The Logic of the Christian Faith; Being a Dissertation on Scepticism, Pantheism, the a Priori Argument, the a Posteriori Argument, the Intuitional Arg

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1856. Excerpt: ... BOOK IV. THE A POSTERIORI ARGUMENT. CHAPTER 1L THE ARGUMENT STATED. 1. That the Cause of nature and the Cause of mind is one and the same. I have defined the a posteriori argument as an endeavour to infer the Major Cause of the universe from the minor effects of the universe. This very definition proves to us at once, that an argument by induction cannot possibly be altogether a posteriori: it must involve a certain portion of the a priori element. This proposition I consider of the most radical importance, inasmuch as the coincident presence of the two elements proves a common origin for both the reason, or the subjective universe, and the external world, or objective universe. The question may be proposed in the following terms: --External to ourselves, we behold the universe of matter existing in space. Internally, we are conscious of thought and emotion--of our own existence. What is the connecting link that proves a common design between the external world and the internal world 1 This is found in the elaboration of systematic thought, which involves both elements. Let us endeavour to prove this point as the first division of the argument. Its importance will be seen hereafter, when we come to depart farther and farther from matter on the one hand, or from self on the other. If we establish a definite connection between matter and the Me, and if we prove that matter and the Me are created, or do exist under a homogeneity of construction, then we have clear ground for assigning the same cause to those portions of mental consciousness that have no relation to matter, and to those portions of the external universe that have no relation to the peculiar attribute of mind--namely, moral consciousness. If we find the connecting link, we may pursue the...