The Philosophy of Natural Theology: An Essay in confutation of the scepticism of the present dayJackson, William
Religion
The Philosophy of Natural Theology: An Essay in confutation of the scepticism of the present day
Jackson, William
Natural theology; Religion -- Philosophy; Religion and science
[61] Kitchin. Nov. Org. p. 134. But Mr. Kitchin believes that could
Bacon have witnessed the actual progress of science, it would have
led him to recognize the usefulness of Final Causes, in the field of
physical inquiry, and by way of illustration proceeds to quote "the
famous case of Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood from
the consideration of the Final Causes of the valves in the veins of the
animal body." (Ibid. p. 135.)
[62] Mill's Analysis of the Human Mind. Vol. ii. pp. 310, 11.
[63] In a volume of philosophical Romance some unknown Gulliver
of the 19th century bestows many pages of pleasant satire on the
Utilitarian principle, assumed as a maxim of social life and pushed
to its ultimate conclusions. The author travels into the country of
Nowhere (Erewhon), and learns by personal experience, first in a
prison, and next in the house of a princely swindler Senoj Nosnibor
(_alias_ Jones Robinson) those true laws of Sociology which best
subserve the great final end--the noble object laid down by Mr. Mill.
Ill-health is made criminal. Immorality counts as being out of sorts.
The former is an object of penal justice, the latter of condolence
joined with alterative discipline. The swindler sends for his family
"straightener," and gets well amidst the sympathy of his friends;
the consumptive is condemned to imprisonment and hard labour for the
rest of his miserable days. And this is reasonable in itself, and
justified by the results,--the Erewhonians possess the finest physique
in the world, and rob and embezzle only when they happen to feel
tempted. Our traveller himself, though full of old-fashioned moral
prejudices, becomes convinced by contemplating the great final cause.
"That dislike," he observes, "and even disgust should be felt by the
fortunate for the unfortunate, or at any rate for those who have been
discovered to have met with any of the more serious and less familiar
misfortunes, is not only natural, but desirable for any society,
whether of man or brute: what progress either of body or soul had been
otherwise possible?"--and again, "I write with great diffidence, but
it seems to me that there is no unfairness in punishing people for
their misfortunes or rewarding them for their sheer good luck: it is
the normal condition of human life that this should be done, and no
right-minded person will complain at being subjected to the common
treatment. There is no alternative open to us. It is idle to say that
men are not responsible for their misfortunes. What is responsibility?
Surely to be responsible means to be liable to have to give an answer
should it be demanded, and all things which live are responsible for
their lives and actions, should society see fit to question them
through the mouth of its authorised agent. What is the offence of a
lamb that we should rear it, and tend it, and lull it into security,
for the express purpose of killing it? Its offence is the misfortune
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account