lecture01-第4章

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favor　of　the　sexual　theory。　　But　the　champions　of　the　latter　will



then　say　that　their　chief　argument　has　no　analogue　elsewhere。　



The　two　main　phenomena　of　religion；　namely；　melancholy　and



conversion；　they　will　say；　are　essentially　phenomena　of



adolescence；　and　therefore　synchronous　with　the　development　of



sexual　life。　　To　which　the　retort　again　is　easy。　　Even　were　the



asserted　synchrony　unrestrictedly　true　as　a　fact　（which　it　is



not）；　it　is　not　only　the　sexual　life；　but　the　entire　higher



mental　life　which　awakens　during　adolescence。　　One　might　then　as



well　set　up　the　thesis　that　the　interest　in　mechanics；　physics；



chemistry；　logic；　philosophy；　and　sociology；　which　springs　up



during　adolescent　years　along　with　that　in　poetry　and　religion；



is　also　a　perversion　of　the　sexual　instinct：but　that　would　be



too　absurd。　　Moreover；　if　the　argument　from　synchrony　is　to



decide；　what　is　to　be　done　with　the　fact　that　the　religious　age



par　excellence　would　seem　to　be　old　age；　when　the　uproar　of　the



sexual　life　is　past？







The　plain　truth　is　that　to　interpret　religion　one　must　in　the　end



look　at　the　immediate　content　of　the　religious　consciousness。　



The　moment　one　does　this；　one　sees　how　wholly　disconnected　it　is



in　the　main　from　the　content　of　the　sexual　consciousness。　



Everything　about　the　two　things　differs；　objects；　moods；



faculties　concerned；　and　acts　impelled　to。　　Any　GENERAL



assimilation　is　simply　impossible：　what　we　find　most　often　is



complete　hostility　and　contrast。　　If　now　the　defenders　of　the



sex…theory　say　that　this　makes　no　difference　to　their　thesis；



that　without　the　chemical　contributions　which　the　sex…organs　make



to　the　blood；　the　brain　would　not　be　nourished　so　as　to　carry　on



religious　activities；　this　final　proposition　may　be　true　or　not



true；　but　at　any　rate　it　has　become　profoundly　uninstructive：　we



can　deduce　no　consequences　from　it　which　help　us　to　interpret



religion's　meaning　or　value。　　In　this　sense　the　religious　life



depends　just　as　much　upon　the　spleen；　the　pancreas；　and　the



kidneys　as　on　the　sexual　apparatus；　and　the　whole　theory　has　lost



its　point　in　evaporating　into　a　vague　general　assertion　of　the



dependence；　SOMEHOW；　of　the　mind　upon　the　body。







We　are　surely　all　familiar　in　a　general　way　with　this　method　of



discrediting　states　of　mind　for　which　we　have　an　antipathy。　　We



all　use　it　to　some　degree　in　criticizing　persons　whose　states　of



mind　we　regard　as　overstrained。　　But　when　other　people　criticize



our　own　more　exalted　soul…flights　by　calling　them　'nothing　but'



