Part 6

Gesammte Abhandlungen zu wissenschaftlicher Medicin s. 25.

One of the leaders of scientific thought in this country tells us that "Life is composed of ordinary matter, differing from it only in the manner in which its atoms are aggregated," and it has been gravely stated that the production of man in the chemist's retort may be recorded as one of the future discoveries of the age!

A clever French writer, commenting on these purely hypothetical statements of the "mechanistic school," makes the following appropriate remarks--

"Quand on nous dit que l'organisme des êtres vivants n'est qu'un laboratoire où tout se passe en combinaisons et en compositions des éléments matériels primitifs, on oublie que ce laboratoire est habité par un hôte intime, le principe vital qui ne fait qu'un avec les éléments en fusion. Ici la combinaison chimique ne se fait pas toute seule; elle s'opère sous l'action d'une cause qui en transforme les éléments de façon à en faire un produit d ordre nouveau qui s'appelle la vie."--"La Vie et la Matière," par E. Vacherot, Revue des Deux Mondes," 1878.

In an original and very remarkable essay, entitled "The Brain not the Sole Organ of the Mind," Dr. Hammond, of New York, says, "There is no exception to the law that mental development is in direct proportion to the amount of grey matter entering into the composition of the nervous system of any animal of any kind whatever; and that in estimating mental power, we should be influenced by the absolute and relative quantity of grey nerve tissue, in which respect we shall find man stands pre-eminent, although, as we have already seen, his brain, as a whole, is relatively much smaller than that of many other animals; and it is to this preponderance of grey matter that Man owes the great mental development which places him so far above all other living beings. As this grey tissue is not confined to the brain, but a large proportion of it is found in the ganglia of the sympathetic and some other nerves, and as an amount second only to that of the brain in quantity--and, indeed, in some animals larger--is present as an integral constituent of the spinal cord, Dr. Hammond infers, and he cites numerous experiments in support of this inference, that mental power must be conceded to the spinal cord, and that the brain can no longer be considered as the sole organ of the mind."

"The Physical Basis of Mind." Page 441.

The late Bishop of Carlisle illustrates the independence of the Ego, by an allusion to moral feelings. "A murderer," he says, "is convicted twenty years after the offence had been committed, or he gives himself up after so many years, because his memory and his conscience make his life miserable. He has no doubt as to the fact that the person who did the deed of darkness years ago, is the same person as he who feels the pangs of remorse to-day. Every material particle in his body may have changed since then, but there is a continuity in his spiritual being out of which he cannot be argued, even if any ingenious sophist should attempt the task."--Nineteenth Century, March, 1880, p. 510.

To those who may wish to pursue this subject further, I recommend a perusal of an essay on "Materialistic Physiology," in the Journal of Psychological Medicine for April, 1877. In this article, the writer, Dr. Winn, seems to share my views as to the paramount importance of boldly facing this matter, when he says--

"The unphilosophical and extravagant dogma, that matter can think, is now so loudly and confidently asserted, and so widely spread by a numerous class of medical men and physiologists, both in this country and abroad, that the time has arrived when a doctrine so fallacious, and so fraught with danger to the best interests of society, should be fairly and carefully scrutinised. It is not by mere assertion, or the use of obscure and pedantic language, that such a theory can be established; and if it can be shown that the arguments on which it is based are shallow and speculative, words can scarcely be found too strong to censure the recklessness and folly of those who promulgate views so subversive of all morality and religion.

"The physicists have utterly failed to establish their position. They were asked to prove by inductive reasoning the truth of their theory, that the universe is the mere outcome of molecular force, and their defence has been clearly proved to be of the most evasive and inconclusive character.

"The doctrines of the modern school of materialistic physiology are permeating all classes of society, and it is these doctrines, based on the assumption that mind is a mere function of the brain--an assumption that, if true, would reduce man to the level of the beasts that perish--that we are offered as a substitute for the belief in the immateriality of the mind."

The essay from which the above quotations are taken is full of sound and logical reasoning, and the writer's position is not supported by mere theoretical statements, but by arguments drawn from well-accredited facts in anatomy and physiology.

THE PNEUMA, OR SPIRITUAL ATTRIBUTE OF THE IDIOT.

Ὁ δε νους εοικεν εγγινεσθαι ουσια τις ουσα, και ου φθειρεσθαι.

