142 T lie Study of ^ Animal Life PART n 



Lastly, let it be carefully observed, such a belief as this 

 as to the origin of life, and of the basis of all life in chemical 

 processes, carries with it no necessary adherence to the 

 doctrines of Materialism. The materialist analyses the 

 whole objective world of phenomena into matter and motion. 

 So far, his conclusion is perfectly legitimate ; but when he 

 maintains that matter and motion are the only realities of 

 the world, he is making an unwarrantable assumption. 

 Matter in motion is accompanied by consciousness in our- 

 selves. We infer a similar consciousness in creatures like 

 ourselves. As the movements and the matter differ from 

 those that occur within our body, so will the accompanying 

 consciousness. The simplest state of affairs or " body " 

 we can imagine is that of a gas such as hydrogen. But 

 such a simple state of matter may have its accompanying 

 consciousness, as different from ours as is the structure of 

 our bodies from that of a hydrogen molecule. This is, of 

 course, also an assumption, but it is one that harmonises 

 with the facts of experience. 



The opposite extreme to Materialism is Idealism, and in 

 this school of philosophy an assumption precisely similar, 

 and exactly opposite to that of Materialism, is made. The 

 idealist says the objective world of phenomena has no exist- 

 ence at all, it is the creation of mind. An objection to 

 such a theory lies in the question, If matter and energy are 

 the creation of mind, how is it that we find them to be 

 indestructible ? 



Popular philosophy has made an assumption which lies 

 midway between these extremes. It postulates two reali- 

 ties, matter and spirit, having little effect upon one another, 

 but acting harmoniously together. 



But the view that is here set forth postulates neither 

 matter nor spirit, but an entity which is known objectively 

 as matter and energy, and subjectively as consciousness. 

 This philosophy goes by the name of Monism. The term 

 consciousness is used for lack of any other to express the 

 constant subjective reality. Carefully speaking, it is, of 

 course, only the more complex subjective processes that 

 form consciousness. 



