FUNDAMENTAL PHILOSOPHY.

BY REV. JAMES BALMES.

TRANSLATED FROM THE SPANISH BY HENRY F. BROWNSON, M.A.

IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II.

D. & J. SADLIER & CO., 164 WILLIAM STREET, BOSTON:—128 FEDERAL STREET. MONTREAL:—COR. OF NOTRE DAME AND ST. FRANCIS XAVIER STS. 1856.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, By D. & J. Sadlier & Co., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.

NEW YORK: BILLIN & BROTHER, PRINTERS, XX NORTH WILLIAM ST.

CONTENTS OF VOL. II.

BOOK FOURTH.

ON IDEAS.

CHAPTERPAGE

I.Cursory View of Sensism3

II.Condillac's Statue6

III.Difference between Geometrical Ideas and the Sensible Representations which accompany them12

IV.The Idea and the Intellectual Act15

V.Comparison of Geometrical with Non-Geometrical Ideas20

VI.In what the Geometrical Idea consists; and what are its Relations with Sensible Intuition25

VII.The Acting Intellect of the Aristotelians29

VIII.Kant and the Aristotelians33

IX.Historical View of the Value of Pure Ideas42

X.Sensible Intuition50

XI.Two Cognitions: Intuitive and Discursive54

XII.The Sensism of Kant57

XIII.Existence of Pure Intellectual Intuition59

XIV.Value of Intellectual Conceptions.—Abstraction made from Intellectual Intuition62

XV.Illustrations of the Value of General Conceptions65

XVI.Value of Principles, independently of Sensible Intuition68

XVII.Relations of Intuition with the rank of the Perceptive Being71

XVIII.Aspirations of the Human Soul74

XIX.Elements and variety of the characters of Sensible Representation76

XX.Intermediate Representations between Sensible Intuition and the Intellectual Act81

XXI.Determinate and Indeterminate Ideas84

XXII.Limits of our Intuition88

XXIII.Of the Necessity involved in Ideas92

XXIV.Existence of Universal Reason96

XXV.In what does Universal Reason consist?99

XXVI.Remarks on the Real Foundation of Pure Possibility102

XXVII.Individual and Intellectual Phenomena explained by the Universal Subsisting Reason105

XXVIII.Observations on the Relation of Language to Ideas108

XXIX.Origin and Character of the relation between Language and Ideas112

XXX.Innate Ideas115

BOOK FIFTH.

IDEA OF BEING.

I.Idea of Being125

II.Simplicity and Indeterminateness of the Idea of Being127

III.Substantive and Copulative Being129

IV.Being, the Object of the Understanding, is not the Possible, Inasmuch as Possible134

V.A Difficulty Solved138

VI.In what Sense the Idea of Being is the Form of the Understanding141

VII.All Science is founded in the Postulate of Existence143

VIII.The foundation of Pure Possibility, and the Condition of its Existence147

IX.Idea of Negation150

X.Identity; Distinction; Unity; Multiplicity153

XI.Origin of the Idea of Being155

XII.Distinction between Essence and Existence161

XIII.Kant's Opinion of Reality and Negation164

XIV.Recapitulation and Consequences of the Doctrine concerning the Idea of Being168

BOOK SIXTH.

UNITY AND NUMBER.

I.Preliminary Considerations on the Idea of Unity175

II.What is Unity?176

III.Unity and Simplicity180

IV.Origin of the Tendency of our Mind to Unity183

V.Generation of the Idea of Number187

VI.Connection of the Ideas of Number with their Signs191

VII.Analysis of the Idea of Number in Itself and its Relations with Signs194

BOOK SEVENTH.

ON TIME.

