Paradoxical philosophy : a sequel to the Unseen universe.

  • Balfour Stewart
Date:
1878
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Paradoxical philosophy : a sequel to the Unseen universe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    92/282 page 76
    posed to be formed by my life associated with the ether, would have no consciousness of me —could not therefore be myself. Having thus cleared the way, I proceed to show briefly the conclusions to which I have been led in studying the nature of consciousness. The first step to a clear understanding of this phenomenon is furnished by the effects of so-called Anesthetics. These in all cases tem- porarily modify, sometimes wholly destroy for a time, what we call consciousness. Now I think this one fact, which seems to be strangely overlooked by most reasoners on the subject, is of immense importance. No one in his senses can assert that an anaesthetic is anything more than ordinary matter—at least I am not aware of any which are applied in association with what we ordinarily call life. Can conscious- ness then be conceived to be anything but a result of some collocation or association of matter, when it is known to be modified, and in many cases wholly suspended, by the mere introduction of other matter ?
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