Chapter II · (continued 2)

Man's moral actions are largely the effect of circumstances; his thoughts and actions are probably the whole of them limited by law. He is never free from the influence of causation. His mental and moral freedom are limited by the epoch in which he lives, by the customs of his nation, by the individuals by whom he is immediately surrounded, by the alcoholic stimulants of which he partakes, and by his own physical and mental constitution, his degree of intelligence, &c., &c. Whether he is willing or not, he is incessantly compelled to receive sensuous and mental impressions, and be influenced by an almost infinite number and variety of agencies acting upon him both from within and without:—To be mentally and physically active, and perform all the bodily functions and acts necessary to his existence:—To live on this globe in presence of all its phenomena, and be carried through space at an immense velocity:—To undergo through a long series of generations a progressive existence and development of civilization, &c., &c. He is more subject to the laws of the Universe than those laws are subject to him; and he can only exercise his will successfully and become their master by first obeying them.

Under the influence of the light and heat of the Sun, the entire population of this planet (about fifteen hundred millions) are renewed out of the crust of the Earth every few years, by breathing the air, drinking the water, feeding upon plants which take their constituents from the Earth, water and air; or by eating animals which have lived upon plants; and if that heat and light, or that supply of food and air, were to cease, all those human beings would die, and all the moral phenomena of man on this globe would terminate. Whilst man cannot exist without the support of inanimate nature and the operation of its laws, inanimate nature and its laws can exist without him. That also which is naturally ordained by Creative power to be dependent, cannot be essentially more important than that upon which it depends for its existence. The essential importance of man in relation to the Universe, exists only in his own imagination.

These facts shew that the principles of science, and the physical and chemical properties of substances, lie at the very basis of man's existence and activity and it would therefore be incorrect to say that the physical system of the Universe is unimportant in comparison with the moral phenomena of mankind.

That science conduces to humanity by preventing and alleviating animal suffering has been already alluded to (p. 80-81). True humanity consists not in the abolition of experiments upon living creatures, but in the judicious employment of them. Instead of barbarously treating our suffering fellow creatures by indolently and ignorantly allowing causes of disease and pain to continually occur and take their course, it urgently enforces upon us the duty of extending our knowledge of physiology by means of new experiments, observations and study. It would be untruthful to say that experiments purposely made upon men and other animals do not yield new and valuable information;—Pharmacopœias and Materia-Medicæs are full of descriptions of the properties of curative agents discovered by these and other scientific methods.

Amongst the lesser virtues which have been greatly promoted by means of scientific research is that of cleanliness. The origin of soap was the discovery of the detergent properties of a boiled mixture of fat and alkali. The numerous inventions which have cheapened the most important soap-producing material, viz., washing soda, and those which have cheapened oil of vitriol, the chief substance consumed in making washing-soda, have all contributed to the cleanliness of mankind; and it has been stated that the degree of civilization of a nation might be ascertained by the amounts consumed of those substances.

Even the minor virtue of economy has been greatly promoted by the results of scientific research. New scientific truth has through inventions taught us how to obtain greater effects with less expenditure of space, of time, of materials, and forces. It has enabled us to effect our objects quicker and with a diminution of waste. In the sugar manufacture for example, by means of the centrifugal machine, the sugar is deprived as perfectly of molasses in three minutes, as it was previously in three days, and the necessary manufacturing apparatus has been so much reduced in magnitude as not to require more than one half the space. The process of bleaching linen, which formerly required weeks, has by the discovery of chlorine been reduced to hours. Journeys which at one time occupied weeks now only require days. Messages are now transmitted in hours which formerly required months. Multitudes of instances might be adduced of the diminished cost of the comforts and conveniences of life, resulting in consequence of discovery of new scientific knowledge. Ultramarine for example, which at one time cost from ten to twenty pounds an ounce, has by means of chemical research been reduced in price to a few pence per pound; phosphorus, which formerly cost several guineas an ounce, now costs only as many pence.

Numerous substances which were formerly thrown away, destroyed, or neglected, are now utilized. Coal tar and gas-water, which were at one time waste products in the making of gas, and which when thrown away were the causes of costly litigation to gas-companies, by polluting streams and wells, &c., are now sources of very large income to those companies. Those substances yield great quantities of salts of ammonia, the beautiful aniline dyes, paraffin, benzene, napthaline, alizarine, and other valuable products. Glycerine also, which formerly was a most offensive waste product in soap-making, is now purified and used, to an extent of twenty millions of pounds annually, for a great number of purposes; as an emollient for the skin; as a source of nitro-glycerine and dynamite, used in blasting rocks, in warfare, &c. The immense beds of native sulphide of iron also, notably those of Tharsis and Rio Tinto in Spain, and of many other places, are now utilized, literally in millions of tons, for the production of sulphur, copper, oxide of iron, &c. A long list of instances of this class might be adduced if it were necessary, some of them of very great importance.^[19]

The promotion of morality by enabling us to detect crime, is one of the smaller influences of scientific research, and may be referred to as a set-off against the bad uses sometimes made of scientific knowledge. The telegraph is very commonly employed to assist in tracking and capturing criminals. Photography is also largely used in our gaols as a means of recognising offenders.

