Page:Mind (New Series) Volume 12.djvu/547

 RICHARD B. HALDANE, The Pathway to Reality. 533 "Thought," however strongly it be insisted that these are but names for different " aspects " of one Being ? After all, " aspects " are something, especially from the point of view of a Philosophy in which all differences are resolved into "aspects". Take away " aspects," and you have nothing left but the night in which all cows are black a view of the Universe of which, in spite of all his disclaimers, Mr. Haldane by his constant talk of mere aspects, mere phases, mere stages and the like is constantly reminding us. After all, if you took away all the phases, what would be left of Keality ? That the part is not the whole was known before Hegel, or even before Plato. It was really suspected, in all probability, even " on the banks of the Jordan " (of. p. 123). Doubtless there is a differ- ence between "phases" or 'aspects' and 'parts,' but the distinc- tion should not be used to explain away all real difference in things. The most permanently valuable and original part of Mr. Haldane's book seems to me to be the latter part, dealing with " The Criticism of the Categories ". Here his wide scientific knowledge rare in a philosopher, perfectly amazing in a philoso- pher who is also a K.C. in enormous practice and a leading politician enables him to perform a much-needed task in present- ing the doctrine of an ascending scale of categories in a form adapted to the present state of scientific knowledge. I would particularly call attention to his very careful and sober treatment of final causality in plants and lower animal life : " When we say that life consists of purposive action and development, we do not mean that there is a conscious and purposive application, ab extra, of mechanical force by some independent agency. Such a con- clusion would only signify the re-introduction, under another form, of the old mechanical theory. We mean rather to record that we have observed phenomena which present no analogy to the mechanical or chemical action on each other of independent atoms, and which do present a certain but very limited resemblance to the action of a number of intelligent individuals working together to fulfil a common end " (pp. 243-244). From a merely biological point of view there is much to be said for not raising any further question as to the nature of this " quasi-purposive action " : but can we ignore such questions from the point of view of Metaphysic ? The individual plant surely cannot be allowed more independence than Mr. Haldane will concede even to the individual human soul. It must be admitted that in the plant no less than in mere " matter and motion" the ultimate Eeality is acting. Now to such a thinker as von Hartmann the ultimate Eeality is "unconscious mind " : from his point of view it is reasonable to speak of the plant's pursuit of an end as the work of unconscious mind the one single unconscious mind which is the source of all reality. But Mr. Haldane's ultimate Keality is not unconscious but self- conscious. Why then should he hesitate to say that the action is purposeful? Mr. Haldane will no doubt suspect the intro-