COSMIC PHILOSOPHY 



elusions which philosophy cannot for a moment 

 tolerate, and which are as shocking to science as 

 to religion. 



A still more fatal criticism remains to be 

 made. Considered as a modification of the Car- 

 tesian doctrine, Mr. Adam's theory is entirely 

 illegitimate : it is the product of a gross mis- 

 conception of the Cartesian doctrine. All these 

 causes and effects, so carefully but unskilfully 

 compared by Mr. Adam, are phenomenal ante- 

 cedents and consequents ; and even supposing 

 the universal resemblance of phenomenal causes 

 to phenomenal effects to be fully made out, the 

 anthropomorphic argument is not helped in the 

 least. Until 2i phenomenal effect can be brought 

 into juxtaposition and compared with its noume- 

 nal cause, the argument has no logical validity ; 

 but because of the relativity of all knowledge, 

 this can never be done. To call the First Cause 

 a phenomenon is to make a statement that is 

 self-contradictory ; since phenomena exist only 

 by virtue of their relation to human (or animal) 

 consciousness. The First Cause, being absolute 

 and infinite, is a noumenon, and no amount of 

 resemblance, alleged or proved, between various 

 orders of its phenomenal effects, can bear wit- 

 ness to any resemblance between a phenomenal 

 effect and the noumenal Cause. The pheno- 

 mena of motion, for example, exist as pheno- 

 mena only in so far as they are cognized ; and 

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