" But what shall we say of
an environment which unmasks itself at last as a power making for
intelligence, unselfishness, and righteousness? Someone may answer
it is a host of chemical and physical forces bringing about very
high ends. That is very true, but is it the whole truth? The
thinking man must ask, How did it come about, and why is it that all
these forces work together for such high moral and intelligent ends?
We face, therefore, the question, Can an environment which proves
finally and ultimately to be a power not ourselves making for
righteousness and unselfishness be purely material and mechanical?
Or must there be in or behind it something spiritual? Shall we best
call environment, in its highest manifestation, "it" or "him?"
The old argument of Socrates, as on the last day of his life he sits
discoursing with his friends, still holds good. He is discussing the
same old question, whether there is anything more than force,
material, mechanism in the world. He says that one might assign as
"the cause why I am sitting here that my body is composed of bones
and muscles; that the bones are solid and separate, and that the
muscles can be contracted and extended, and are all inclosed in the
flesh and skin; and that the bones, being jointed, can be drawn by
the muscles, and so I can move my legs as you see; and that this is
the reason why I am sitting here.
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