Mechanism, life and personality : an examination of the mechanistic theory of life and mind / by J.S. Haldane.

  • Haldane, J. S. (John Scott), 1860-1936.
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Mechanism, life and personality : an examination of the mechanistic theory of life and mind / by J.S. Haldane. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    15/168 (page 3)
    accuracy to all living organisms, including human beings. From this it may be inferred that, however complex may be the changes involved in organic activity, they are nothing but changes in a material system. As yet we are far from being able to trace this system and its changes completely ; but the main outlines are clear, and the gradual filling in of details can only be a matter of time, though we shall probably never succeed in completely filling in all the details. It is true that, in the case of at least the higher organisms, consciousness accompanies some of the material changes in the living body, whereas consciousness is not known to accompany material changes in the in¬ organic world. Of this mysterious accom¬ paniment we can of course give no physical account. Possibly consciousness accompanies all material change; but whether or not this is the case, consciousness seems to make no difference in the end to the physical and chemical chain of events. It might, con¬ ceivably, be a form of energy, generated under certain unknown conditions in active protoplasm ; but, if so, it is only one form