Page:Truth and Error (1898).djvu/19



On the threshold it is necessary to state certain scientific conclusions which I accept. These are the four great doctrines taught by modern science. I accept the atomic theory that the constitution of bodies is explained as a numerical combination of ultimate smaller particles. I accept the modern doctrine of morphology, that forms in different kinds of bodies exhibit homologies that express degrees of relationship. I accept the modern doctrine of the persistence of motion as the proper explanation of the correlation of forces. I accept the modern doctrine of evolution, that higher bodies are derived from lower. In accepting these doctrines I try to embrace them in all their logical results, some of which may seem strange to my readers. I shall propound the hypothesis that consciousness inheres in the ultimate particle, and attempt to show that it harmonizes the principles of psychology.

The four great doctrines of modern science which I have enumerated were originally guesses, but they have largely been accepted by scientific men because they explain the phenomena of the universe to which they relate. The chaos of scientific phenomena collected in vast catalogues of facts are seen to be explained by these laws.

The chemical theory may be denominated the persistence of units; the morphologic theory the persistence of extensions; the dynamic theory the