December 1925
T H E
K I N G ’ S
B U S I N E S S
547
Satan’sTriangle: Evolution, Philosophy and Criticism S. J . Bole, Professor of Biology, Wheaton College, Illinois Chapter 8 SOME PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY
by every quantitative result in the chemical laboratory ( “The Dogma of Evolution,” p. 259). These forces and laws which we do not fully understand bring order into the world. “The monistic philosopher calls this energy or force Nature, or the Great Unknown; the Christian calls it God,” Four Kinds of Energy Not willing to accept any evolutionist’s explanation of the cause or directive power behind the evolutionary pro cess, Professor Osborn has worked out a new hypothesis ( “Origin a n d Evolution of Life,” p. 16).
we define science as “classified knowledge,” then . portion of every text hook in science is seen to >e theory, i.e., philosophy, not science. Such top- 3s as matter, energy, and mind are treated in books on chemistry, physics and psychology. However, the larger part of these topics are philosophy rather than sci ence. We see then that we should seek to know just how
much is fact and how much is theory in our study of any subject. True and False Philosophy There are also two kinds of philosophy, true and false. Professor Pringle-Pattison dis criminates between the two as follows: “A false philosophy fixes its eye on a part only of the ma terial submitted to it, and would explain the whole, there fore, by a principle which is adequate merely to one of its parts or stages; a true philoso phy, on the other hand, is one which ‘sees life steadily and sees it whole’ ” (“The Develop ment from Kant to Hegel,” p. 66 ) . Dr. Leander S. K e y s e r argues somewhat as follows with reference to God, life, or the universe being eternal as a few scientists would claim: Both claim and objections are in the field of philosophy. If the universe were not created but were eternal then it is a closed system and could not evolve, for no new material or force could be added from with out. If God is eternal then He cannot change. Therefore, to
We are glad to announce that the eight articles by Professor Bole which have already appeared in The King’s Business will be included in a book of twenty-eight chapters entitled “ The Modern Triangle” which will soon be off the press and to which Dr. Leander S. Keyser, the eminent educator and author, has written the introduction. Dr. Keyser says: “ Having read this book in manuscript form with much pleasure and profit, I desire to recommend it to others. It is written by a man who is both a Chris tian and a scientist. To my mind, that is a good combination and equipment. Added force is given to the author’s argument by the fact that he himself was once caught in the meshes of the evolutionary theory and was for a time an advocate of it. * * * Pro fessor Bole has given us a good book—one of the best yet published on the anti-evolution side * * which will accomplish much good in setting forth the true doctrine concerning the world of nature—which is God’s world— and which ought to be interpreted rever ently, as under His all-seeing eye. ’’ These are days when Defenders of the Faith need just such a book to strengthen their faith and intensify their zeal in stand ing firm for the Word of God. Order your copy from the Biola Book Room, 536 S. Hope Street, Los Angeles, California.
His new explanation consists of four separate and distinct kinds of energy. His first kind of energy is of the sort that we use in chemistry and physics. Professor More states that the other three have no unit of measure hnd so “m e a n no thing” (Ibid.). Osborn there fore proposes a new mechanistic hypothesis based in a large part on mysterious forces which cannot be known' or measured. Having in mind the last gen eration, Fairbairn w r i t e s : “Men of science became adven turous world-builders; awed us by natural histories of creation, overawed us by visions of our long descent and the easy ele gance with which they could leap the boundary which di vided the organic from the in organic kingdom, and find in matter ‘the promise and the potency of every form and quality of life.’ Their difficul ties and our perplexities began when they tried to define mat ter, or to find it without assum ing the mind it was to explain, or to leave it in any sense the
admit of an evolving life or solar system, one must conclude that they are finite and had a beginning. ( “Contending for the Faith,” pp. 299-230). That we may understand that evolution is a monistic cosmic hypothesis, we should notice that the nebular hypo thesis of Kant and Laplace assumes that atoms have only two properties,— gravitation and inertia. By the laws of physics and experience, this condition makes motion impossible. God or some force would have had to displace one atom at least that motion might have had a beginning. This reasoning makes God necessary and so strikes at the heart of monism. The modern evolutionary writers inform us that evolution is as much a fact as are the universal laws of gravitation and the conservation of matter. Professor More points out that Newton’s law does not hold with reference to the fixed stars and that the conservation of matter is contradicted
matter known to science and yet deduce from it a living and organic Nature” ( “The Philosophy of the Christian Relig ion,” p. 52). What Professor Fairbairn here states is as true today as at any time in the past. Unbridged Gaps Since evolution is an unbroken growth from an ion to mind or soul we might once more call attention to the gaps over which it has not and cannot pass. Suppose we con sider “the mind” briefly: The materialistic psychologist tells us that thinking is the result of a new arrangement of atoms or ions. He tries td> explain that thinking, which is not limited by time and space, is due to physical causes which are limited by both time and space. He uses the word “mind” in connection with both animals and man but with “distinct and different meanings.” (Continued on page 597)
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs