The Egoist Vol. 5, No. 5 (May, 1918)
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Published Monthly THE EGOIST No. 5.—VOL. V. MAY 1918. SIXPENCE. Editor : HARRIET SHAW WEAVER Contributing Editor: Assistant Editor: T. S. ELIOT DORA MARSDEN CONTENTS PAGE PAGE PHILOSOPHY : THE SCIENCE OF SIGNS. XVI— OUR PHILO THE ANGLO-FRENCH SOCIETY AND M. DAVRAY. By Ezra SOPHY OF THE "REAL." By D. Marsden . 65 Pound 73 HYMN TO VIRGINITY. By John Rodker . .69 TOWARDS A THEATRE OF PEACE. By Huntly Carter . 72 OBSERVATIONS. By T. S. Aptéryx . .69 A CELEBRATION. By William Carlos Williams . .73 "PSITTACUS Eois IMITATRIX ALES AB INDIS." By THE FRENCH WORD IN MODERN PROSE. X— JEAN GIRAU Sacheverell Sitwell 70 DOUX. By Madame Ciolkowska . .74 PASSING PARIS. By M. C 71 SHORT NOTICES ........ 75 XVI. OUR PHILOSOPHY OF THE "REAL" By D. MARSDEN (3) It is in tacit appreciation of these disagreements I among the doctors as to the exact bearings of reality (1) WE have defined philosophy as the science of that the unsophisticated man— engrossingly concerned signs, and the rôle of the philosopher as the guardian as he is with what is real—is mainly very disinclined of that intricately interrelated classification-structure to put the question: What is reality? And when into which signs have spontaneously grown. Close he does it is rather in that spirit of scepticism concern and sustained scrutiny of this structure has proved ing the validity of any answer which one must itself capable of yielding a summary of the kinds of suppose constituted Pilate's excuse for not pausing procedure by which it can be maintained in health, for a reply when on a famous occasion he posed a and likewise of those by which it becomes infected sister question: What is truth? Yet these same with its peculiar disease—confusion, and in insisting terms real and true—which embody the kernel of on the more drastic application of these recognizable the meaning of reality and truth—have been coined rules of well-being the philosopher slowly but in by wayfaring men for practical use, and not even evitably grows into an apprehension of his own par the bluntest "common" sense would readily become ticular task as an ever more and more delicate work reconciled to their loss. Men hold to them because of redefinition. By the nature of the demands they have a steadily recurring everyday use for them : peculiar to it philosophy is self-determined as the from which fact it is necessary to infer that as far neatening of the edges of definitions: particularly as their essential meaning is concerned that meaning of those which relate to the ultimate elements of our is a simple and obvious one. experience. By making every such term keep strictly (4) This latter observation it is of great importance within the limits assigned to it, philosophy begins to to the philosopher to keep in mind when he sets see its way clear to put into operation—even in himself the task of framing a definition of real. It respect of our most ultimate concerns—those prin behoves him to remember that the explanation of ciples of exhaustive and mutually exclusive sub the meaning of real must be of a nature sufficiently division which maintain the system of signs in that obvious to account for the fact that untutored non- condition of soundness and integrity in which each specialist intelligence should have conceived it and sign holds a definite relation to all other signs, and showed its faith in it by establishing it among the yet is so clearly outlined in itself that its use involves most familiar group of our conceptions at the very no tangling and straining of the symbolic material time that we all profess our inability to explain and which is woven together with it. expound it. (2) The term reality itself instances the kind of (5) In shaping our own conception of the real, condition under which a philosophy cognizant of its therefore, we have adopted for our guidance these own true utility could have value. There is no tenets. In the first place, any account to be satisfy term in respect of which attempts at definition more ing must be simple. Any explanation highly meta markedly rip, jag, distort and warp the connected physical—in the popularly accepted meaning of that symbolic material. The strain set up by the attempt term—we allow ourselves to assume in advance to to muster for it ambiguity-free synonyms—which be wrong. In the second place, we hold that our in definition is what we endeavour to do—makes it task will be adequately carried through if we can plain how far we are from certainty as to what explain what is meant by real. That is to say. we synonymity in this connexion actually is. shall, notwithstanding the age-long controversy bound 66 THE EGOIST May 1918 up with it, take for granted the position that the organic) are composed of the movements enacted in the substance sole facts to be taken account of in distinguishing of the one organism which experiences them. Knowledge, reality from the real are grammatical convenience on therefore, of either group of items will resolve itself into know the one hand, and on the other conveniences of ledge of the powers of movement of the knowing organism. emphasis : which latter ends are subserved by the And as, in accordance with our definition of what constitutes abstraction of a single quality from the total complex the peculiarly modified activity or experience of knowing, the of experience in which the quality finds its existence, human organism is the only vital form which possesses the In order to heighten the emphasis which it is desired physical mechanism which knowing involves, should be laid on any one quality it is common for the remainder of the experience for purposes of the pursuit of knowledge will resolve itself into the speaking to be temporarily ignored. This is the study of the powers of movement of the human fashion in which we conceive all abstract qualities mechanism. to be formed, and in accordance with our conception (7) Briefly, our exposition of the known phenomenon we hold that the onus of proving reality to differ was this : Any object is known when we have expe from the real on any deeper grounds must be laid rience of it under two orders of existence. The one upon those who adopt an opposing position. order is that of conception, or thought, whose distin (6) Our third guiding principle is one so obvious guishing characteristic is that it can be created and that were it not that its obviousness ordinarily serves re-created at the bare instance of the symbol. The not only to justify the omission of its enumeration, other is that order fuller and richer in its expenditure but the omission also of its observance, it might be of organic movement which on this very account is allowed to pass without saying. In the circumstances, much less volatile and much more stubborn to create, however, it seems advisable to enumerate it. It is demanding conditions much more elaborate in the this: the exposition of reality must not be an un way of releasing cue. We can say that the items related outwork of the rest of our logic. It must of the first, or conceptual, order are such as can be show itself coherent with the containing logic of the started into being by the very minimum in the way universe in which it occupies an involved niche. It of instigating movement. For the purposes of their is with this demand in mind that we shall recapitulate creation, demand is made for nothing whatever, here the main points of that logic of ultimate things for instance, in the way of preliminary excitement which formed the burden of our previous chapter. of the senses via their termini on the organic periphery. It is as follows : The forms of the second order, on the other hand, normally require precisely this terminal sense-excite The widest subdivision of the totality of experience upon ment, and in order to obtain just the specific cues which symbols have laid their knowledge-creating mark is that necessary to instigate it the organism usually needs of the external world. So wide-sweeping is this subdivision that to embark on a course of externalized movement the only item required to render it coextensive with the universe varying according to circumstances from the simplest is the organic body which experiences (i.e. feels) both. There to the most elaborate. This more elaborate mode of fore for every given case, the external world plus its related creating sense-forms by excitations of the peripheral organic body equals the universe. organs is incomparably the older of the two. The The characteristic which can be attributed indiscriminately far simpler mode of creating forms by the internally to every item of experience constituting both these divisions produced instigating symbol is a very recent develop obviously is none other than that of being experienced : or ment : a novelty. It is precisely the effect of its being felt : by the organism. The latter feels, severally and operation in conjunction with the older order which in bulk, all which belongs to the world and all which belongs to has yielded us the phenomenon of the known. itself. Thia fact in both cases equally is precisely what is meant (8) Power to create and apply symbols being, by existence. Outside the range of the organism's feeling there therefore, the very essence of the meaning of the exists nothing.