Theattempt，ifanyoneshouldmakeit，tosortexperienceintotwoabsolutelydiscretegroups，withnothingbutinertnessinoneofthemandnothingbutactivitiesintheother，wouldthusreceiveonecheck。Itwouldreceiveanotherassoonasweexaminedthemoredistinctivelymentalgroup;forthoughinthatgroupitbetruethatthingsdonotactononeanotherbytheirphysicalpropertiesdonotdenteachotherorsetfiretoeachother，theyyetactoneachotherinthemostenergeticwaybythoseverycharacterswhicharesoinertextracorporeally。Itisbytheinterestandimportancethatexperienceshaveforus，bytheemotionstheyexcite，andthepurposestheysubserve，bytheiraffectivevalues，inshort，thattheirconsecutioninourseveralconsciousstreams，as’thoughts’ofours，ismainlyruled。Desireintroducesthem;interest152
holdsthem;fitnessfixestheirorderandconnection。
Ineedonlyreferforthisaspectofourmentallife，toWundt’sarticle’UeberpsychischeCausalitat，’whichbeginsVolumeX。ofhis_Philosophische_Studien_。（1）
Itthusappearsthattheambiguousoramphibious_status_whichwefindourepithetsofvalueoccupyingisthemostnaturalthingintheworld。Itwould，however，beanunnaturalstatusifthepopularopinionwhichIcitedattheoutsetwerecorrect。If’physical’and’mental’meanttwodifferentkindsofintrinsicnature，immediately，intuitively，andinfalliblydiscernible，andeachfixedforeverinwhateverbitofexperienceitqualified，onedoesnotseehowtherecouldeverhavearisenanyroomfordoubtorambiguity。
Butif，onthecontrary，thesewordsarewordsofsorting，ambiguityisnatural。Forthen，assoonastherelationsofathingaresufficientlyvariousitcanbesortedvariously。
——-
1Itisenoughformypresentpurposeiftheappreciativecharactersbut_seem_toactthus。Believersinanactivity_an_sich_，otherthanourmentalexperiencesofactivity，willfindsomefartherreflectionsonthesubjectinmyaddresson’TheExperienceofActivity。’[Thenextessay。Cf。especially，p。169。ED。]
153
Takeamassofcarrion，forexample，andthe’disgustingness’whichforusisapartoftheexperience。Thesuncaressesit，andthezephyrwooesitasifitwereabedofroses。
Sothedisgustingnessfailsto_operate_withintherealmofsunsandbreezes，——itdoesnotfunctionasaphysicalquality。Butthecarrion’turnsourstomach’bywhatseemsadirectoperation——it_does_functionphysically，therefore，inthatlimitedpartofphysics。Wecantreatitasphysicalorasnon-physicalaccordingaswetakeitinthenarrowerorinthewidercontext，andconversely，ofcourse，wemusttreatitasnon-mentalorasmental。
Ourbodyitselfisthepalmaryinstanceoftheambiguous。SometimesItreatmybodypurelyasapartofouternature。Sometimes，again，Ithinkofitas’mine，’Isortitwiththe’me，’andthencertainlocalchangesanddeterminationsinitpassforspiritualhappenings。
Itsbreathingismy’thinking，’itssensorialadjustmentsaremy’attention，’itskinestheticalterationsaremy’efforts，’itsvisceralperturbationsaremy’emotions。’
154
Theobstinatecontroversiesthathavearisenoversuchstatementsasthese（whichsoundsoparadoxical，andwhichcanyetbemadesoseriously）provehowharditistodecidebybareintrospectionwhatitisinexperiencesthatshallmakethemeitherspiritualormaterial。Itsurelycanbenothingintrinsicintheindividualexperience。Itistheirwayofbehavingtowardseachother，theirsystemofrelations，theirfunctions;andallthesethingsvarywiththecontextinwhichwefinditopportunetoconsiderthem。
IthinkImayconclude，then（andIhopethatmyreadersarenowreadytoconcludewithme），thatthepretendedspiritualityofouremotionsandofourattributesofvalue，sofarfromprovinganobjectiontothephilosophyofpureexperience，does，whenrightlydiscussedandaccountedfor，serveasoneofitsbestcorroborations。
155
VI
THEEXPERIENCEOFACTIVITY（1）
BRETHRENOFTHEPSYCHOLOGICALASSOCIATION：
INcastingaboutmeforasubjectforyourPresidentthisyeartotalkaboutithasseemedtomethatourexperiencesofactivitywouldformagoodone;notonlybecausethetopicissonaturallyinteresting，andbecauseithaslatelyledtoagooddealofratherinconclusivediscussion，butbecauseImyselfamgrowingmoreandmoreinterestedinacertainsystematicwayofhandlingquestions，andwanttogetothersinterestedalso，andthisquestionstrikesmeasoneinwhich，althoughIampainfullyawareofmyinabilitytocommunicatenewdiscoveriesortoreachdefinitiveconclusions，Iyetcanshow，inaratherdefinitemanner，howthemethodworks。
——-
1President’sAddressbeforetheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation，PhiladelphiaMeeting，December，1904。[Reprintedfrom_The_
_Psychological_Review_，vol。XII，No。1，Jan。，1905。Alsoreprintedwithsomeomissions，asAppendixB，_A_Pluralistic_Universe，pp。
370-394。Pp。166-167havealsobeenreprintedin_Some_Problems_of_Philosophy_，p。212。Thepresentessayisreferredtoin_Ibid。_，p。219，note。Theauthor’scorrectionshavebeenadoptedforthepresenttext。ED。]
156
ThewayofhandlingthingsIspeakof，is，asyoualreadywillhavesuspected，thatknownsometimesasthepragmaticmethod，sometimesashumanism，sometimesasDeweyism，andinFrance，bysomeofthedisciplesofBergson，asthePhilosophienouvelle。ProfessorWoodbridge’s_Journal_of_Philosophy_（1）seemsunintentionallytohavebecomeasortofmeetingplaceforthosewhofollowthesetendenciesinAmerica。Thereisonlyadimidentityamongthem;andthemostthatcanbesaidatpresentisthatsomesortofgestationseemstobeintheatmosphere，andthatalmostanydayamanwithageniusforfindingtherightwordforthingsmayhituponsomeunifyingandconciliatingformulathatwillmakesomuchvaguelysimilaraspirationcrystallizeintomoredefiniteform。
Imyselfhavegiventhenameof’radicalempiricism’tothatversionofthetendencyinquestionwhichIprefer;andIpropose，ifyouwillnowletme，toillustratewhatImeanbyradicalempiricism，byapplyingittoactivity——-
1[_The_Journal_of_Philosophy，_Psychology_and_Scientific_Methods_。]
157
asanexample，hopingatthesametimeincidentallytoleavethegeneralproblemofactivityinaslightly——Ifearveryslightly——moremanageableshapethanbefore。
Mr。Bradleycallsthequestionofactivityascandaltophilosophy，andifoneturnstothecurrentliteratureofthesubject——hisownwritingsincluded——oneeasilygatherswhathemeans。Theopponentscannotevenunderstandoneanother。Mr。BradleysaystoMr。
Ward：\"Idonotcarewhatyouroracleis，andyourpreposterouspsychologymayherebegospelifyouplease;……butiftherevelationdoescontainameaning，Iwillcommitmyselftothis：eithertheoracleissoconfusedthatitssignificationisnotdiscoverable，or，upontheotherhand，ifitcanbepinneddowntoanydefinitestatement，thenthatstatementwillbefalse。\"（1）Mr。WardinturnsaysofMr。Bradley：\"Icannotevenimaginethestateofmindtowhichhisdescriptionapplies……[It]readslikeanunintentionaltravesty——-
1_Appearance_and_Reality_，secondedition。pp。116-117。——
Obviouslywritten_at_Ward，thoughWard’snameisnotmentioned158
ofHerbartianpsychologybyonewhohastriedtoimproveuponitwithoutbeingatthepainstomasterit。\"（1）Munsterbergexcludesaviewopposedtohisownbysayingthatwithanyonewhoholdsita_Verstandigung_withhimis\"_grundsatzlich_ausgeschlosen_\";andRoyce，inareviewof_Stoud_，（2）haulshimoverthecoalsatgreatlengthfordefending’efficacy’
inawaywhichI，forone，nevergatheredfromreadinghim，andwhichIhaveheardStouthimselfsaywasquiteforeigntotheintentionofhistext。
Inthesediscussiondistinctquestionsarehabituallyjumbledanddifferentpointsofviewaretalkedof_durcheinander_。
