Scientific basis of Evil. 1 39 



It has led man to consider himself " the Lord of 

 Creation " ; to believe that his volitions are not 

 subject to natural laws &c. : and has given rise to 

 the comparatively narrow-minded idea " the study of 

 mankind is man." The fact that consciousness- 

 frequently misleads men of energetic temperament 

 who feel their energy, indicates its connection with a 

 physical basis. 



Consciousness is also an essential condition of what 

 we term evil. If we define evil as that which produces 

 pain or discomfort in sentient creatures, then evil is 

 that influence only which unpleasantly affects con- 

 sciousness. And if we admit this, then all evil is 

 relative, and there is no absolute evil ; because, if 

 there were no sentient creatures, there would be no 

 evil. It is manifest also, that if the existence of evil 

 is dependent upon that of sentient creatures, and if 

 the existence of such creatures depends upon physical 

 conditions, and upon the operations of the great 

 principles of science, then the existence of evil must 

 itself depend to that extent upon those conditions and 

 principles. What we term Evil, is caused, not only 

 by the actions of man, but also on a large scale by 

 the operation of the simplest forces of matter, in 

 earth-quakes, storms, volcanic outbursts, droughts and 

 famines, pestilences, etc. Evil (as well as good) may 

 therefore be viewed as a result, to some extent, of the 

 operation of the laws of the Universe ; and here again 

 we are compelled to recognise a scientific basis of 

 morality. 



