Article October 14, 1916 Issue

Evidence and Argument

HON. CLARENCE A. BUSKIRK

To those unacquainted with the teachings of Christian Science, Mrs. Eddy's words on page 23 of "Miscellaneous Writings" may seem startling, but they assuredly are worthy of the deepest consideration. She says: "Reason and revelation declare that God is both noumenon and phenomena,—the first and only cause. The universe, including man, is not a result of atomic action, material force or energy; it is not organized dust."

The terms "noumenon" and "phenomenon" were employed by Aristotle and other Greek metaphysicians,—the first term to represent the entity, substance, reality, or truth of being, and the second to represent the seeming instead of the presence of the entity, substance, reality, or truth of being. Many contended, Aristotle among them, that what is termed matter is no more than a suppositional creation from the evidence furnished by the five physical senses; that all such alleged evidence has shown itself to be more or less untrustworthy, superficial, and deceiving, and hence no proper foundation upon which to declare what is true ; and therefore that matter is to be classified as phenomenon, or seeming, instead of the truth of being. Those who took the opposite opinion, now usually termed materialists, admitted that matter is phenomenon, or seeming,—for they were driven to admit the unreliability of the evidence furnished by physical sense,—but they also affirmed that matter is noumenon, or the truth of being.

These two classes of thinkers, joined by physicists on both sides during past decades, have waged a wordy and apparently interminable argumentation. The very nature of their field of discussion prevents a final victory for either side, for reasons now to be stated. Both sides look to matter for their "facts" or "evidence;" but if matter is only phenomenon, or seeming, it can furnish no evidence worthy of the name evidence, it can furnish no more than what is sometimes called "presumptive evidence" or "inferential evidence." But these terms stand for what is only negative evidence, at most; hence for arguments rather than for affirmative evidence.

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