（1）Thereisapsychologicalquestion：\"Haveweperceptionsofactivity？andifso，whataretheylike，andwhenandwheredowehavethem？\"
（2）Thereisametaphysicalquestion：\"Istherea_fact_ofactivity？andifso，whatideamustweframeofit？Whatisitlike？andwhat——-
1[_Mind_，vol。XII，1887，pp。573-574。]
2_Mind_，N。S。，vol。VI，[1897]，p。379。
159
doesitdo，ifitdoesanything？\"Andfinallythereisalogicalquestion：
（3）\"Whencedowe_know_activity？Byourownfeelingsofitsolely？orbysomeothersourceofinformation？\"Throughoutpageafterpageoftheliteratureoneknowsnotwhichofthesequestionsisbeforeone;andmeredescriptionofthesurface-showofexperienceisprofferedasifitimplicitlyansweredeveryoneofthem。Nooneofthedisputants，moreover，triestoshowwhatpragmaticconsequenceshisownviewwouldcarry，orwhatassignableparticulardifferencesinanyone’sexperienceitwouldmakeifhisadversary’sweretriumphant。
Itseemstomethatifradicalempiricismbegoodforanything，itought，withitspragmaticmethodanditsprincipleofpureexperience，tobeabletoavoidsuchtangles，oratleasttosimplifythemsomewhat。Thepragmaticmethodstartsfromthepostulatethatthereisnodifferenceoftruththatdoesn’tmakeadifferenceoffactsomewhere;anditseekstodeterminethemeaningofalldifferencesof160
opinionbymakingthediscussionhingeassoonaspossibleuponsomepracticalorparticularissue。Theprincipleofpureexperienceisalsoamethodologicalpostulate。Nothingshallbeadmittedasfact，itsays，exceptwhatcanbeexperiencedatsomedefinitetimebysomeexperient;
andforeveryfeatureoffacteversoexperienced，adefiniteplacemustbefoundsomewhereinthefinalsystemofreality。Inotherwords：Everythingrealmustbeexperiencablesomewhere，andeverykindofthingexperiencedmustbesomewherereal。
Armedwiththeserulesofmethodletusseewhatfacetheproblemsofactivitypresenttous。
Bytheprincipleofpureexperience，eithertheword’activity’musthavenomeaningatall，orelsetheoriginaltypeandmodelofwhatitmeansmustlieinsomeconcretekindofexperiencethatcanbedefinitelypointedout。
Whateverulteriorjudgementswemayeventuallycometomakeregardingactivity，_that_sort_
ofthingwillbewhatthejudgementsareabout。
Thefirststeptotake，then，istoaskwhereinthestreamofexperienceweseemtofindwhat161
wespeakofasactivity。Whatwearetothinkoftheactivitythusfoundwillbealaterquestion。
Nowitisobviousthatwearetemptedtoaffirmactivitywhereverwefindanything_going_on_。Takeninthebroadestsense，anyapprehensionofsomething_doing_，isanexperienceofactivity。Wereourworlddescribableonlybythewords’nothinghappening，’
’nothingchanging，’’nothingdoing，’weshouldunquestionablycallitan’inactive’world。
Bareactivitythen，aswemaycallit，meansthebarefactofeventorchange。’Changetakingplace’isauniquecontentofexperience，oneofthose’conjunctive’objectswhichradicalempiricismseekssoearnestlytorehabilitateandpreserve。Thesenseofactivityisthusinthebroadestandvaguestwaysynonymouswiththesenseof’life。’Weshouldfeelourownsubjectivelifeatleast，eveninnoticingandproclaiminganotherwiseinactiveworld。
Ourownreactiononitsmonotonywouldbetheonethingexperiencedthereintheformofsomethingcomingtopass。
162
Thisseemstobewhatcertainwritershaveinmindwhentheyinsistthatforanexperienttobeatallistobeactive。Itseemstojustify，oratanyratetoexplain，Mr。Ward’sexpressionthatwe_are_onlyasweareactive，（1）forwe_are_onlyasexperients;anditrulesoutMr。
Bradley’scontentionthat\"thereisnooriginalexperienceofanythinglikeactivity。\"（2）Whatweoughttosayaboutactivitiesthuselementary，whosetheyare，whattheyeffect，orwhetherindeedtheyeffectanythingatall——
thesearelaterquestions，tobeansweredonlywhenthefieldofexperienceisenlarged。
Bareactivitywouldthusbepredicable，thoughtherewerenodefinitedirection，noactor，andnoaim。Mererestlesszigzagmovement，orawild_Ideenflucht_，or_Rhapsodie_der_
_Wharnehmungen_，asKantwouldsay，（2）would——-
1_Naturalism_and_Agnosticism_，vol。II，p。245。Onethinksnaturallyoftheperipatetic_actus_primus_and_actus_secundus_here。[\"Actusautemest_duplex_：_primus_et_secundus_。Actusquidemprimusestforma，etintegritassei。Actusautemsecundusestoperatio。\"ThomasAquinas：_Summa_Theologica_，editionofLeoXIII，（1894），vol。I，p。391。Cf。alsoBlanc：_Dictionaire_de_Philosophie_，under’acte。’
ED。]
2[_Appearance_and_Reality_，secondedition，p。116。]
3[_Kritik_der_reinen_Vernunft，_Werke_，（1905），vol。IV，p。110
（trans。byMaxMuller，secondedition，p。128）。]
constituteandactiveasdistinguishedfromaninactiveworld。
Butinthisactualworldofours，asitisgiven，apartatleastoftheactivitycomeswithdefinitedirection;itcomeswithdesireandasenseofgoal;itcomescomplicatedwithresistanceswhichitovercomesorsuccumbsto，andwiththeeffortswhichthefeelingofresistancesooftenprovokes;anditisincomplexexperienceslikethesethatthenotionsofdistinctagents，andofpassivityasopposedtoactivityarise。Herealsothenotionofcausalefficacycomestobirth。Perhapsthemostelaborateworkeverdoneindescriptivepsychologyhasbeentheanalysisbyvariousrecentwritersofthemorecomplexactivity-
situations。（1）Intheirdescriptions，exquisitely——-
1IrefertosuchdescriptiveworkasLadd’s（_Psychology，_
_Descriptive_and_Explanatory_，partI，chap。V，partII，chap。XI，partIII，chaps。XXVandXXVI）;asSully’s（_The_Human_Mind_，partV）;asStout’s（_Analytic_Psychology_，bookI，chap。vi，andbookII，chaps。I，II，andIII）;asBradley’s（inhislongseriesofarticlesonPsychologyin_Mind）_;asTitchener’s（_Outline_of_Psychology_，partI，chap。vi）;
asShand’s（_Mind_，N。S。，III，449;IV，450;VI，289）;asWard’s（_Mind_，XII，67;564）;asLoveday’s（_Mind_，N。S。，X，455）;asLipp’s（VomFuhlen，WollenUndDenken，1902，chapsII，IV，VI）;
andasBergson’s（_Revue_Philosophique_，LIII，1）——tomentiononlyafewwritingswhichIimmediatelyrecall。
subtlesomeofthem，91）theactivityappearsasthe_gestaltqualitat_orthe_fundirte_inhalt_（oraswhateverelseyoumaypleasetocalltheconjunctiveform）whichthecontentfallsintowhenweexperienceitinthewayswhichthedescriberssetforth。Thosefactorsinthoserelationsarewhatwemeanbyactivity-situations;
andtothepossibleenumerationandaccumulationoftheircircumstancesandingredientstherewouldseemtobenonaturalbound。Everyhourofhumanlifecouldcontributetothepicturegallery;andthisistheonlyfaultthatonecanfindwithsuchdescriptiveindustry——whereisitgoingtostop？
Oughtwetolistenforevertoverbalpicturesofwhatwehavealreadyinconcreteforminourownbreasts？（2）Theynevertakeusoffthesuperficialplane。Weknewthefactsalready——
lessspreadoutandseparated，tobesure——but——-
1TheirexistenceformsacuriouscommentaryonProf。Munsterberg’sdogmathatwill-attitudesarenotdescribable。Hehimselfhascontributedinasuperiorwaytotheirdescription，bothinhis_Willenshandlung_，andinhis_Grundzuge_[_der_Psychologie_]，partII，chap。IX，section7。
2Ioughtmyselftocry_peccavi_，havingbeenavoluminoussinnerinmyownchapteronthewill。[_Principles_of_Psychology_，vol。II，chap。
XXVI。]
165
weknewthemstill。Wealwaysfeltourownactivity，forexample，as’theexpansionofanideawithwhichourSelfisidentified，againstanobstacle’;（1）andthefollowingoutofsuchadefinitionthroughamultitudeofcaseselaboratestheobvioussoastobelittlemorethananexerciseinsynonymicspeech。
