Ag KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 
calculation, might find that as a result, his respiration and circulation would be 
affected in a certain way, a large secretion would form in his lungs, and that at a 
certain moment, in a fit of coughing, it is calculated that a certain point in one of 
the large blood vessels would be strained a few grains more than it would be able 
to endure, resulting in its rupture. 
In the region over which we have now been traveling, all questions of prob- 
ability have vanished. Everything has become certain. In a world full of such 
minds, many kinds of business——as life insurance—could not be carried on, as 
the individual risks would be perfectly known. 
Our reasoning is all biased on the assumption, that all events, whether in the 
world of matter or of mind, are preceded by events which may be taken as 
direct and adequate causes. Even when a man willfully decides to do an unwise 
and an unreasonable thing, there is a cause for it, and the existence of the effect 
is of itself sufficient evidence of the sufficiency of the cause. ‘That is, there must 
be some reason why a man decides against reason. A rule which seems to be 
quite general is, that in any given case (so far as reasonable motives enter into 
consideration) we decide to do that which we then think will give us on the whole 
most pleasure or least pain, often deciding, however, to give up a greater pleas- 
ure, to be enjoyed only in the future, for a lesser one, to be enjoyed immediately, 
precisely as we sometimes allow a note to be discounted, in order that we may 
realize upon it at once. The actions may in many cases be unaccompanied with 
any elaborate reasoning, and may be without special reference to consequences, 
as when in consequence of previous reasoning of himself, or his ancestors, a man 
may form the /aézt of doing certain things. In such cases the action seems to be 
largely automatic. A man’s ideas of pleasure may be very low and vulgar, he 
may possess very poor judgment, and foolishly discount his happiness for too high 
a per cent., and the question arises then, why is he so? We cannot answer, ex- 
cept in general terms. He has inherited certain peculiarities, certain tendencies. 
He may have been placed in surroundings not favorable to mental and moral 
growth, and one of these inherited peculiarities may be the lack of a deszre to cul_ 
tivate his finer feelings, just as others may evince a lack of desire to cultivate | 
mathematics, or music, or chemistry. Even when placed under the most 
favorable auspices, the mathematician, the musician, the chemist or the moralist, _ 
fail to arouse in him the least sign of appreciation. The lack of appreciation 1s | 
fatal to success in mathematics; why should it not be equally fatal in morals? | 
Precisely what it is that such men lack, whether it be merely a matter of nerve | 
tissue, or whether something infinitely deeper is involved, is a problem, the com- | 
plete solution of which is merely a matter of ability. | 
The fact that our most earnest thinkers on such subjects come to such widely | 
different conclusions, makes it probable that we are all incapable of dealing with 
the subject in any exact manner. Whatever we may think of ourselves, and our | 
reasonings, we are probably all one-sided, and take altogether narrow and incom- | 
plete views of the subject. 
