of tlie Evolution Philosoplnj. 9 



with a realistic conception of the external world, nor with 

 the obligation to use and trust those high faculties of 

 intellect and reason Avhieh constitute the distinguishing 

 features of the mind of man — tliat in every de})artment 

 of scientific, historical-and true philosophic investigation, 

 indeed, it is consistent and coincident with the meta-gnos- 

 ticdsm of my friend, Mr. Skilton. * In si:>eaking of indi- 

 vidual opinion as a unit of that "general power which 

 works out social changes," JNlr. Spencer places uppermost 

 as the goal of intelligent tliought and action, a practical 

 rather than a merely speculative purpose — therel)y turn- 

 ing our attention to the field of practical ethics which is 

 involved in the discussion of sociological evolution. To a 

 further consideration of the relations of the evolution 

 philosophy to this topic, foremost at the present day in the 

 arena of discussion and of i)ractical statesmanship, I shall 

 ask your thoughtful attention during the concluding por- 

 tion of my paper. 



What, then, let us ask at the outset, is an Agnostic ? 

 What is philosophical agnosticism ? The word, as is well- 

 known, was first introduced into English usage by Prof. 

 Huxley, and was derived by him from Paul's designation 

 of the "Agnostic" or unknown God, whose altar was 

 established by the pious Athenians. As Prof. Huxley 

 himself describes its meaning and origin, it arose from a 

 conviction produced by his early reading of Sir William 

 Hamilton's essay "On the Thilosophy of the Uncondi- 

 tioned," strengthened by subsequent reflection and the 

 study of Hume and Kant. Of the essay of Sir William 

 Hamilton, Prof. Huxley declares : " It stamped upon my 

 mind the strong conviction that, on even the most solemn 

 and important of questions, men are apt to take cunning 

 phrases for answers ; and that the limitation of our facul- 

 ties, in a great number of cases, renders real answers to 

 those questions not merely actually impossible, but theo- 

 retically inconceivable." f As regards the validity of spec- 

 ulative conclusions, he was therefore forced to adopt the 

 conviction thus stated by Kant in his "Critique of Pure 

 Reason": "The greatest and perhajjs the sole use of all 

 philoso})hy of pure reason is, after all, merely negative, 

 since it serves not as an orginuui for tlie enlargement [of 



*The Evohitioii of Society, Evolution ICssays, pi). Tl'y-'Z'l' . 

 t Christianity anil Agnosticism, lluxlcy-Wace Controversy. 



