To sum up this discussion. We have considered the bearing of modern
speculation on the doctrine of Materialism in three successive stages of
argument. First, we had to consider the bearing on Materialism of the
simple doctrine of Relativity. Here we saw that Materialism was only
affected to the extent of being compelled to allow that what we know as
Matter and Motion are not known as they are in themselves. But we also saw
that, as the inscrutable realities are uniformly translated into
consciousness as Matter and Motion, it still remains as true as ever that
_what we know_ as Matter and Motion may be the causes of what we know as
Mind. Even, therefore, if the supposition of causality is taken to be an
essential feature of Materialism, Materialism would be in no wise affected
by substituting for the words Matter and Motion the symbols _x_ and _y_.
The second of the three stages consisted in showing that Mr. Spencer's
argument as to the possible identity of Force and Feeling is not in itself
sufficient to overthrow the doctrine that what we know as Matter and Motion
may be the cause of what we know as Mind. For the mere fact of its being
more _conceivable_ that units of Force should resemble units of Feeling
than conversely, is no warrant for concluding that in reality any
corresponding probability obtains. The test of conceivability, although the
most ultimate test that is available, is here rendered vague and valueless
by the _a priori_ consideration that _whatever_ the cause of Mind may be
(if it has a cause), we must find it more easy to conceive of this cause as
resembling Mind than to conceive of it as resembling any other entity of
which we are only conscious indirectly.
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