Allthedescriptionshavetotracefamiliaroutlines，andtousefamiliarterms。Theactivityis，forexample，attributedeithertoaphysicalortoamentalagent，andiseitheraimlessordirected。Ifdirecteditshowstendency。
Thetendencymayormaynotberesisted。
Ifnot，wecalltheactivityimmanent，aswhenabodymovesinemptyspacebyitsmomentum，orourthoughtswanderattheirownsweetwill。Ifresistanceismet，_its_agentcomplicatesthesituation。Ifnow，inspiteofresistance，theoriginaltendencycontinues，effortmakesitsappearance，andalongwitheffort，strainorsqueeze。Will，inthenarrowersenseoftheword，thencomesuponthescene，whenever，——-
1[Cf。F。H。Bradley，_Appearance_and_Reality_，secondedition，pp。
96-97。]
166
alongwiththetendency，thestrainandsqueezearesustained。Buttheresistancemaybegreatenoughtocheckthetendency，oreventoreverseitspath。Inthatcase，we（if’we’weretheoriginalagentsorsubjectsofthetendency）
areoverpowered。Thephenomenonturnsintooneoftensionsimply，orofnecessitysuccumbed-
to，accordingastheopposingpowerisonlyequal，orissuperiortoourselves。
Whosoeverdescribesanexperienceinsuchtermsasthesedescribesanexperience_of_activity。
Ifthewordhaveanymeaning，itmustdenotewhatthereisfound。_There_iscompleteactivityinitsoriginalandfirstintention。
Whatis’known-as’iswhatthereappears。
Theexperiencerofsuchasituationpossessesallthattheideacontains。Hefeelsthetendency，theobstacle，thewill，thestrain，thetriumph，orthepassivegivingup，justashefeelsthetime，thespace，theswiftnessorintensity，themovement，theweightandcolor，thepainandpleasure，thecomplexity，orwhateverremainingcharactersthesituationmayinvolve。Hegoesthroughallthatevercanbeimaginedwhere167
activityissupposed。Ifwesupposeactivitiestogoonoutsideofourexperience，itisinformslikethesethatwemustsupposethem，orelsegivethemsomeothername;fortheword’activity’hasnoimaginablecontentwhateversavetheseexperiencesofprocess，obstruction，striving，strain，orrelease，ultimate_qualia_astheyareofthelifegivenustobeknown。
Werethistheendofthematter，onemightthinkthatwheneverwehadsuccessfullylivedthroughanactivity-situationweshouldhavetobepermitted，withoutprovokingcontradiction，tosaythatwehadbeenreallyactive，thatwehadmetrealresistanceandhadreallyprevailed。Lotzesomewheresaysthattobeanentityallthatisnecessaryisto_gelten_asanentity，tooperate，orbefelt，experienced，recognized，orinanywayrealized，assuch。（1）inouractivity-experiencestheactivityassuredlyfulfilsLotze’sdemand。Itmakesitself_gelten_。Itiswitnessedatitswork。nomatterwhatactivitiestheremayreallybeinthisextraordinaryuniverseofours，itisimpossible——-
1[Cf。above，p。59，note。]
168
forustoconceiveofanyoneofthembeingeitherlivedthroughorauthenticallyknownotherwisethaninthisdramaticshapeofsomethingsustainingafeltpurposeagainstfeltobstaclesandovercomingorbeingovercome。
What’sustaining’meanshereiscleartoanyonewhohaslivedthroughtheexperience，buttonooneelse;justas’loud，’’red，’’sweet，’meansomethingonlytobeingswithears，eyes，andtongues。The_percipi_intheseoriginalsofexperienceisthe_esse_;thecurtainisthepicture。
Ifthereisanythinghidinginthebackground，itoughtnottobecalledactivity，butshouldgetitselfanothername。
Thisseemssoobviouslytruethatonemightwellexperienceastonishmentatfindingsomanyoftheablestwritersonthesubjectflatlydenyingthattheactivitywelivethroughinthesesituationsisreal。Merelytofeelactiveisnottobeactive，intheirsight。Theagentsthatappearintheexperiencearenotrealagents，theresistancesdonotreallyresist，theeffectsthatappeararenotreallyaffectsatall。（1）
——-
1_Verborum_gratia_：\"Thefeelingofactivityisnotable，_qua_
feeling，totellusanythingaboutactivity\"（Loveday：_Mind_，N。S。，vol，X，[1901]，p。463;\"Asensationorfeelingorsenseofactivity……
isnot，lookedatinanotherway，anexperience_of_activityatall。
Itisameresensationshutupwithinwhichyoucouldbynoreflectiongettheideaofactivity……Whetherthisexperienceisorisnotlateronacharacteressentialtoourperceptionandourideaofactivity，it，asitcomesfirst，isonlysoforextraneousreasonsandonlysoforanoutsideobserver\"（Bradley，_Appearance_and_Reality_，secondedition，p。605）;\"IndemTatigkeitsgefuhleliegtansichnichtdergeringsteBeweisfurdasVorhandeseineinerpsychischenTatigkeit\"
（Munsterberg：_Grundzuge_der_Psychologie_）。Icouldmultiplysimilarquotationsandwouldhaveintroducedsomeofthemintomytexttomakeitmoreconcrete，savethattheminglingofdifferentpointsofviewinmostoftheseauthor’sdiscussions（notinMunsterberg’s）makeitimpossibletodisentangleexactlywhattheymean。Iamsureinanycase，tobeaccusedofmisrepresentingthemtotally，eveninthisnote，byomissionofthecontext，sothelessInamenamesandthemoreI
sticktoabstractcharacterizationofamerelypossiblestyleofopinion，thesaferitwillbe。Andaproposofmisunderstandings，Imayaddtothisnoteacomplaintonmyownaccount。ProfessorStoud，intheexcellentchapteron’MentalActivity，’invol。Iofhis_Analytic_Psychology_，takesmetotaskforidentifyingspiritualactivitywithcertainmuscularfeelingsandgivesquotationstobearhimout。Theyarefromcertainparagraphson’theSelf’inwhichmyattemptwastoshowwhatthecentralnucleusoftheactivitiesthatwecall’ours’is。[_Principles_of_Psychology_，vol。I，pp。299-305。]Ifounditincertainintracephalicmovementswhichwehabituallyoppose，as’subjective，’totheactivitiesofthetranscorporealworld。Isoughttoshowthatthereisnodirectevidencethatwefeeltheactivityofaninnerspiritualagentassuch（Ishouldnowsaytheactivityof’consciousness’assuch，see[thefirstessay]，’DoesConsciousnessExist？’）。Thereare，infact，threedistinguishable’activities’inthefieldofdiscussion：theelementaryactivityinvolvedinthemere_that_ofexperience，inthefactthat_something_isgoingon，andthefartherspecificationofthis_something_intotwo_whats_，anactivityfeltas’ours，’andanactivityascribedtoobjects。Stout，asI
apprehendhim，identifies’our’activitywiththatofthetotalexperience-process，andwhenIcircumscribeitasapartthereof，accusesmeoftreatingitasasortofexternalappendagetoitself（Stout：op。cit。，vol。I，pp。162-163），asifI’separatedtheactivityfromtheprocesswhichisactive。’Butalltheprocessesinquestionareactive，andtheiractivityisinseparablefromtheirbeing。Mybookraisedonlythequestionof_which_activitydeservedthenameof’ours。’Sofarasweare’persons，’andcontrastedandopposedtoan’environment，’movementsinourbodyfigureasouractivities;andIamunabletofindanyotheractivitiesthatareoursinthisstrictlypersonalsense。Thereisawidersenseinwhichthewhole’choirofheavenandfurnitureoftheearth，’andtheiractivities，areours，fortheyareour’objects。’But’we’arehereonlyanothernameforthetotalprocessofexperience，anothernameforallthatis，infact;andIwasdealingwiththepersonalandindividualizedselfexclusivelyinthepassageswithwhichProfessorStoutfindsfault。
Theindividualizedself，whichIbelievetobetheonlythingproperlycalledself，isapartofthecontentoftheworldexperienced。
Theworldexperienced（otherwisecalledthe’fieldofconsciousness’）
comesatalltimeswithourbodyatitscentre，centreofvision，centreofaction，centreofinterest。Wherethebodyisis’here’：whenthebodyactsis’now’;whatthebodytouchesis’this’;allotherthingsare’there’and’then’and’that。’Thesewordsofemphasizedpositionimplyasystematizationofthingswithreferencetoafocusofactionandinterestwhichliesinthebody;andthesystematizationisnowsoinstinctive（wasitevernotso？）thatnodevelopedoractiveexperienceexistsforusatallexceptinthatorderedform。Sofaras’thoughts’
