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1903.] STONEY—UNIVERSE OF REAL EXISTENCES. 141 
thoughts upon thoughts ; and the laws of averages spoken of above 
in Chapter 18 are part of a much greater group, viz., the Laws of 
Thought in general, which if this view is correct are the real ulti- 
mate laws of the real universe. It will of course be seen that the 
laws of thought here spoken of are different and altogether beyond 
that paltry little group—the laws of human thought—to which they 
stand related much in the same way as does the whole science of 
dynamics to the laws of the movements of a watch. 
Egoistic thoughts, such as those of the human mind, must be 
related in the way that we call being within the same consciousness, 
in order to be able to influence one another. The understanding 
of the steps of a proof by my mind does not produce any percep- 
tion of the truth of the conclusion in another mind. The effect 
and the cause must both be within a group of thoughts that fall 
within one consciousness. Starting from this, and collecting all 
the evidence available, we are ultimately led to the conclusion that 
the Autos, the totality of all thought, is a universal mind, meaning 
by a mind thoughts related to one another in the way that is 
described by saying that they are within one consciousness: This, 
if true, is a very pregnant conclusion, leading on further study to 
very important results. 
Again, the perceptions produced within egoistic minds by sense- 
compelling auta are an exceedingly trifling part of the great march 
of autic events, whence but little would be lost out of the great 
procession if they were discontinued, as would happen if such 
minds as those of men and animals ceased to be produced. 
With them, however, the whole ‘ material’ universe, the great ob- 
jective hypotheton, would come to an end. Similarly, it was cre- 
ated, not at once, but gradually according as the minds that consist 
of egoistic thoughts by degrees acquired the power of transforming 
sensations into perceptions, and the power of synthesizing the per- 
ceptions into the objects of nature. 
Similar reflections meet us at every turn while we are engaged in 
prosecuting the further investigation ; but it would lead us too far 
from the immediate object of our essay to refer further to them in 
this necessarily desultory way. 
The inquiry on which we have had to enter may be approached 
either in the skeptical or in the scientific frame of mind. These 
are not only different but opposed. The motive which rouses the 
scientific man to exertion is his earnest desire for the increase of 
