38 ALFRED T. SCHOFIELD, ESQ., M.D., M.E.C.S.E., ON 



mark which clistinguislies mind from matter is consciousness. Per- 

 haps the learned author has found some other distinction between 

 mind and matter, and will favour ns with what he takes it to 

 be. But all philosophers, from the time of Aristotle, have held 

 consciousness to be the distinguishins^ peculiarity of mind as 

 distinguished from matter. In the different opei-ations of the 

 mind, everything is a form of consciousness. You cannot hare 

 a sensation without being conscious of it, or any kind of feeling, 

 desire, emotion, or sentiment, without being conscious of it. You 

 cannot know a thing without being conscious. To speak of 

 unconscious knowleda;e is nonsense. You cannot will a thino- 

 without being conscious that you are willing it. 



It is frankly admitted by Agno.'^tics, that between unconsciousness 

 and consciousness there is an impassable barrier. Apparently the 

 learned author thinks not. Unconscious mind! What prodnces, 

 if you please, unconscious mind ? The springs of unconscious mind 

 ai'P, however, said to be " heredity, habit, and will." Heredity has 

 been, I think, broadly defined as referring co tendencies only. 

 Have you any mind as long as you have tendencies only ? 



Habit : — In habit, surely Will is much concerned. It requires 

 considerable perseverance, as a rule, to form habit. Surely that 

 is not an unconscious thing. Even if you take the most mechan- 

 ical habit, as it might be called, of putting one foot before another, 

 we have never done that in life yet without being conscious. 



So with taking your breakfast. I never had my breakfast 

 without being conscious of it. What it appears to me is being 

 done is to confound together consciousness and attention. That 

 we do a number of things without particularly attending to them 

 is true. There are many operations of the mind, which we per- 

 form without any special thought, but at the time we perform 

 them we are conscious of performing them ; we may not give 

 them mucli attention, but we are conscious that we are doing 

 them. 



The third spring is Will itself. Will is distinguished from 

 Habit, though I cannot see how there can be habit without will ; 

 but let that pass. Will, surely, is no part of unconscious mind. 

 If Dr. Schofield says it is, it would be very interesting to know 

 the relation of pain to the unconscious mind. 



It appears to me that there is great danger in this doctrine. 

 It has a tendency to take away Will ; to take away the great 