and’feelings’canbeactive，thereactivityterminatesintheactivityofthebody，andonlythroughfirstarousingitsactivitiescantheybegintochangethoseoftherestoftheworld。[Cf。also_A_Pluralistic_Universe_，p。344，note8。ED。]Thebodyisthestormcentre，theoriginofco-ordinates，theconstantplaceofstressinallthatexperience-train。Everythingcirclesroundit，andisfeltfromitspointofview。Theword’I，’then，isprimarilyanounofposition，justlike’this’and’here。’Activitiesattachedto’this’positionhaveprerogativeemphasis，and，ifactivitieshavefeelings，mustbefeltinaparticularway。Theword’mydesignatesthekindofemphasis。
Iseenoinconsistencywhateverindefending，ontheonehand，’my’
activitiesasuniqueandopposedtothoseofouternature，and，ontheotherhand，inaffirming，afterintrospection，thattheyconsistinmovementsinthehead。The’my’ofthemistheemphasis，thefeelingofperspective-interestinwhichtheyaredyed。
169
Itisevidentfromthisthatmeredescriptiveanalysisofanyoneofouractivity-experiencesisnotthewholestory，thatthereissomething170
stilltotell_about_themthathasledsuchablewriterstoconceiveofa_Simon-pure_activity，anactivity_an_sich_，thatdoes，anddoesn’t171
merelyappeartoustodo，andcomparedwithwhoserealdoingallthisphenomenalactivityisbutaspecioussham。
Themetaphysicalquestionopenshere;andIthinkthatthestateofmindofonepossessedbyitisoftensomethinglikethis：\"Itisallverywell，\"wemayimaginehimsaying，\"totalkaboutcertainexperience-seriestakingontheformoffeelingsofactivity，justastheymighttakeonmusicalorgeometricforms。Supposethattheydoso;supposewefeelawilltostandastrain。Doesourfeelingdomorethan_record_
thefactthatthestrainissustained？The_real_
activity，meanwhile，isthe_doing_ofthefact;
andwhatisthedoingmadeofbeforetherecordismade。Whatinthewill_enables_ittoactthus？
Andthesetrainsofexperiencethemselves，inwhichactivitiesappear，whatmakesthem_go_
atall？Doestheactivityinonebitofexperiencebringthenextbitintobeing？Asanempiricist172
youcannotsayso，foryouhavejustdeclaredactivitytobeonlyakindofsyntheticobject，orconjunctiverelationexperiencedbetweenbitsofexperiencealreadymade。Butwhatmadethematall？Whatpropelsexperience_uberhaupt_intobeing？_There_istheactivitythat_operates_;theactivity_felt_isonlyitssuperficialsign。\"
Tothemetaphysicalquestion，poppeduponusinthisway，ImustpayseriousattentionereIendmyremarks;but，beforedoingso，letmeshowthatwithoutleavingtheimmediatereticulationsofexperience，oraskingwhatmakesactivityitselfact，westillfindthedistinctionbetweenlessrealandmorerealactivitiesforceduponus，andaredriventomuchsoul-searchingonthepurelyphenomenalplane。
Wemustnotforget，namely，intalkingoftheultimatecharacterofouractivity-experiences，thateachofthemisbutaportionofawiderworld，onelinkinthevastchainofprocessesofexperienceoutofwhichhistoryismade。Eachpartialprocess，tohimwholivesthroughit，definesitselfbyitsoriginandits173
goal;buttoanobserverwithawidermind-
spanwhoshouldliveoutsideofit，thatgoalwouldappearbutasaprovisionalhalting-
place，andthesubjectivelyfeltactivitywouldbeseentocontinueintoobjectiveactivitiesthatledfarbeyond。Wethusacquireahabit，indiscussingactivity-experiences，ofdefiningthembytheirrelationtosomethingmore。Ifanexperiencebeoneofnarrowspan，itwillbemistakenastowhatactivityitisandwhose。
Youthinkthat_you_areactingwhileyouareonlyobeyingsomeone’spush。Youthinkyouaredoing_this_，butyouaredoingsomethingofwhichyoudonotdream。Forinstance，youthinkyouarebutdrinkingthisglass;butyouarereallycreatingtheliver-cirrhosisthatwillendyourdays。Youthinkyouarejustdrivingthisbargain，but，asStevensonsayssomewhere，youarelayingdownalinkinthepolicyofmankind。
Generallyspeaking，theonlooker，withhiswiderfieldofvision，regardsthe_ultimate_outcome_
ofanactivityaswhatitismorereallydoing;and_the_most_previous_agent_ascertainable，174
beingthefirstsourceofaction，heregardsasthemostrealagentinthefield。Theothersbuttransmittheagent’simpulse;onhimweputresponsibility;wenamehimwhenoneasksus’Who’stoblame？’
Butthemostpreviousagentsascertainable，insteadofbeingalongerspan，areoftenofmuchshorterspanthantheactivityinview。
Brain-cellsareourbestexample。Mybrain-
cellsarebelievedtoexciteeachotherfromnexttonext（bycontiguoustransmissionofkatabolicalteration，letussay）andtohavebeendoingsolongbeforethispresentstretchoflecturing-activityonmypartbegan。Ifanyonecell-groupstopsitsactivity，thelecturingwillceaseorshowdisorderofform。_Cessante_
_causa，_cessat_et_effectus_——doesnotthislookasiftheshort-spanbrainactiviteiswerethemorerealactivities，andthelecturingactivitiesonmypartonlytheireffects？Moreover，asHumesoclearlypointedout，（1）inmymentalactivity-situationthewordsphysicallytobe——-
1[_Enquiry_Concerning_Human_Understanding_，sectVII，partI，Selby-Bigge’sedition，pp。65ff。]
175
utteredarerepresentedastheactivity’simmediategoal。Thesewords，however，cannotbeutteredwithoutintermediatephysicalprocessesinthebulbandvaginerves，whichprocessesneverthelessfailtofigureinthementalactivity-seriesatall。Thatseries，therefore，sinceitleavesoutvitallyrealstepsofaction，cannotrepresenttherealactivities。Itissomethingpurelysubjective;the_facts_ofactivityareelsewhere。Theyaresomethingfarmoreinterstitial，sotospeak，thanwhatmyfeelingsrecord。
The_real_factsofactivitythathaveinpointoffactbeensystematicallypleadedforbyphilosophershave，sofarasmyinformationgoes，beenofthreeprincipaltypes。
Thefirsttypetakesaconsciousnessofwidertime-spanthanourstobethevehicleofthemorerealactivity。Itswillistheagent，anditspurposeistheactiondone。
Thesecondtypeassumesthat’ideas’strugglingwithoneanotheraretheagents，andthattheprevalenceofonesetofthemistheaction。
176
Thethirdtypebelievesthatnever-cellsaretheagents，andthatresultantmotordischargesaretheactsachieved。
Nowifwemustde-realizeourimmediatelyfeltactivity-situationsforthebenefitofeitherofthesetypesofsubstitute，weoughttoknowwhatthesubstitutionpracticallyinvolves。
_What_practical_difference_ought_it_to_make_if_，insteadofsayingnaivelythat’I’amactivenowindeliveringthisaddress，Isaythat_a_
_wider_thinker_is_active_，orthat_certain_ideas_are_
_active_，orthat_certain_nerve-cells_are_active_，inproducingtheresult？
Thiswouldbethepragmaticmeaningofthethreehypotheses。Letustaketheminsuccessioninseekingareply。
Ifweassumeawiderthinker，itisevidentthathispurposesenvelopemine。Iamreallylecturing_for_him;andalthoughIcannotsurelyknowtowhatend，yetifItakehimreligiously，Icantrustittobeagoodend，andwillinglyconnive。Icanbehappyinthinkingthatmyactivitytransmitshisimpulse，andthathisendsprolongmyown。SonlongasItakehim177
religiously，inshort，hedoesnotde-realizemyactivities。Hetendsrathertocorroboratetherealityofthem，solongasIbelieveboththemandhimtobegood。