I.Importance and Difficulty of the Subject201

II.Is Time the Measure of Movement?203

III.Similarities and Differences between Time and Space206

IV.Definition of Time211

V.Time is Nothing Absolute213

VI.Difficulties in the explanation of Velocity215

VII.Fundamental Explanation of Succession219

VIII.What is Co-existence?223

IX.Present, Past, and Future226

X.Application of the preceding Doctrine to several important Questions231

XI.The Analysis of the Idea of Time confirms its resemblance to the Idea of Space234

XII.Relations of the Idea of Time to Experience236

XIII.Kant's Opinion239

XIV.Fundamental Explanation of the Objective Possibility and of the Necessity of the Idea of Time242

XV.Important Corollaries243

XVI.Pure Ideal Time and Empirical Time245

XVII.Relations of the Idea of Time and the Principle of Contradiction247

XVIII.Summing up254

XIX.A glance at the Ideas of Space, Number, and Time257

BOOK EIGHTH.

THE INFINITE.

I.Transitory View of the Actual State of Philosophy263

II.Importance and Anomaly of the Questions on the Idea of the Infinite268

III.Have we the Idea of the Infinite?269

IV.The Limit272

V.Considerations on the Application of the Idea of the Infinite to continuous quantities, and to Discrete Quantities, in so far as these last are expressed in Series274

VI.Origin of the Vagueness and Apparent Contradictions in the Application of the Idea of the Infinite278

VII.Fundamental Explanation of the Abstract Idea of the Infinite281

VIII.The Definition of Infinity confirmed by Application to Extension285

IX.Conception of an Infinite Number289

X.Conception of Infinite Extension292

XI.Possibility of Infinite Extension294

XII.Solution of Various Objections against the Possibility of an Infinite Extension296

XIII.Existence of Infinite Extension302

XIV.Possibility of an Actual Infinite Number304

XV.Idea of Absolutely Infinite Being311

XVI.All the Reality contained in Indeterminate Conceptions is affirmed of God315

XVII.All that is not contradictory in Intuitive Ideas is affirmed of God317

XVIII.Intelligence and the Absolutely Infinite Being321

XIX.Summing up324

BOOK NINTH.

ON SUBSTANCE.

I.Name and General Idea of Substance331

II.Application of the Idea of Substance to Corporeal Objects333

III.Definition of Corporeal Substance338

IV.Relation of Corporeal Substance to its Accidents340

V.Considerations on Corporeal Substance in Itself344

VI.Substantiality of the Human Me347

VII.Relation of the Proposition, I Think, to the Substantiality of the Me349

VIII.Remarks on the Soul's Intuition of Itself352

IX.Kant's Opinion of the Arguments proving the Substantiality of the Soul355

X.Kant's Opinion of the Argument which he calls Paralogism of Personality366

XI.Simplicity of the Soul377

XII.Kant's Opinion of the Argument proving the Simplicity of the Soul381

XIII.In what manner the Idea of Substance may be applied to God394

XIV.An important Remark, and Summary397

XV.Pantheism examined in the Order of Ideas399

XVI.Pantheism examined in the Order of External Facts403

XVII.Pantheism examined in the Order of Internal Facts406

XVIII.Fichte's Pantheistic System409

XIX.Relations of Fichte's System to the Doctrines of Kant424

XX.Contradiction of Pantheism to the Primary Facts of the Human Mind429

XXI.Rapid glances at the Principal Arguments of Pantheists434

BOOK TENTH.

NECESSITY AND CAUSALITY.

I.Necessity439

II.The Unconditioned442

III.Immutability of Necessary and Unconditioned Being445

IV.Ideas of Cause and Effect448

V.Origin of the Notion of Causality451

VI.Formula and Demonstration of the Principle of Causality454

VII.The Principle of Precedency457

VIII.Causality in Itself.—Insufficiency and Error of some Explanations467

IX.Necessary and sufficient Conditions of true Absolute Causality474

X.Secondary Causality476

XI.Fundamental Explanation of the Origin of the Obscurity of Ideas in what relates to Causality479

XII.Causality of Pure Force of the Will483

XIII.Activity486

XIV.Possibility of the Activity of Bodies493

XV.Conjectures as to the Existence of Corporeal Activity496

XVI.Internal Causality500

XVII.Remarks on Spontaneity508

XVIII.Final Causality;—Morality513

XIX.Various Explanations of Morality520

XX.Fundamental Explanation of the Moral Order527

XXI.A Glance at the Work543