APHORISMS AND REFLECTIONS

Hokitika Guardian, 17 February 1932, Page 1

APHORISMS AND REFLECTIONS

When I. was a mere hoy, with a perverse tendency to thiiiK when J. ought to have been play.ing, my mind was greatly exercised by this formidable problem, W'liat would become of things if they lost their qualities!' As the qualities had no objective existence, and the tiling’ without qualities was nothing, the solid world seemed whittled away—to my great horror. As I grew older, and learned to use' the

terms “matter” and “force”-, the boyish problem was revived, imitate nominee. On the one hand, the notion of matter without loree seemed to resolve the world into a set oi geometrical ghosts, too dead even to jabber. On the other hand. Ikiscovieh’s hypothesis, by which matter was resolved into centres of force, was very attractive. But when one tried to think it out, what in the world became of force considered as an objective entity!' Force, even the most materialistic oi' philosophers wiil agree, with tile most idealistic, is nothing hot a name for the cause of motion. And if, with Boscovich. 1 resolved things into centres of force, then matter vanished altogether and left immaterial entities in its place. One might as well frankly accept Idealism and lmvo done with it.