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700
THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
of becoming is magnificent, but in the absence of true being, must ever remain incomplete. It maintains that Life is a current, the causal activity, which is never in the same state twice. Bergson's philosophy, which has stirred modern thought so much, for the most part, follows the Buddhistic notion of "becoming." It maintains that the whole universe is a flux or system of different activities or processes from whose operation arise all kinds of forms. The latter are also activities, though of a less intense type. These activities are further inconceivable in themselves, for they are processes, and therefore, inaccessible to intellect. Their nature is only felt in intuition, not conceived in thought. The view presented is that of an universe which is the resultant of certain eternal processes--a perpetual becoming, with nothing permanent, fixed or stable about it.
As for the merit of the doctrine, it is unquestionably true, in so far as it points out the fact that all material phenomena are constantly undergoing change ; but how can a system whose very foundation is beyond the reach of thought ever yield satisfaction to the rational intellect? If the right intuition* be wanting, how is its lack to be
* It is a fashion, it seems, with irrational mystics to rely on their own intuitions whenever they are unable to explain a phenomenon intellectually, there is one obvious advantage in this, and that is that the change of front is so sudden and unexpected that in a majority of cases the opponent is completely taken by surprise and finds no escape except by a direct denial of the truth of the assertion, which politeness and good manners do not permit to be made, and which can only lead to unpleasantness. The fact is that except where it is taken to mean omniscience, or other higher kinds of knowledge, such as pure or super-clairvoyance, the claim to the possession of which can be easily tested, intuition is no argument nor a guarantee against self
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