The world of life : a manifestation of creative power, directive mind, and ultimate purpose / by Alfred Russel Wallace.

  • Wallace, Alfred Russel, 1823-1913.
Date:
1910
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Licence: In copyright

Credit: The world of life : a manifestation of creative power, directive mind, and ultimate purpose / by Alfred Russel Wallace. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    CHAP. “ The development of the universe is a monistic mechanical process, in which we discover no aim or purpose whatever; what we call design in the organic world is a special result of biological agencies ; neither in the evolution of the heavenly bodies, nor in that of the crust of the earth do we find any trace of a controlling purpose—all is the result of chance.” Then, after discussing what is meant by chance, he concludes : “ That, however, does not prevent us from recognising in each ‘ chance ’ event, as we do in the evolution of the entire cosmos, the universal sovereignty of nature’s supreme law, the law of sub stance'' (P- 97)- Again, he defines his position still more frankly: “ Atheism affirms that there are no gods or goddesses, assuming that god means a personal, extra-mundane entity. This ‘godless world- system ’ substantially agrees with the monism or pantheism of the modern scientist. It is only another expression for it, emphasising its negative aspect, the non-existence of any supernatural deity ” (p-103)- These vague and often incomprehensible assertions are interspersed with others equally unprovable, and often worded so as to be very offensive to religious minds. After having put forth a host of assertions as to a possible future state, which exhibit a deplorable ignorance of the views of many advanced thinkers in all the Churches, he says : “ Our own ‘ human nature ’ which exalted itself into an image of God in an anthropistic illusion, sinks to the level of a placental mammal, which has no more value for the universe at large than the ant, the fly of a summer’s day, the microscopic infusorium, or the smallest bacillus. Humanity is but a transitory phase of the evolution of an eternal substance, a particular phenomenal form of matter and energy, the true proportion of which we soon perceive when we set it on the background of infinite space and eternal time ” (p. 87). The writings of Haeckel, the extremely dogmatic and assertive character of which have been illustrated in the preceding quotations, have had an immense influence on many classes of readers, who, when a man becomes widely known as a great authority in any department of science, accept him as a safe guide in any other departments on