Hinton - The Fourth Dimension.pdf
Hinton - The Fourth Dimension.pdf Hinton - The Fourth Dimension.pdf
20 THE FOURTH DIMENSION surely be the best way of grouping the phenomena and giving a practical account of them. And another difficulty is this, that no amount of mechanical adaptation would give that element of consciousness which we possess, and which is shared in a modified degree by the animal world. In those complex structures which men build up and direct, such as a ship or railway train (and which, if seen by an observer of such a size that the men guiding them were invisible, would seem to present some of the phenomena of life) the appearance of animation is not due to any diffusion of life in the material parts of the structure, but to the presence of a living being. The old hypothesis of a soul, a living organism within the visible man, appears to me much more rational than the attempt to explain life as a form of motion. And when we consider the region of extreme minuteness characterised by four-dimensional motion the difficulty of conceiving such an organism alongside the bodily one disappears. Lord Kelvin suggests that matter is formed from the ether. We may very well supposed that the living organisms directing the material ones are co-ordinate with them, not composed of matter, but consisting of etherial bodies, and as such capable of motion through the ether, and able to originate material living bodies throughout the mineral. Hypotheses such as these find no immediate ground for proof or disproof in the physical world. Let us, therefore, turn to a different field, and, assuming that the human soul is a four-dimensional being, capable in itself of four dimensional movements, but in its experience through the senses limited to three dimensions, ask if the history of thought, of those productivities which characterise man, correspond to our assumption. Let us pause to review those steps by which man, presumably a four-dimensional
SIGNIFICANCE OF A FOUR-DIMENSIONAL EXISTENCE 21 being, despite his bodily environment, has come to recognise the fact of four-dimensional existence. Deferring this enquiry to another chapter, I will here recapitulate the argument in order to show that our purpose is entirely practical and independent of any philosophical or metaphysical considerations. If two shots are fired at a target, and the second bullet hits it in a different place to the first, we suppose that there was some difference in the conditions under which the second shot was fired from those affecting the first shot. The force of the powder, the direction of aim, the strength of the wind, or some condition must have been different in the second case, if the course of the bullet was not exactly the same as in the first case. Corresponding to every difference in a result there must be some difference in the antecedent material conditions. By tracing out this chain of relations we explain nature. But there is also another mode of explanation which we apply. If we ask what was the cause that a certain ship was built, or that a certain structure was erected, we might proceed to investigate the changes in the brain cells of the men who designed the works. Every variation in one ship or building from another ship or building is accompanied by a variation in the processes that go on in the brain matter of the designers. But practically this would be a very long task. A more effective mode of explaining the production of the ship or building would be to enquire into the motives, plans, and aims of the men who constructed them. We obtain a cumulative and consistent body of knowledge much more easily and effectively in the latter way. Sometimes we apply the one, sometimes the other mode of explanation. But it must be observed that the method of explanation founded on aim, purpose, volition, always presupposes
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SIGNIFICANCE OF A FOUR-DIMENSIONAL EXISTENCE 21<br />
being, despite his bodily environment, has come to recognise<br />
the fact of four-dimensional existence.<br />
Deferring this enquiry to another chapter, I will here<br />
recapitulate the argument in order to show that our<br />
purpose is entirely practical and independent of any<br />
philosophical or metaphysical considerations.<br />
If two shots are fired at a target, and the second bullet<br />
hits it in a different place to the first, we suppose that<br />
there was some difference in the conditions under which<br />
the second shot was fired from those affecting the first<br />
shot. <strong>The</strong> force of the powder, the direction of aim, the<br />
strength of the wind, or some condition must have been<br />
different in the second case, if the course of the bullet was<br />
not exactly the same as in the first case. Corresponding<br />
to every difference in a result there must be some difference<br />
in the antecedent material conditions. By tracing<br />
out this chain of relations we explain nature.<br />
But there is also another mode of explanation which we<br />
apply. If we ask what was the cause that a certain ship<br />
was built, or that a certain structure was erected, we might<br />
proceed to investigate the changes in the brain cells of<br />
the men who designed the works. Every variation in one<br />
ship or building from another ship or building is accompanied<br />
by a variation in the processes that go on in the<br />
brain matter of the designers. But practically this would<br />
be a very long task.<br />
A more effective mode of explaining the production of<br />
the ship or building would be to enquire into the motives,<br />
plans, and aims of the men who constructed them. We<br />
obtain a cumulative and consistent body of knowledge<br />
much more easily and effectively in the latter way.<br />
Sometimes we apply the one, sometimes the other<br />
mode of explanation.<br />
But it must be observed that the method of explanation<br />
founded on aim, purpose, volition, always presupposes
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