belief in the supernatural 

 nature of the human will however is still largely 

 retained. A writer on morality, says " In every 

 genuine volitition we have a phenomenon not law- 

 determined, law-regulated, and law-explained."* A 

 popular expositor of religion says "The phenomena 

 of the human soul are essentially different from the 

 phenomena with which the student of science is most 

 familiar, and must be investigated on other principles' 

 and by other methods." "The voluntary activity of 

 man lies beyond the limits of science." " Every 

 language man has ever spoken no matter how per- 



t * "Wish and Will," by L. Turner, M.A. 