Whennowweturntoideas，thecaseisdifferent，inasmuchasideasaresupposedbytheassociationpsychologytoinfluenceeachotheronlyfromnexttonext。The’span’ofanideaorpairofideas，isassumedtobemuchsmallerinsteadofbeinglargerthanthatofmytotalconsciousfield。Thesameresultsmaygetworkedoutinbothcases，forthisaddressisbeinggivenanyhow。Buttheideassupposedto’really’workitouthadnoprevisionofthewholeofit;andifIwaslecturingforanabsolutethinkerintheformercase，so，bysimilarreasoning，aremyideasnowlecturingforme，thatis，accomplishingunwittinglyaresultwhichIapproveandadopt。But，whenthispassinglectureisover，thereisnothinginthebarenotionthatideashavebeenitsagentsthatwouldseemtoguaranteethatmypresentpurposesinlecturingwillbeprolonged。_I_mayhaveulteriordevelopmentsinview;butthere178
isnocertaintythatmyideasassuchwillwishto，orbeableto，workthemout。
Thelikeistrueifnerve-cellsbetheagents。
Theactivityofanerve-cellmustbeconceivedofasatendencyofexceedinglyshortreach，an’impulse’barelyspanningthewaytothenextcell——forsurelythatamountofactual’process’
mustbe’experienced’bythecellsifwhathappensbetweenthemistodeservethenameofactivityatall。Buthereagainthegrossresultant，as_I_perceiveit，isindifferenttotheagents，andneitherwishedorwilledorforeseen。
Theirbeingagentsnowcongruouswithmywillgivesmenoguaranteethatlikeresultswillrecuragainfromtheiractivity。Inpointoffact，allsortsofotherresultsdooccur。Mymistakes，impotencies，perversions，mentalobstructions，andfrustrationsgenerally，arealsoresultsoftheactivityofcells。Althoughthesearelettingmelecturenow，onotheroccasionstheymakemedothingsthatIwouldwillinglynotdo。
Thequestion_Whose_is_the_real_activity？_isthustantamounttothequestion_What_will_be_
179
_the_actual_results？_Itsinterestisdramatic;howwillthingsworkout？Iftheagentsareofonesort，oneway;ifofanothersort，theymayworkoutdifferently。Thepragmaticmeaningofthevariousalternatives，inshort，isgreat。Itmakesnomerelyverbaldifferencewhichopinionwetakeup。
Youseeitistheolddisputecomeback！
Materialismandteleology;elementaryshort-
spanactionssummingthemselves’blindly，’orfarforeseenidealscomingwitheffortintoact。
Naivelywebelieve，andhumanlyanddramaticallyweliketobelieve，thatactivitiesbothofwiderandofnarrowerspanareatworkinlifetogether，thatbotharereal，andthatthelong-spantendenciesyoketheothersintheirservice，encouragingthemintherightdirection，anddampingthemwhentheytendinotherways。Buthowtorepresentclearlythe_modus_operandi_ofsuchsteeringofsmalltendenciesbylargeonesisaproblemwhichmetaphysicalthinkerswillhavetoruminateuponformanyyearstocome。Evenifsuchcontrolshouldeventuallygrowclearlypicturable，180
thequestionhowfaritissuccessfullyexertedinthisactualworldcanbeansweredonlybyinvestigatingthedetailsoffact。Nophilosophicknowledgeofthegeneralnatureandconstitutionoftendencies，oroftherelationoflargertosmallerones，canhelpustopredictwhichofallthevariouscompetingtendenciesthatinterestusinthisuniversearelikeliesttoprevail。Weknowasanempiricalfactthatfar-seeingtendenciesoftencarryouttheirpurpose，butweknowalsothattheyareoftendefeatedbythefailureofsomecontemptiblysmallprocessonwhichsuccessdepends。
Alittlethrombusinastatesman’smeningealarterywillthrowanempireoutofgear。Icanthereforenotevenhintatanysolutionofthepragmaticissue。Ihaveonlywishedtoshowyouthatthatissueiswhatgivestherealinteresttoallinquiriesintowhatkindsofactivitymaybereal。Aretheforcesthatreallyactintheworldmoreforeseeingormoreblind？
Asbetween’our’activitiesas’we’experiencethem，andthoseofourideas，orofourbrain-
cells，theissueiswell-defined。
181
Isaidawhileback（1）thatIshouldreturntothe’metaphysical’questionbeforeending;so，withafewwordsaboutthat，Iwillnowclosemyremarks。
Inwhateverformwehearthisquestionpropounded，Ithinkthatitalwaysarisesfromtwothings，abeliefthat_causality_mustbeexertedinactivity，andawonderastohowcausalityismade。Ifwetakeanactivity-situationatitsface-value，itseemsasifwecaught_in_flagrante_
_delicto_theverypowerthatmakesfactscomeandbe。Inowameagerlystriving，forexample，togetthistruthwhichIseemhalftoperceive，intowordswhichshallmakeitshowmoreclearly。Ifthewordscome，itwillseemasifthestrivingitselfhaddrawnorpulledthemintoactualityoutfromthestateofmerelypossiblebeinginwhichtheywere。Howisthisfeatperformed？Howdoesthepulling_pull？_
HowdoIgetmyholdonwordsnotyetexistent，andwhentheycomebywhatmeanshaveI_made_themcome？Reallyitistheproblemofcreation;forintheendthequestionis：Howdo——-
1Page172。
182
Imakethem_be？_Realactivitiesarethosethatreallymakethingsbe，withoutwhichthethingsarenot，andwithwhichtheyarethere。Activity，sofaraswemerelyfeelit，ontheotherhand，isonlyanimpressionofours，itmaybemaintained;andanimpressionis，forallthiswayofthinking，onlyashadowofanotherfact。
Arrivedatthispoint，Icandolittlemorethanindicatetheprinciplesonwhich，asitseemstome，aradicallyempiricalphilosophyisobligedtorelyinhandlingsuchadispute。
Ifthere_be_realcreativeactiviteisinbeing，radicalempiricismmustsay，somewheretheymustbeimmediatelylived。Somewherethe_that_ofefficaciouscausingandthe_what_ofitmustbeexperiencedinone，justasthewhatandthethatof’cold’areexperiencedinonewheneveramanhasthesensationofcoldhereandnow。Itbootsnottosaythatoursensationsarefallible。Theyareindeed;buttoseethethermometercontradictuswhenwesay’itiscold’doesnotabolishcoldasaspecificnaturefromtheuniverse。Coldisthearctic183
circleifnothere。Evenso，tofeelthatourtrainismovingwhenthetrainbesideourwindowmoves，toseethemoonthroughatelescopecometwiceasnear，ortoseetwopicturesasonesolidwhenwelookthroughastereoscopeatthem，leavesmotion，nearness，andsoliditystillinbeing——ifnothere，yeteachinitsproperseatelsewhere。Andwherevertheseatofrealcausality_is_，asultimatelyknown’fortrue’（innerve-processes，ifyouwill，thatcauseourfeelingsofactivityaswellasthemovementswhichtheseseemtoprompt），aphilosophyofpureexperiencecanconsidertherealcausationasnoother_nature_ofthingthanthatwhichevenourmosterroneousexperiencesappearstobeatwork。Exactlywhatappearsthereiswhatwe_mean_byworking，thoughwemaylatercometolearnthatworkingwasnotexactly_there_。
Sustaining，persevering，striving，payingwitheffortaswego，hangingon，andfinallyachievingourintention——this_is_action，this_is_effectuationintheonlyshapeinwhich，byapureexperience-philosophy，thewhereaboutsofit184
anywherecanbediscussed。Hereiscreationinitsfirstintention，hereiscausalityatwork。（1）
Totreatthisoffhandasthebareillusorysurfaceofaworldwhoserealcausalityisanunimaginableontologicalprinciplehiddeninthecubicdeeps，is，forthemoreempiricalwayofthinking，onlyanimisminanothershape。Youexplainyourgivenfactbyyour’principle，’buttheprincipleitself，whenyoulookclearlyatit，turnsouttobenothingbutapreviouslittlespiritualcopyofthefact。Awayfromthatoneandonlykindoffactyourmind，consideringcausality，canneverget。（2）