Knowledge of science conduces also to self-discipline and self-mastery, it tends to bridle our vicious passions by making known to us the penalties which must be paid for their indulgence; it limits our self-will by shewing us that we must respect and obey the laws of nature whether we are willing or not, no man can improperly manipulate dangerous substances or forces with impunity; it moderates our bigotry by exhibiting to us the great uncertainty of unproved opinions; it restrains undue credulity in men's assertions, by shewing us their frequent fallacy; it gives us confidence in the laws of nature, by proving to us their uniformity; it withdraws us from self-deception by compelling us to accept the truths of nature as they exist ready made for us, whether they harmonise with our preconceived ideas or not; men cannot argue with nature, as they can with their fellow-men, but must submit to the influence of verified truth. It supplies us with principles instead of empirical "rule of thumb" methods as guides of morality. Whilst it liberates us from the terror of irrational fears, it cautions us against entertaining unreasonable hopes. It substitutes for ignorant wonder and awe, an intelligent appreciation of created things; and when fully developed it will probably satisfy all the reasonable instincts and desires of men.

Whilst law, medicine and divinity, direct man's attention almost exclusively to matters concerning himself, and thus tend to limit his sphere of perception and knowledge, and unconsciously impress him with the idea that all other existences are less important than himself, science not only enlightens him respecting all the departments of his own nature, but extends his mental vision in all directions by exciting his mind to observe and reflect upon all other bodies and actions throughout the Universe. Whilst also music, painting, sculpture, poetry and the drama, afford excitement and pleasure to his senses, feelings and sentiments, and are largely personal; science not only constitutes the basis of those arts, but shews the relations of them to Man and to the external Universe, and thus more largely cultivates the intellect and corrects and refines the senses, feelings and sentiments.

New scientific knowledge affords advantages to all classes of men; to the minister of religion, by supplying him with new illustrations of Creative power, in the greatness, smallness, and vast variety of nature; to the physician, by explaining to him more perfectly the structure and phenomena of the human body, and by providing him with new remedies; to the statesman and politician, by making known to him the great and increasing relations of science to national progress, by its influence upon wages, capital, the employment of workmen, the art of war, the means of communication with foreign countries, &c.; to the philanthropist, as an endless source of employment for poor persons, by the development of new discoveries, inventions, and improvements in arts and manufactories; to the military man, by affording him new engines and materials for warfare and defence; to the inventor, by supplying him with new discoveries upon which to found inventions; to the merchant and man of trade, by the influence of new products and processes upon the prices of his commodities; to the manufacturer, as a means of improving his materials, apparatus, and processes; and to the investor of money, by assisting him to judge what new technical schemes are likely to succeed.

As the domain of rational enjoyment afforded by means of science gradually enlarges, that derivable from less intellectual sources will probably be modified; indeed this change is already progressing, and is manifested in the alterations occurring in theological views, and in the extensive adoption of scientific entertainments by religious bodies. The recognition of science by professors of religion is also shewn by the already extensive use of railways on Sundays as a means of conveyance to churches and chapels; also by the publication by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, of Manuals of Electricity, Astronomy, Botany, Chemistry, Crystallography, Geology, Physiology, Zoology, Matter and Motion, the Spectroscope, &c.

Having shewn some of the chief modes in which new scientific truth is a basis of mental and moral progress, it is not necessary to say much respecting the evil uses sometimes made of science, because every good thing is liable to be abused by ignorant or ill-intentioned persons. The abuses of scientific knowledge do not arise from the true spirit of research, viz., a desire for new knowledge on account of its intrinsic goodness and value to man, but from an absence of that sentiment. The Bremerhaven explosion, the assassination of the Czar, the uses of photography to forge letters of credit, and of the telegraph in swindling operations, the employment of electro-gilding and silvering in coining base money, &c., &c., are all attributable to motives other than a love of science.

All the facts mentioned in this chapter, and the various points of essential similarity between physical, physiological, and mental phenomena, justify the conclusion that both moral and other mental actions, like physical and chemical ones, are obedient to the great principles of science. And from the evidence here adduced and alluded to, it is certain that those principles influence human progress, not only in a few conspicuous direct ways, but in a multitude of varied, deep-seated, and indirect ones.

If the statements made in this Chapter are true, that the innate properties of matter really are motive powers of the human organism, and the principles of science are regulators of mental and moral action; that Man is a feeble epitome of the principles and powers of inorganic matter; that the laws of Nature operate in utter disregard of his erroneous beliefs; that nearly all man's sins and sufferings are traceable to his ignorance and limited powers; that in proportion to his ignorance of science so is he unable to foresee the more remote consequences of his thoughts and acts; and if new knowledge does correct erroneous beliefs and purify human thought and action, it behoves teachers of morality to make themselves adequately acquainted with the principles and newest developments of science.