expressions　of　our　organic　disposition；　we　feel　outraged　and



hurt；　for　we　know　that；　whatever　be　our　organism's　peculiarities；



our　mental　states　have　their　substantive　value　as　revelations　of



the　living　truth；　and　we　wish　that　all　this　medical　materialism



could　be　made　to　hold　its　tongue。







Medical　materialism　seems　indeed　a　good　appellation　for　the　too



simple…minded　system　of　thought　which　we　are　considering。　



Medical　materialism　finishes　up　Saint　Paul　by　calling　his　vision



on　the　road　to　Damascus　a　discharging　lesion　of　the　occipital



cortex；　he　being　an　epileptic。　　It　snuffs　out　Saint　Teresa　as　an



hysteric；　Saint　Francis　of　Assisi　as　an　hereditary　degenerate。　



George　Fox's　discontent　with　the　shams　of　his　age；　and　his　pining



for　spiritual　veracity；　it　treats　as　a　symptom　of　a　disordered



colon。　　Carlyle's　organ…tones　of　misery　it　accounts　for　by　a



gastro…duodenal　catarrh。　　All　such　mental　overtensions；　it　says；



are；　when　you　come　to　the　bottom　of　the　matter；　mere　affairs　of



diathesis　（auto…intoxications　most　probably）；　due　to　the



perverted　action　of　various　glands　which　physiology　will　yet



discover。　　And　medical　materialism　then　thinks　that　the　spiritual



authority　of　all　such　personages　is　successfully　undermined。＇2＇







＇2＇　　For　a　first…rate　example　of　medical…materialist　reasoning；



see　an　article　on　〃les　varietes　du　Type　devot；〃　by　Dr。　



Binet…Sangle；　in　the　Revue　de　l'Hypnotisme；　xiv。　161。















Let　us　ourselves　look　at　the　matter　in　the　largest　possible　way。　



Modern　psychology；　finding　definite　psycho…physical　connections



to　hold　good；　assumes　as　a　convenient　hypothesis　that　the



dependence　of　mental　states　upon　bodily　conditions　must　be



thoroughgoing　and　complete。　　If　we　adopt　the　assumption；　then　of



course　what　medical　materialism　insists　on　must　be　true　in　a



general　way；　if　not　in　every　detail：　　Saint　Paul　certainly　had



once　an　epileptoid；　if　not　an　epileptic　seizure；　George　Fox　was



an　hereditary　degenerate；　Carlyle　was　undoubtedly



auto…intoxicated　by　some　organ　or　other；　no　matter　whichand　the



rest。　　But　now；　I　ask　you；　how　can　such　an　existential　account　of



facts　of　mental　history　decide　in　one　way　or　another　upon　their



spiritual　significance？　　According　to　the　general　postulate　of



psychology　just　referred　to；　there　is　not　a　single　one　of　our



states　of　mind；　high　or　low；　healthy　or　morbid；　that　has　not　some



organic　process　as　its　condition。　　Scientific　theories　are



organically　conditioned　just　as　much　as　religious　emotions　are；



and　if　we　only　knew　the　facts　intimately　enough；　we　should



doubtless　see　〃the　liver〃　determining　the　dicta　of　the　sturdy



atheist　as　decisively　as　it　does　those　of　the　Methodist　under



conviction　anxious　about　his　soul。　　When　it　alters　in　one　way　the



blood　that　percolates　it；　we　get　the　methodist；　when　in　another



way；　we　get　the　atheist　form　of　mind。　　So　of　all　our　raptures　and



our　drynesses；　our　longings　and　pantings；　our　questions　and



beliefs。　　They　are　equally　organically　founded；　be　they　religious



or　of　non…religious　content。







To　plead　the　organic　causation　of　a　religious　state　of　　mind；



then；　in　refutation　of　its　claim　to　possess　superior　spiritual



value；　is　quite　illogical　and　arbitrary；　unless　one　has



already　worked　out　in　advance　some　psycho…physical　theory



connecting　spiritual　values　in　general　with　determinate　sorts　of



physiological　change。　　Otherwise　none　of　our　thoughts　and



feelings；　not　even　our　scientific　doctrines；　not　even　our



DIS…beliefs；　could　retain　any　value　as　revelations　of　the　truth；



for　every　one　of　them　without　exception　flows　from　the　state　of



its　possessor's　body　at　the　time。







It　is　needless　to　say　that　medical　materialism　draws　in　point　of



fact　no　such　sweeping　skeptical　conclusion。　　It　is　sure；　just　as



every　simple　man　is　sure；　that　some　states　of　mind　are　inwardly



superior　to　others；　and　reveal　to　us　more　truth；　and　in　this　it



simply　makes　use　of　an　ordinary　spiritual　judgment。　　It　has　no



physiological　theory　of　the　production　of　these　its　favorite



states；　by　which　it　may　accredit　them；　and　its　attempt　to



discredit　the　states　which　it　dislikes；　by　vaguely　associating



them　with　nerves　and　liver；　and　connecting　them　with　names



connoting　bodily　affliction；　is　altogether　illogical　and



inconsistent。







Let　us　play　fair　in　this　whole　matter；　and　be　quite　candid　with



ourselves　and　with　the　facts。　　When　we　think　certain　states　of



mind　superior　to　others；　is　it　ever　because　of　what　we　know



concerning　their　organic　antecedents？　　No！　it　is　always　for　two



entirely　different　reasons。　　It　is　either　because　we　take　an



immediate　delight　in　them；　or　else　it　is　because　we　believe　them



to　bring　us　good　consequential　fruits　for　life。　　When　we　speak



disparagingly　of　〃feverish　fancies；〃　surely　the　fever…process　as



such　is　not　the　ground　of　our　disesteemfor　aught　we　know　to　the



contrary；　103　degrees　or　104　degrees　Fahrenheit　might　be　a　much