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1Letmenotbetoldthatthiscontradicts[thefirstessay]，’DoesConsciousnessExist？’（seeespeciallypage32），inwhichitwassaidthatwhile’thoughts’and’things’havethesamenatures，thenatureswork’energetically’oneachotherinthethings（fireburns，waterwets，etc。）butnotinthethoughts。Mentalactivity-trainsarecomposedofthoughts，yettheirmembersdoworkoneachother，theycheck，sustain，andintroduce。Theydosowhentheactivityismerelyassociationalaswellaswheneffortisthere。But，andthisismyreply，theydosobyotherpartsoftheirnaturethanthosethatenergizephysically。Onethoughtineverydevelopedactivity-seriesisadesireorthoughtofpurpose，andalltheotherthoughtsacquireafeelingtonefromtheirrelationofharmonyoroppugnancytothis。Theinterplayofthesesecondarytones（amongwhich’interest，’
’difficulty，’and’effort’figure）runsthedramainthementalseries。
Inwhatwetermthephysicaldramathesequalitiesplayabsolutelynopart。Thesubjectneedscarefulworkingout;butIcanseenoinconsistency。
2Ihavefoundmyselfmorethanonceaccusedinprintofbeingtheassertorofametaphysicalprincipleofactivity。Sinceliterarymisunderstandingsretardthesettlementofproblems，IshouldliketosaythatsuchaninterpretationofthepagesIhavepublishedonEffortandonWillisabsolutelyforeigntowhatImeantoexpress。
[_Principles_of_Psychology_，volII，ch。XXVI。]IowallmydoctrinesonthissubjecttoRenouvier;andRenouvier，asIunderstandhim，is（oratanyratethenwas）anoutandoutphenomenalist，adenierof’forces’
inthemoststrenuoussense。[Cf。Ch。Renouvier：
_Esquisse_d’une_Classification_Systematique_des_Doctrines_Philosophiques_
（1885），vol。II，pp。390-392;_Essais_de_Critique_Generale_（1859），vol。
II，sectionsix，xiii。Foranacknowledgementoftheauthor’sgeneralindebtednesstoRenouvier，cf。_Some_Problems_of_Philosophy_，p。165，note。ED。]Singleclausesinmywriting，orsentencesreadoutoftheirconnection，maypossiblyhavebeencompatiblewithatransphenomenalprincipleofenergy;butIdefyanyonetoshowasinglesentencewhich，takenwithitscontext，shouldbenaturallyheldtoadvocatethatview。Themisinterpretationprobablyaroseatfirstfrommydefending（afterRenouvier）theindeterminismofourefforts。’Freewill’wassupposedbymycriticstoinvolveasupernaturalagent。Asamatterofplainhistorytheonly’freewill’Ihaveeverthoughtofdefendingisthecharacterofnoveltyinfreshactivity-situations。Ifanactivity-processistheformofawhole’fieldofconsciousness，’andifeachfieldofconsciousnessisnotonlyinitstotalityunique（asisnowcommonlyadmitted）buthasitselementsunique（sinceinthatsituationtheyarealldyedinthetotal）thennoveltyisperpetuallyenteringtheworldandwhathappensthereisnotpure_repetition_，asthedogmaoftheliteraluniformityofnaturerequires。
Activity-situationscome，inshort，eachwithanoriginaltouch。A
’principle’offreewilliftherewereone，woulddoubtlessmanifestitselfinsuchphenomena，butIneversay，nordoInowsee，whattheprinciplecoulddoexceptrehearsethephenomenonbeforehand，orwhyitevershouldbeinvoked。
186
forphilosophyistoleaveoffgrubbingundergroundforwhateffectseffectuation，orwhatmakesactionact，andtotrytosolvetheconcretequestionsofwhereeffectuationinthisworldislocated，ofwhichthingsarethetruecausalagentsthere，andofwhatthemoreremoteeffectsconsist。
Fromthispointofviewthegreatersublimitytraditionallyattributedtothemetaphysicalinquiry，thegrubbinginquiry，entirelydisappears。
Ifwecouldknowwhatcausationreallyandtranscendentallyisinitself，theonly_use_oftheknowledgewouldbetohelpustorecognizeanactualcausewhenwehadone，andsototrackthefuturecourseofoperationsmoreintelligentlyout。Themereabstractinquiryintocausation’shiddennatureisnotmoresublimethananyotherinquiryequallyabstract。Causationinhabitsnomoresublimelevelthananythingelse。Itlives，apparently，inthedirtoftheworldaswellasintheabsolute，orinman’sunconquerablemind。Theworthandinterestoftheworldconsistsnotinitselements，betheseelements187
things，orbetheytheconjunctionsofthings;
itexistsratherinthedramaticoutcomeinthewholeprocess，andinthemeaningofthesuccessionstageswhichtheelementsworkout。
Mycolleagueandmaster，JosiahRoyce，inapageofhisreviewofStout’s_Analytic_Psychology（1）
hassomefinewordsonthispointwithwhichIcordiallyagree。Icannotagreewithhisseparatingthenotionofefficacyfromthatofactivityaltogether（thisIunderstandtobeonecontentionofhis）foractivitiesareefficaciouswhenevertheyarerealactivitiesatall。Buttheinnernaturebothofefficacyandofactivityaresuperficialproblems，IunderstandRoycetosay;andtheonlypointforusinsolvingthemwouldbetheirpossibleuseinhelpingustosolvethefardeeperproblemofthecourseandmeaningoftheworldoflife。
Life，saysourcolleague，isfullofsignificance，ofmeaning，ofsuccessandofdefeat，ofhopingandofstriving，oflonging，ofdesire，andofinnervalue。Itisatotalpresencethatembodiesworth。Toliveourownlivesbetterin——-
1_Mind_，N。S。，vol。VI，1897;cf。pp。392-393。
188
thispresenceisthetruereasonwhywewishtoknowtheelementsofthings;soevenwepsychologistsmustendonthispragmaticnote。
Theurgentproblemsofactivityarethusmoreconcrete。Theyareallproblemsofthetruerelationoflonger-spantoshorter-spanactivities。When，forexample，anumberof’ideas’（tousethenametraditionalinpsychology）
growconfluentinalargerfieldofconsciousness，dothesmalleractivitiesstillco-existwiththewideractivitiesthenexperiencedbytheconscioussubject？And，ifso，dothewideactivitiesaccompanythenarrowonesinertly，ordotheyexertcontrol？Ordotheyperhapsutterlysupplantandreplacethemandshort-circuittheireffects？Again，whenamentalactivity-processandabrain-
cellseriesofactivitiesbothterminateinthesamemuscularmovement，doesthementalprocesssteertheneuralprocessesornot？Or，ontheotherhand，doesitindependentlyshort-
circuittheireffects？Sucharethequestionsthatwemustbeginwith。ButsofaramIfromsuggestinganydefinitiveanswertosuchquestions，189
thatIhardlyyetcanputthemclearly。
Theylead，however，intothatregionofpan-
psychicandontologicspeculationofwhichProfessorsBergsonandStronghavelatelyenlargedtheliteratureinsoableandinterestingaway。（1）Theresultoftheseauthorsseeminmanyrespectsdissimilar，andIunderstandthemasyetbutimperfectly;butIcannothelpsuspectingthatthedirectionoftheirworkisverypromising，andthattheyhavethehunter’sinstinctforthefruitfultrails。
——-
1[Cf。_A_Pluralistic_Universe_，Lect。VI（onBergson）;H。Bergson：
_Creative_Evolution_，trans。byA。Mitchell;C。A。Strong：
_Why_the_Mind_Has_a_Body_，ch。XII。ED。]
190
VII
THEESSENCEOFHUMANISM（1）
HUMANISMisafermentthathas’cometostay。’（2）Itisnotasinglehypothesisoftheorem，anditdwellsonnonewfacts。Itisratheraslowshiftinginthephilosophicperspective，makingthingsappearasfromanewcentreofinterestorpointofsight。Somewritersarestronglyconsciousoftheshifting，othershalfunconscious，eventhoughtheirownvisionmayhaveundergonemuchchange。Theresultisnosmallconfusionindebate，thehalf-conscioushumanistsoftentakingpartagainsttheradicalones，asiftheywishedtocountupontheotherside。（3）
——-
1[Reprintedfrom_The_Journal_of_Philosophy，_Psychology_and_Scientific_Methods_，vol。II，No。5，March2，1905。Alsoreprinted，withslightchangesin_The_Meaning_of_Truth_，pp。121-135。Theauthor’scorrectionshavebeenadoptedforthepresenttext。ED。]
2[Written_apropos_oftheappearanceofthreearticlesin_Mind_，N。S。，vol。XIV，No。53，January，1905：\"’Absolute’and’Relative’
Truth，\"H。H。Joachim;\"ProfessorJameson’HumanismandTruth，’\"
H。W。B。Joseph;\"AppliedAxioms，\"A。Sidgwick。Ofthesearticlesthesecondandthird\"continuethehumanistic（orpragmatistic）
controversy，\"thefirst\"deeplyconnectswithit。\"ED。]
