88 



WALTER AUBEEY KIDD, M.D.^ M.R.C.S., F.Z.S., ON 



Scientific Belief. 



The origin of Scientific belief is traced to the Great 

 Postulate of Science, the Uniformity of Nature, which grows 

 in validity with every advance i of knowledge, and which 

 though it is known to be so general, can never be shown to be 

 universal. An important point is brought out in Lecture I, 

 viz., that the process of scientific thought derives its early 

 beginnings and primary sanctions from the exercise of the 

 will. In fact, without these two data, the Human Will and 

 the Uniformity of Nature, Science could not even begin to 

 work, its great superstructure would never begin to be reared. 



Free Will. 



Four lectures are devoted to the " apparent collision " of 

 Eeligion and Science on three matters. Two deal with the 

 apparent collision or conflict of Religion with the doctrine of 

 evolution, one with the doctrine of Free Will, and one with 

 the claim to supernatural power. These three " conflicts " the 

 lectures show to be apparent and not real. Temple maintains 

 that Free Will conflicts profoundly with rash conclusions of 

 Science, and boldly asserts his conviction that the will of man 

 is free, in despite of all the sophistication to which this deep 

 subject has been subjected at the hands of philosophers and 

 metaphysicians, and latterly of scientists. With his usual 

 moderation he reminds us that interference of the human will 

 with phenomena is always possible, but that the more closely 

 it is examined the more rare is found to be its exercise. In 

 connection with the subject of Free Will we are reminded 

 forcibly of the necessity there is for us to have a fixed Nature 

 in order that our self-discipline may be able to act intelligibly 

 on us, and that from this basis each step upward may be 

 secured before another be taken in the moral and religious 

 life, and that attainment of growth by discipline is impossible 

 without fixity in the thing to be disciplined. Here, as in the 

 cases of the other conflicts between Eeligion and Science, 

 opposition of Science to Free Will in man is apparent and not 

 real : he says, " Science asserts that there is evidence to show 

 that an exceedingly large proportion of human action is 

 governed by fixed laws. Eeligion requires us to believe that 

 the will is responsible for all this action, not because it does 

 but because it might interfere. Eevealed religion, indeed, 

 has always based its most earnest exhortation on the reluctance 