Aristot. De Anima, I. 4.

Inasmuch as the instrument by which the manifestation of mind is alone possible is undoubtedly damaged in idiots, they were formerly supposed not to belong to the human family, and their place in the order of creation was disputed. All admitted that they had the σωμα, or material part of our nature; they also conceded to them the ψυχη, or principle of animal life, but they considered that the πνευμα, or spirit of immortal life--that which essentially differentiates man from the brute--was absent in the idiot. This idea seemed to have been entertained by a great theologian of the 16th century, who, on being asked by a father what he was to do with his idiot boy, replied that the child might be drowned as he possessed no soul! Times are happily changed. We don't admit the lawfulness of drowning idiots in these days, but we teach them to swim against the adverse currents to which they are exposed; we buoy them up on the tempestuous waves of life; we pilot them through the rocks and shoals of their ill-starred career till their chequered race is run, and they are safely landed in the haven of everlasting rest.

Not only in the 16th century, but certain philosophers of a later date have questioned the idiot's place in creation, and have disputed his right to be classed among the human family; and some scientists--believers in the so-called doctrine of Evolution, as applied to the Descent of Man--have gone so far as to pretend that the brain of the microcephalic idiot is so far removed from the human type, as to constitute him a connecting link between man and the anthropoid apes! Now, the interesting results of our training institutions, showing the capacity for progressive improvement which exists in the idiot, gives the lie to this absurd and purely sensational hypothesis.

Here let me add that I strongly deprecate introducing the odium theologicum into the discussion of this subject, being fully conscious of the futility of attempting to check an unwelcome or distasteful theory by means of ecclesiastical censures; and I further admit that in anything like a scientific demonstration of truth, an appeal to the affections would be absurdly out of place. Moreover, I should not reject the Darwinian theory from any sensational notion that its adoption was derogatory to Man's dignity, and I fully echo the sentiment of the naturalist who said that he would prefer being descended from a good honest monkey, than to be obliged to avow himself the offspring of certain fanatical enemies of scientific knowledge and progress; but I do complain of the tendency of the present day to accept new ideas without knowing or caring how to sift them. Everything is hypothetical, and allowed to enter the mind through the ivory gate of fancy; and on purely hypothetical premises, an attempt is made to found conclusive arguments. Strip the assertions of all their vagueness and superficial varnish, and reduce them to a skeleton of logical statement, and we shall see how much is assumed and how little is proved; and we shall find that we are asked to accept a chain of hypotheses, as if it were an induction founded on ascertained and indisputable facts. In thus expressing myself, I wish to add that the ultimate goal of the scientist is the establishment of truth, and I should as soon attempt to stop the progress of the avalanche that has become dislodged from the mountain top, as to try to bar the path of scientific progress, or to extinguish the torch of discovery. The tide of scientific truth will continue to flow on in spite of the modern Canutes, who may utter from time to time their imperial commands to stay its course. Magna est veritas et prevalebit.

The supporters of evolution base their arguments upon the remarkable resemblance between the brain of man and that of certain other animals. Now, I admit this striking analogy; I admit that every chief fissure and fold in the brain of man has its counterpart in that of the gorilla and the ourang-outang; and I am not prepared to deny the statement, that as far as the organ of intelligence is concerned, there is no very striking physical difference between him who weighs the stars and makes the light tell its secrets as to the constitution of distant worlds, and the howling senseless brute, who lives merely to satisfy his animal appetites. All animals of the vertebrate type are constructed on a plan which is essentially similar, not only as regards their skeleton, but as regards their brain. I don't deny that man is an animal, and that he has the essential properties of a highly organised one; but what I do maintain is, that the brain, after all, is merely an instrument by which the high psychological attributes peculiar to man become externally manifested. Thought is not phosphorus, as some would have us believe; the human mind is not the result of a mere molecular arrangement of cerebral matter. There is something over and above all this, and the very resemblance of man's physical nature to that of some members of the brute creation, proves beyond all doubt that his superiority to them is hyperphysical, and I fully endorse Mr. Froude's philosophical remarks, when he says, "It is nothing to me how the Maker of me has been pleased to construct the organised substance which I call my body. It is mine, but it is not I. The νους, the intellectual spirit, being an ουσια--an essence--I believe to be an imperishable something which has been engendered in me from another source." The unhappy idiot, that stricken member of our race, possesses the tripartite nature of man--for he has not only the σωμα or material part, and the ψυχη or principle of animal life, but he also undoubtedly possesses the πνευμα or principle of immortal life.