3ProfessorBaldwin，forexample。Hisaddress’OnSelectiveThinking’（_Psychological_Review_，[vol。V]，1898，reprintedinhisvolume，_Development_and_Evolution）seemstomeanunusuallywell-writtenpragmaticmanifesto。Neverthelessin’TheLimitsofPragmatism’（ibid。，[vol。XI]，1904），he（muchlessclearly）joinsintheattack。
191
Ifhumanismreallybethenameforsuchashiftingofperspective，itisobviousthatthewholesceneofthephilosophicstagewillchangeinsomedegreeifhumanismprevails。
Theemphasisofthings，theirforegroundandbackgrounddistribution，theirsizesandvalues，willnotkeepjustthesame。（1）Ifsuchpervasiveconsequencesbeinvolvedinhumanism，itisclearthatnopainswhichphilosophersmaytake，firstindefiningit，andtheninfurthering，checking，orsteeringitsprogress，willbethrownaway。
Itsuffersbadlyatpresentfromincompletedefinition。Itsmostsystematicadvocates，SchillerandDewey，havepublishedfragmentary——-
1Theethicalchanges，itseemstome，arebeautifullymadeevidentinProfessorDewey’sseriesofarticles，whichwillnevergettheattentiontheydeservetilltheyareprintedinabook。Imean：’TheSignificanceofEmotions，’_Psychological_Review_，vol。II，[1895]，p。
13;’TheReflexArcConceptinPsychology，’ibid。，vol。III[1896]，p。
357;’PsychologyandSocialPractice，’ibid。，vol。VII，[1900]，p。105;
’InterpretationofSavageMind，’ibid。，vol。IX，[1902]，p。217;’Green’sTheoryoftheMoralMotive，’_Philosophical_Review_，vol。I，[1892]，p。
593;’Self-realizationastheMoralIdeal，’ibid。，vol。II，[1893]，p。
652;’ThePsychologyofEffort，’ibid。，vol。VI，[1897]，p。43;’TheEvolutionaryMethodasAppliedtoMorality，’ibid。，volXI，[1902]，pp。
107，353;’EvolutionandEthics，’_Monist_，vol。VIII，[1898]，p。321;tomentiononlyafew。
192
programsonly;anditsbearingonmanyvitalphilosophicproblemshasnotbeentracedexceptbyadversarieswho，scentingheresiesinadvance，haveshoweredblowsondoctrines——
subjectivismandscepticism，forexample——
thatnogoodhumanistfindsitnecessarytoentertain。Bytheirstillgreaterreticences，theanti-humanistshave，inturn，perplexedthehumanists。Muchofthecontroversyhasinvolvedtheword’truth。’Itisalwaysgoodindebatetoknowyouradversary’spointofviewauthentically。Butthecriticsofhumanismneverdefineexactlywhattheword’truth’
signifieswhentheyuseitthemselves。Thehumanistshavetoguessattheirview;andtheresulthasdoubtlessbeenmuchatbeatingoftheair。Addtoallthis，greatindividualdifferencesinbothcamps，anditbecomesclearthatnothingissourgentlyneeded，atthestagewhichthingshavereachedatpresent，asasharperdefinitionbyeachsideofitscentralpointofview。
Whoeverwillcontributeanytouchofsharpnesswillhelpustomakesureofwhat’s193
whatandwhoiswho。Anyonecancontributesuchadefinition，and，withoutit，nooneknowsexactlywherehestands。IfIoffermyownprovisionaldefinitionofhumanism（1）nowandhere，othersmayimproveit，someadversarymaybeledtodefinehisowncreedmoresharplybythecontrast，andacertainquickeningofthecrystallizationofgeneralopinionmayresult。
I
Theessentialserviceofhumanism，asIconceivethesituation，istohaveseenthat_though_
_one_part_of_our_experience_may_lean_upon_another_
_part_to_make_it_what_it_is_in_any_one_of_several_
_aspects_in_which_it_may_be_considered，_experience_
_as_a_whole_is_self-containing_and_leans_
_on_nothing_。
Sincethisformulaalsoexpressesthemaincontentionoftranscendentalidealism，itneedsabundantexplicationtomakeitunambiguous。
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1[Theauthoremploystheterm’humanism’eitherasasynonymfor’radicalempiricism’（cf。e。g，above，p。156）;orasthatgeneralphilosophyoflifeofwhich’radicalempiricism’isthetheoreticalground（cf。below，p。194）。Forotherdiscussionsof’humanism，’cf。
below，essayXI，and_The_Meaning_of）Truth_，essayIII。ED。]
194
Itseems，atfirstsight，toconfineitselftodenyingtheismandpantheism。But，infact，itneednotdenyeither;everythingwoulddependontheexegesis;andiftheformulaeverbecamecanonical，itwouldcertainlydevelopbothright-wingandleft-winginterpreters。
Imyselfreadhumanismtheisticallyandpluralistically。IftherebeaGod，heisnoabsoluteall-experiencer，butsimplytheexperiencerofwidestactualconsciousspan。
Readthus，humanismisformeareligionsusceptibleofreasoneddefence，thoughIamwellawarehowmanymindstherearetowhomitcanappealreligiouslyonlywhenithasbeenmonisticallytranslated。EthicallythepluralisticformofittakesformeastrongerholdonrealitythananyotherphilosophyI
knowof——itbeingessentiallya_social_philosophy，aphilosophyof_’co，’_inwhichconjunctionsdothework。Butmyprimaryreasonforadvocatingitisitsmatchlessintellectualeconomy。Itgetsrid，notonlyofthestanding’problems’thatmonismengenders（’problemofevil，’’problemoffreedom，’andthelike），butofothermetaphysicalmysteriesandparadoxesaswell。
Itgetsrid，forexample，ofthewholeagnosticcontroversy，byrefusingtoentertainthehypothesisoftrans-empiricalrealityatall。ItgetsridofanyneedforanabsoluteoftheBradleyantype（avowedlysterileforintellectualpurposes）byinsistingthattheconjunctiverelationsfoundwithinexperiencearefaultlesslyreal。ItgetsridoftheneedofanabsoluteoftheRoyceantype（similarlysterile）byitspragmatictreatmentoftheproblemofknowledge[atreatmentofwhichIhavealreadygivenaversionintwoveryinadequatearticles]。（1）Astheviewsofknowledge，realityandtruthimputedtohumanismhavebeenthosesofarmostfiercelyattacked，itisinregardtotheseideasthatasharpeningoffocusseemsmosturgentlyrequired。Iproceedthereforetobringtheviewwhich_I_imputetohumanismintheserespectsintofocusasbrieflyasIcan。
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1[Omittedfromreprintin_Meaning_of_Truth_。Thearticlesreferredtoare’DoesConsciousnessExist？’and’AWorldofPureExperience，’
reprintedabove。]
196
II
Ifthecentralhumanisticthesis，printedaboveinitalics，beaccepted，itwillfollowthat，iftherebeanysuchthingatallasknowing，theknowerandtheobjectknownmustbothbeportionsofexperience。Onepartofexperiencemust，therefore，either（1）Knowanotherpartofexperience——inotherwords，partsmust，asProfessorWoodbridgesays，（1）represent_one_another_insteadofrepresentingrealitiesoutsideof’consciousness’
——thiscaseisthatofconceptualknowledge;orelse（2）Theymustsimplyexistassomanyultimate_thats_orfactsofbeing，inthefirstinstance;
anthen，asasecondarycomplication，andwithoutdoublingupitsentitativesingleness，anyoneandthesame_that_mustfigurealternatelyasathingknownandasaknowledgeofthething，byreasonoftwodivergentkindsofcontextintowhich，inthegeneralcourseofexperience，itgetswoven。（2）
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1In_Science_，November4，1904，p。599。
2Thisstatementisprobablyexcessivelyobscuretoanywhohasnotreadmytwoarticles，’DoesConsciousnessExist？’and’AWorldofPureExperience。’
197
Thissecondcaseisthatofsense-perception。
Thereisastageofthoughtthatgoesbeyondcommonsense，andofitIshallsaymorepresently;
butthecommon-sensestageisaperfectlydefinitehalting-placeofthought，primarilyforthepurposesofaction;and，solongasweremainonthecommon-sensestageofthought，objectandsubject_fuse_inthefactof’presentation’orsense-perception——thepenandhandwhichInow_see_writing，forexample，_are_thephysicalrealitieswhichthosewordsdesignate。Inthiscasethereisnoself-transcendencyimpliedintheknowing。Humanism，here，isonlyamorecomminuted_Identitasphilosophie_。（1）
