King's Business - 1925-08

August 1925

TH E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S

348

i r Satan’sTriangle: Evolution, Philosophy, Criticism S. J. Bole, P rofessor of Biology, W heaton College, Illinois

Those Christians who w ish to be able to speak intelligently concerning th e theory of evolution w ill b e glad to know th a t it is intended to publish th is series of articles by P rofessor Bole in pam phlet form , fo r w ide distribution. The evolutionists are fond of saying “A ll Scientists believe in th e evolutionary theory,” b u t h ere is a scientist who most assuredly does n o t believe it, and th e re are many others -

to us, is a fact. And such a fact involves in Itself two correlative certainties; the certainty of objects no t our­ selves which cause these appearances; and the certainty of a subject, which is our self, in whom these appearances are caused.” (The A B C of Philosophy, p. 35.) II. F orce o r Energy The old Greeks included motion as well as m atter in th eir thinking. Their explanation of the movement of atoms was th e ir “ eternal falling through infinite space.” They believed th a t thè falling of heavier atoms, upon ligh ter ones, pro­ duced iateral and whirling movements, “ out of which emerge the worlds.” They reasoned in a circle, for they said th a t the cause of motion is other motion. To locate th e cause of motion outside the atom s them ­ selves, scientists in modern times have assumed an ocean of eth er in which and by which the atoms are moved. This only pushes the explanation one step fu rth e r back. We see th a t motion like m atter possesses rhythm and law, b u t what it is and from whence it came is a mystery. In th is second problem, th a t of motion, we are brought as we were in the first problem , th a t of m atter, to th e lim it of our m ental horizon. This hypothetical eth er which fills all space is said to be “ highly refined and sublimated, perfectly ductile, mobile, continuous and elastic, not made up of atoms or particles of any k ind .” The hum an mind cannot follow th is hypothe­ sis. One can’t conceive of a substance w ithout p arts or to be so refined as to perm it the movement of heavenly bodies through it w ithou t friction. Scientists do not tell us how th e motion in th e eth er began. Thus we are led to see th a t w ithout a belief in God m atter and motion are both veiled in mystery. Dr. Joseph M cFarland’s conclusions on these problems are very sane. He w rites as follows: “All th e demonstrations of physics arrive at one conclu­ sion: th a t the universe consists of m a tte r th a t is inde­ structible, controlled by forces th a t are persistent. Beyond this it is not in the power of th e hum an intellect to pen­ etrate. "W e know nothing and probably never can know any­ th ing of th e origin of m a tte r or force, and are obliged to content ourselves) as our antecedents have done, w ith the knowledge th a t both exist,' and th a t we can only recognize the existence of force as it influences m atter, and only know m a tte r as it is affected by force.” (Biology, General and Medical, p. 17) III. The Mind of Man The mind or soul is th a t p art of our being th a t remains unchanged from day to day and from year to year. I t is th a t p a rt of us th a t enables us to know th a t we are the same person not only from week to week bu t from infancy to old age. ■ A ristotle called psychology a “treatise concerning the soul,” bu t since then the content of psychology has been greatly changed. W ith Hume and K ant, “ the noumenal mind disappeared, leaving only phenomenal consciousness.” Still more recently psychology has become a mere study of behaviour. These changes are expressed in a half-serious, half-joking way by Woodworth as follows: “F irs t psychol-

Chapter 4 SOME PROBLEMS OF EVOLUTION I. M atter H ejtjn order th a t we may th ink th rough the subject of H I evolution w e must first solve certain problems. ¡stA Who made the earth and hung it in space? Who as* wound up the forces of n atu re th a t we m ight have mechanical motion, light, heat, sound, and electricity? W hat is m atter and w hat is m ind? Are they separate.o r are they one or are they different aspects of the same thing? W hat are tim e and space? Are they mere creations of the m ind or are they eternal realities? Does a ration al human being have the power o f choice or is th e re a fixed fate which decides all? Is there design or theology in our world and life or do events ju st happen? Are we living in a uni­ verse of law or chance? These are some of th e questions th a t we must decide either by reason or faith before we can fully understand the subject of organic evolution. Here is a piece of g ran ite or a clover blossom. W hat are they? From whence did they come? Did they have a begin­ ning or are they etern al? We say th a t they are m atter. But-what is m atter? W hat is the clover blossom? Philoso­ phy tells us th a t if we take away th e cognizing mind, the size, shape, color, and fragrance of the flower will disappear. The something th a t rem ains is “ unknown and unknow­ able.” Dr. Griffith Thomas states th a t, “All things which unfold themselves to our senses have m a tte r as th e ground out of which they unfold themselves.” Accordingly we may define m atter as th a t something out of which all things come to the cognizing mind. This m aterial background of m a tte r is th e “monad” of Leibnitz, the “ reality ” of H erb art, th e “mona” of Noire, the “ inorganic m a tte r” of Haeckel, the “ etern ity ” of Carlyle, and the “ atom ” and “ electron” of more recent times. We must keep in mind th a t the atom or electron of the physic­ ist is b u t a metaphysical conception. One can not see or touch electrons. There are millions of atoms in a drop of w ater, and thousands of ions in every atom. The existence of atom s and ions are assumed as an hypothetical expla­ nation of m atter. As knowledge has progressed, th é known elements of m atter have increased in numbers and complexity. From the “ a ir” of Anaximenes to th e “ fire, earth , air, and w ater” of Empedocles we have advanced to the ninety-two chemical elements of the present. One of these chemical elements may be changed into another, bu t th e re is always a loss and not a gain in the change. Because m atter is a hypothetical something, a theory, certain philosophers have been led to doubt th e reality of the external world. Their claim is th a t all of our percep­ tions are illusions. M atter to them is the influence of “ cen­ ters of electrical charges” on our sense organs. “This newer theory,” of which we shall speak later, “makes m a tte r to consist of non-m atter in motion.” • Concerning the reality of m atter, Dr. Griffith Thomas states, “th a t we know not and never can know, w hat things th ere are beyond the sphere of sense; bu t it is not tru e th a t we cannot know th a t such things th ere are. For, th a t certain things do appear

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