Page:The Philosophy of Creation.djvu/106

 life. Life can not be defined as the state or changes of matter, for matter has no power in itself to produce the organized state or to effect those changes called life. It is reasoning in a circle to say that life is the change of state of matter and the change of state is life. The definition of life must comprehend the cause of the changes or it is not a definition of life, but only a description of the effects or manifestation of life in nature. But to start our reasoning in agreement, it is necessary to regard life only as a form of activity, as science claims.

To ascertain more about the nature of life let us examine it in the human brain, the highest of material forms. What is the life of the brain, or human life? An answer has been given, its "complex functional activities." But to know what life is, it is necessary to go further than this. What gives the brain its functional activities? What makes it act? Matter can not act unless it is acted upon. A particle of matter can not move except some substance comes in contact with it. It is begging the question to say that life produces the activity of the brain, and that the activity of the brain is life. There is no other