Incase（1），onthecontrary，therepresentativeexperiencedoestranscenditselfinknowingtheotherexperiencethatisitsobject。Noonecantalkoftheknowledgeoftheonebytheotherwithoutseeingthemasnumericallydistinctentities，ofwhichtheoneliesbeyondtheotherandawayfromit，alongsomedirection——-
1[Cf。above，p。134;andbelow，p。202。]
198
andwithsomeinterval，thatcanbedefinitelynamed。But，ifthetalkerbeahumanist，hemustalsoseethisdistance-intervalconcretelyandpragmatically，andconfessittoconsistofotherinterveningexperiences——ofpossibleones，atallevents，ifnotofactual。Tocallmypresentideaofmydog，forexample，cognitiveoftherealdogmeansthat，astheactualtissueofexperienceisconstituted，theideaiscapableofleadingintoachainofotherexperiencesonmypartthatgofromnexttonextandterminateatlastinvividsense-perceptionsofajumping，barking，hairybody。Those_are_
therealdog，thedog’sfullpresence，formycommonsense。Ifthesupposedtalkerisaprofoundphilosopher，althoughtheymaynot_be_therealdogforhim，they_mean_therealdog，arepracticalsubstitutesfortherealdog，astherepresentationwasapracticalsubstituteforthem，thatrealdogbeingalotofatoms，say，orofmind-stuff，thatlie_where_thesense-
perceptionslieinhisexperienceaswellasinmyown。
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III
Thephilosopherherestandsforthestageofthoughtthatgoesbeyondthestageofcommonsense;andthedifferenceissimplythathe’interpolates’and’extrapolates，’wherecommonsensedoesnot。Forcommonsense，twomenseethesameidenticalrealdog。Philosophy，notingactualdifferencesintheirperceptions，pointsoutthedualityoftheselatter，andinterpolatessomethingbetweenthemasamorerealterminus——first，organs，viscera，etc。;next，cells;then，ultimateatoms;lastly，mind-stuffperhaps。Theoriginalsense-terminiofthetwomen，insteadofcoalescingwitheachotherandwiththerealdog-object，asatfirstsupposed，arethushelpbyphilosopherstobeseparatedbyinvisiblerealitieswithwhichatmost，theyareconterminous。
Abolish，now，oneofthepercipients，andtheinterpolationchangesinto’extrapolation。’
Thesense-terminusoftheremainingpercipientisregardedbythephilosopherasnotquitereachingreality。Hehasonlycarriedtheprocessionofexperiences，thephilosopherthinks，200
toadefinite，becausepractical，halting-placesomewhereonthewaytowardsanabsolutetruththatliesbeyond。
Thehumanistseesallthetime，however，thatthereisnoabsolutetranscendencyevenaboutthemoreabsoluterealitiesthusconjecturedorbelievedin。Thevisceraandcellsareonlypossibleperceptsfollowinguponthatoftheouterbody。Theatomsagain，thoughwemayneverattaintohumanmeansofperceivingthem，arestilldefinedperceptually。
Themind-stuffitselfisconceivedasakindofexperience;anditispossibletoframethehypothesis（suchhypothesescanbynologicbeexcludedfromphilosophy）oftwoknowersofapieceofmind-stuffandthemind-stuffitselfbecoming’confluent’atthemomentatwhichourimperfectknowingmightpassintoknowingofacompletedtype。EvensodoyouandIhabituallyrepresentourtwoperceptionsandtherealdogasconfluent，thoughonlyprovisionally，andforthecommon-sensestageofthought。Ifmypenbeinwardlymadeofmind-stuff，thereisnoconfluence_now_between201
thatmind-stuffandmyvisualperceptionofthepen。Butconceivablytheremightcometobesuchconfluence;for，inthecaseofmyhand，thevisualsensationsandtheinwardfeelingsofthehand，itsmind-stuff，sotospeak，areevennowasconfluentasanytwothingscanbe。
Thereis，thus，nobreachinhumanisticepistemology。Whetherknowledgebetakenasideallyperfected，oronlyastrueenoughtopassmusterforpractice，itishungononecontinuousscheme。Reality，howsoeverremote，isalwaysdefinedasaterminuswithinthegeneralpossibilitiesofexperience;andwhatknowsitisdefinedasanexperience_that_’represents’_it，_in_
_the_sense_of_being_substitutable_for_it_in_our_thinking_
becauseitleadstothesameassociates，_or_
_in_the_sense_of_’point_to_it’_throughachainofotherexperiencesthateitherinterveneormayintervene。
Absoluterealityherebearsthesamerelationtosensationassensationbearstoconceptionorimagination。Bothareprovisionalorfinaltermini，sensationbeingonlytheterminusatwhichthepracticalmanhabituallystops，202
whilethephilosopherprojectsa’beyond’intheshapeofmoreabsolutereality。Thesetermini，forthepracticalandthephilosophicalstagesofthoughtrespectively，areself-
supporting。Theyarenot’true’ofanythinglese，theysimply_are_，are_real_。They’leanonnothing，’asmyitalicizedformulasaid。
Ratherdoesthewholefabricofexperienceleanonthem，justasthewholefabricofthesolarsystem，includingmanyrelativepositions，leans，foritsabsolutepositioninspace，onanyoneofitsconstituentstars。Here，again，onegetsanew_Identitatsphilosophie_inpluralisticform。（1）
IV
IfIhavesucceededinmakingthisatallclear（thoughIfearthatbrevityandabstractnessbetweenthemmayhavemademefail），thereaderwillseethatthe’truth’ofourmentaloperationsmustalwaysbenanintra-experientialaffair。Aconceptionisreckonedtruebycommonsensewhenitcanbemadetoleadtoa——-
1[Cf。above，pp。134，197。]
203
sensation。Thesensation，whichforcommonsenseisnotsomuch’true’as’real，’isheldtobe_provisionally_truebythephilosopherjustinsofarasit_covers_（abutsat，oroccupiestheplaceof）astillmoreabsolutelyrealexperience，inthepossibilityofwhichtocomeremoterexperientthephilosopherfindsreasontobelieve。
Meanwhilewhatactually_does_countfortruetoanyindividualtrower，whetherhebephilosopherorcommonman，isalwaysaresultofhis_apperceptions_。Ifanovelexperience，conceptualorsensible，contradicttooemphaticallyourpre-existentsystemofbeliefs，inninety-ninecasesoutofahundreditistreatedasfalse。
Onlywhentheolderandthenewerexperiencesarecongruousenoughtomutuallyapperceiveandmodifyeachother，doeswhatwetreatasanadvanceintruthresult。[HavingwrittenofthispointinanarticleinreplytoMr。Joseph’scriticismofmyhumanism，Iwillsaynomoreabouttruthhere，butreferthereadertothatreview。（1）]Innocase，however，needtruth——-
1[Omittedfromreprintin_Meaning_of_Truth_。Thereviewreferredtoisreprintedbelow，pp。244-265，underthetitle\"HumanismandTruthOnceMore。\"ED。]
consistinarelationbetweenourexperiencesandsomethingarchetypalortrans-experiential。
Shouldweeverreachabsolutelyterminalexperiences，experiencesinwhichweallagreed，whichweresupersededbynorevisedcontinuations，thesewouldnotbe_true_，theywouldbe_real_，theywouldsimply_be_，andbeindeedtheangles，corners，andlinchpinsofallreality，onwhichthetruthofeverythingelsewouldbestayed。Onlysuch_other_thinsasledtothesebysatisfactoryconjunctionswouldbe’true。’
Satisfactoryconnectionofsomesortwithsuchterminiisallthattheword’truth’means。
Onthecommon-sensestageofthoughtsense-
presentationsserveassuchtermini。ourideasandconceptsandscientifictheoriespassfortrueonlysofarastheyharmoniouslyleadbacktotheworldofsense。
Ihopethatmanyhumanistswillendorsethisattemptofminetotracethemoreessentialfeaturesofthatwayofviewingthings。I
feelalmostcertainthatMessrs。Deweyand205
Schillerwilldoso。Iftheattackerswillalsotakesomeslightaccountofit，itmaybethatdiscussionwillbealittlelesswideofthemarkthanithashithertobeen。