THE DOCTRINE OF THE UNKNOWABLE, 431 
If the principal telegraphic line connecting Drontheim to the northern cities 
is not taken into consideration, it is found that a capital of about two millions 
of crowns has been expended for the telegraphic stations, called de pichenis, in 
the fishing districts. The relative importance of this sum can be estimated by 
noticing that the capital which has been used for the establishment of all the tel- 
egraphic stations in Norway, does not exceed 5,300,000 crowns. The expenses 
of the telegraph for fisheries represent, then, more than a third of the capital of 
all the lines. It is unnecessary to say that the receipts of the fishing stations, in 
consequence of the situation of the fishing places, where often few families reside 
long, are far from covering the expenses which the working of the lines involves. 
The cost of establishing and keeping these lines in repair also draws heavily on 
the revenues of the administration of telegraphs in Norway. However, the 
assistance which these stations render is so important, the capital invested in the 
fisheries so considerable, and the benefit afforded to the inhabitants so great, that 
the government finds it to its advantage to aid, as much as possible, the develop- 
ment of this service along the Norwegian coasts. 
Pea SVN awe Pov OS@Ormy: 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE UNKNOWABLE. 
READ BEFORE THE KANSAS CITY ACADEMY OF SCIENCE, SEPTEMBER 28th, 1880. 
BY W. H. MILLER, KANSAS CITY, MO. 
In a previous paper, we examined the ‘‘ Synthetic Philosophy,” of Mr. Her- 
bert Spencer, in its aspects as philosophy, and found fault with it, for its failure to 
make any attempt to explain the ultimate form of being, which it holds to be un- 
knowable ; for its absurdity in explaining the known into the unknowable; for its 
failure to supply certain inductions, which we found to follow necessarily from its 
premises, and which would have explained its unknowable as a personal God; 
and for setting up force as the ultimate form of being, which we found to be but 
that property of being by which it expresses itself in action. We also included 
certain deductions, which, like our inductions, show that this ultimate being is a 
personal God; but, as the philosophy holds that all such deductions are illegiti- 
mate, we propose here to put them to the test of examination, and determine if — 
this is the case. These deductions are denied, not only by this philosophy, but 
by all who adopt it, and by all who accept the modern hypothesis of evolution ; 
for both forbid us to assign any attributes, aspects or qualities whatever to ultimate 
being, upon the basis of which alone it can be held to be unknowable. Whether 
these deductions are legitimate or not, may be shown by a brief reference to the 
necessary conditions of thought. This involves an inquiry concerning these 