The above statement could be amply borne out by a reference to cases which have been observed in idiot asylums. I will, however, mention but three:--An idiot boy has been known to retire alone, when there was a thunderstorm, to ask God to take care of his father, who was a sailor. A former superintendent of our Asylum, the late Mr. Millard, noticed one of the inmates praying in private, and on saying to the boy, "God hears prayer," he quietly observed, "Yes, and answers it, too." A little boy in the Massachussetts Asylum for Idiots was in declining health, and became, during his dying illness, an object of great interest to the matron and attendants. Unbidden, he said his prayers frequently, and putting up his little hand, he muttered, "Me want to go up! me want to go up!" Surely he was thinking of some sort of hereafter, because he added distinctly, "They'll say, here comes one of the boys from the Boston School for Idiots." The approach of death seemed to awaken his spiritual life; out of the decaying body appeared to rise the growing soul, for, after repeating the verse of a hymn, the spirit of this simple child became liberated from its earthly tenement--its material habitat--the connection between matter and mind was severed, and, to use the touching language of his biographer, "this poor little idiot boy bade a long adieu to his sorrowing friends, and doubtless there was then joy in heaven, as the recording angel wrote in the Book of Life the name of George Tobey."

In an interesting essay published many years ago, entitled, "A Morning at Essex Hall, Colchester," its author, the Rev. Edwin Sidney, in describing his visit to the Asylum, remarked that, "The conduct of those who go to Church on Sunday is very decorous. One of the most cheering things in connection with these objects of benevolent solicitude, is the capability some of them manifest in receiving and being comforted by religion. There are amongst them instances of high conscientiousness and piety, which might be examples to such as are gifted with unimpaired faculties."

If any apology be due for pointing out how the mysterious connection between mind and matter may be illustrated by a study of idiocy, I will observe that the subject is of such absorbing interest that it is well that it should occasionally be removed from the heated arena of biological bias, into the calmer and more judicial atmosphere of the class of readers who may be interested in the important subject I am endeavouring to elucidate.

FOOTNOTES:

I strongly deprecate, as lamentably wrong and needless, the violent language sometimes used by writers on both sides of this great controversy of the origin of man. If the odium theologicum may have inspired some of the opponents of evolution, it is undeniable that there is strong evidence of an odium antitheologicum amongst not a few of the supporters of this doctrine, who indulge in abusive epithets, launching into personalities of a most objectionable kind; for instance, we are informed that "orthodoxy is the Bourbon of the world of thought; it learns not, neither can it forget." Now I protest against the attempt to obscure argument by appeals to the passions and to prejudice. Science and Theology should not be regarded as two opposing citadels, frowning defiance upon each other, but their votaries should look upon each other as co-labourers in the cause of truth, and they should welcome light and knowledge from whatever quarter it may come, being fully convinced that all systems and theories irreconcilable with truth, are built upon the sand, and must ultimately be swept away.

One of our popular novelists, Sir Walter Besant, has philosophically said, "there is between the condition of Man and the Brute an interdependence which cannot but be recognised by every physician. So greatly has this connection affected some of the modern physicians, as to cause doubt in their minds whether there be any life at all hereafter; or if when the pulse ceases to beat, the whole man should become a dead and senseless lump of clay. In this they confuse the immortal soul with the perishable instruments of brain and body, through which in life it manifests its being and betrays its true nature, whether of good or evil."--Faith and Freedom.

Cases like this would seem to illustrate the truth of the statement of that great philosopher, Sir Thomas Browne, when he says, "Thus it is observed that men sometimes, upon the hour of their departure, do speak and reason about themselves. For then the soul, being more freed from the ligaments of the body, begins to reason like herself, and to discourse in a strain above mortality."--Religio Medici, p. 208.

TREATMENT AND RESULTS.

"Distinguish'd link in being's endless chain, Midway from nothing to the Deity. Though sully'd and dishonour'd, still divine, An heir of glory, a frail child of dust. Helpless immortal!"--Young.