Fundamental Philosophy, Vol. 2 (of 2)Balmes, Jaime Luciano
Philosophy
Fundamental Philosophy, Vol. 2 (of 2)
Balmes, Jaime Luciano
Philosophy, Spanish
75. If you say that each of the substances contains the representations
of the three things, we shall have three judgments, and there will
not be one thinking being, but three. Besides, either of the three
substances A, B, C, is composed of others, or it is not. If it is
not, is simple, and we have a simple and perceptive substance, why
then suppose three when one is enough? If it is composed of others,
the difficulty is increased; for supposing A to be formed of two
substances, which we may call _m_, _n_; the representation of metal
which was in A will be distributed between _m_ and _n_, in which case,
far from obtaining a judgment, we should not even have a subject; for
it would not be possible to form the representation of metal, supposing
it to be divided between _m_ and _n_.
If it is not possible to form a judgment, or even the idea of one term,
it is evident that all reasoning and thought would be impossible; for
reasoning implies a connection of judgments from which it deduces the
conclusion contained in the premises.
76. Acts of the will are also impossible in a composite substance;
there is no will where there is no cognition, and this latter is, as
we have just seen, inseparable from simplicity. But we may extend the
demonstration still further. An act of the will implies an inclination,
tendency, or whatever it may be called, towards an object known. Let us
suppose the two substances A and B to compose a substance which has a
will; and let us suppose all that is necessary for the act of willing
to be divided between them in such manner that the knowledge of the
object willed is in it, and the inclination or tendency in B; I say
such an act or will is absurd. To feel the force of this truth let us
suppose that the act of the will is to be formed of the cognition of
one man, and the inclination of another towards the object known by
the first; the pure cognition of one is not the act of the will, and
the inclination of the other towards an object is impossible unless he
has the cognition of the object towards which he is inclined, because
this is equivalent to supposing a relation without any term to which it
relates. These contradictions must be admitted by every one who denies
the simplicity of the substances which will; for either the inclination
and the cognition must be divided between the parts of the substances,
or all concentrated in one part, and then the others are unnecessary.
Moreover, the substances composing the substance which will are either
simple or composite; if simple, then there are simple substances which
know and will; if composite, each act of the will would be an aggregate
of the action of the parts, and what would an act of the will be which
should consist in an aggregate?
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