Abstract
PHILOSOPHY is to some a liberation from the positive and dogmatic habit of mind, to others a new field for its exercise. As the title of his book indicates, Mr. Wrench belongs to the latter class. He does, indeed, profess at the beginning a philosophical phenomenalism: “We know only our own perceptions. Consciousness itself depends on previous perceptions; for without memorised perceptions with which to compare our present perceptions, consciousness would not exist.” From this quotation it is evident that the infinite series, that nightmare of so many philosophies, has no terrors for Mr. Wrench. But, though without apparent misgiving on this head, he is only verbally constant to his sceptical presupposition. His “relativity” gives us such cardinal propositions as these:— “Man has no ultimate purpose”; “life is a special form of matter in motion”; “the universe is an eternal series of cycles.” It is legitimate for a philosbpher to deny that we can penetrate the veil of appearance; but for such a one, the words “universe,” “eternal,” “ultimate,” are unmeaning, or at best indicative of problems, not words to be lightly used in positive propositions. Mr. Wrench's phenomenalism is, in short, a very thinly-disguised materialism.
The Grammar of Life.
By G. T. Wrench. Pp. xii + 237. (London: William Heinemann, 1908.) Price 6s. net.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
The Grammar of Life . Nature 80, 426–427 (1909). https://doi.org/10.1038/080426c0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/080426c0
