THE WONDERS OF LIFE 



phenomenon, but a hyperphysical problem, they leave 

 it and this inconvenient "sensation" outside the range 

 of their researches. This decision is, naturally, very 

 agreeable to the prevalent metaphysics; it has just as 

 much interest in the transcendental character of sensa- 

 tion as in the liberty of the will, and thus the whole of 

 psychology passes from the empirical province of nat- 

 ural science into the mystical province of mental science. 

 For its foundation they then take the "critical theory 

 of knowledge," which ignores the results of the real 

 physiological organs — the senses, nerves, and brain — 

 and draws its "superior wisdom" from the inner mirror- 

 ing of self by the introspective analysis of presentations 

 and their associations. It is extraordinary that even 

 distinguished monistic physiologists suffer themselves 

 to be taken in with this sort of metaphysical jugglery, 

 and dismiss the whole of psychology from their prov- 

 ince ; their psychomonism readmits the soul as a super- 

 natural entity, and delivers it, in contrast with the 

 "world of bodies," from the yoke of the law of sub- 

 stance. 



Impartial reflection on our personal experience during 

 sensation and consciousness will soon convince us that 

 these are two different physiological functions, which are 

 by no means necessarily associated ; and the same may 

 be said of the third principal function of the soul — the 

 will. When we learn an art — for instance, painting or 

 playing the piano — we need months of daily practice in 

 order to become expert at it. In this we experience 

 every day hundreds of thousands of sensations and 

 movements which are learned and repeated with full 

 consciousness. The longer we continue the practice 

 and the more we adapt and accustom ourselves to the 

 function, the easier and less conscious it becomes. And 

 when we have practised the art for some years, we paint 

 our picture or play our piano unconsciously; we think 



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