I
DOES’CONSCIOUSNESS’EXIST？
’THOUGHTS’and’things’arenamesfortwosortsofobject，whichcommonsensewillalwaysfindcontrastedandwillalwayspracticallyopposetoeachother。Philosophy，reflectingonthecontrast，hasvariedinthepastinherexplanationsofit，andmaybeexpectedtovaryinthefuture。Atfirst，’spiritandmatter，’’soulandbody，’stoodforapairofequipollentsubstancesquiteonaparinweightandinterest。ButonedayKantunderminedthesoulandbroughtinthetranscendentalego，andeversincethenthebipolarrelationhasbeenverymuchoffitsbalance。
Thetranscendentalegoseemsnowadaysinrationalistquarterstostandforeverything，inempiricistquartersforalmostnothing。InthehandsofsuchwritersasSchuppe，Rehmke，Natorp，Munsterberg——atanyrateinhis2
earlierwritings，Schubert-Soldernandothers，thespiritualprincipleattenuatesitselftoathoroughlyghostlycondition，beingonlyanameforthefactthatthe’content’ofexperience_is_known_。Itlosespersonalformandactivity——thesepassingovertothecontent——
andbecomesabare_Bewusstheit_or_Bewusstsein_
_uberhaupt_ofwhichinitsownrightabsolutelynothingcanbesaid。
Ibelievethat’consciousness，’whenonceithasevaporatedtothisestateofpurediaphaneity，isonthepointofdisappearingaltogether。
Itisthenameofanonentity，andhasnorighttoaplaceamongfirstprinciples。Thosewhostillclingtoitareclingingtoamereecho，thefaintrumorleftbehindbythedisappearing’soul’upontheairofphilosophy。Duringthepastyear，Ihavereadanumberofarticleswhoseauthorsseemedjustonthepointofabandoningthenotionofconsciousness，（1）andsubstitutingforitthatofanabsoluteexperiencenotduetotwofactors。Buttheywerenot——-
1ArticlesbyBawden，King，Alexander，andothers。Dr。Perryisfranklyovertheborder——-
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quiteradicalenough，notquitedaringenoughintheirnegations。FortwentyyearspastI
havemistrusted’consciousness’asanentity;
forsevenoreightyearspastIhavesuggesteditsnon-existencetomystudents，andtriedtogivethemitspragmaticequivalentinrealitiesofexperience。Itseemstomethatthehourisripeforittobeopenlyanduniversallydiscarded。
Todenyplumplythat’consciousness’existsseemssoabsurdonthefaceofit——forundeniably’thoughts’doexist——thatIfearsomereaderswillfollowmenofarther。LetmethenimmediatelyexplainthatImeanonlytodenythatthewordstandsforanentity，buttoinsistmostemphaticallythatitdoesstandforafunction。Thereis，Imean，noaboriginalstufforqualityofbeing，contrastedwiththatofwhichmaterialobjectsaremade，outofwhichourthoughtsofthemaremade;butthereisafunctioninexperiencewhichthoughtsperform，andfortheperformanceofwhichthis4
qualityofbeingisinvoked。Thatfunctionis_knowing_。’Consciousness’issupposednecessarytoexplainthefactthatthingsnotonlyare，butgetreported，areknown。Whoeverblotsoutthenotionofconsciousnessfromhislistoffirstprinciplesmuststillprovideinsomewayforthatfunction’sbeingcarriedon。
I
Mythesisisthatifwestartwiththesuppositionthatthereisonlyoneprimalstufformaterialintheworld，astuffofwhicheverythingiscomposed，andifwecallthatstuff’pureexperience，’theknowingcaneasilybeexplainedasaparticularsortofrelationtowardsoneanotherintowhichportionsofpureexperiencemayenter。Therelationitselfisapartofpureexperience;oneifits’terms’
becomesthesubjectorbeareroftheknowledge，theknower，（1）theotherbecomestheobjectknown。Thiswillneedmuchexplanationbeforeitcanbeunderstood。Thebestwayto——-
1Inmy_Psychology_Ihavetriedtoshowthatweneednoknowerotherthanthe’passingthought。’[_PrinciplesofPsychology，vol。I，pp。338ff。]
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getitunderstoodistocontrastitwiththealternativeview;andforthatwemaytaketherecentestalternative，thatinwhichtheevaporationofthedefinitesoul-substancehasproceededasfarasitcangowithoutbeingyetcomplete。Ifneo-Kantismhasexpelledearlierformsofdualism，weshallhaveexpelledallformsifweareabletoexpelneo-kantisminitsturn。
ForthethinkersIcallneo-Kantian，thewordconsciousnessto-daydoesnomorethansignalizethefactthatexperienceisindefeasiblydualisticinstructure。Itmeansthatnotsubject，notobject，butobject-plus-subjectistheminimumthatcanactuallybe。Thesubject-objectdistinctionmeanwhileisentirelydifferentfromthatbetweenmindandmatter，fromthatbetweenbodyandsoul。Soulsweredetachable，hadseparatedestinies;thingscouldhappentothem。Toconsciousnessassuchnothingcanhappen，for，timelessitself，itisonlyawitnessofhappeningsintime，inwhichitplaysnopart。Itis，inaword，butthelogicalcorrelativeof’content’inanExperienceofwhichthe6
peculiarityisthat_fact_comes_to_light_init，that_awareness_of_content_takesplace。Consciousnessassuchisentirelyimpersonal——’self’anditsactivitiesbelongtothecontent。TosaythatI
amself-conscious，orconsciousofputtingforthvolition，meansonlythatcertaincontents，forwhich’self’and’effortofwill’arethenames，arenotwithoutwitnessastheyoccur。
Thus，forthesebelateddrinkersattheKantianspring，weshouldhavetoadmitconsciousnessasan’epistemological’necessity，evenifwehadnodirectevidenceofitsbeingthere。
Butinadditiontothis，wearesupposedbyalmosteveryonetohaveanimmediateconsciousnessofconsciousnessitself。Whentheworldofouterfactceasestobemateriallypresent，andwemerelyrecallitinmemory，orfancyit，theconsciousnessisbelievedtostandoutandtobefeltasakindofimpalpableinnerflowing，which，onceknowninthissortofexperience，mayequallybedetectedinpresentationsoftheouterworld。"Themomentwetrytofixoutattentionuponconsciousnessandtosee_what_，distinctly，itis，"saysarecentwriter，7
"itseemstovanish。Itseemsasifwehadbeforeusamereemptiness。Whenwetrytointrospectthesensationofblue，allwecanseeistheblue;theotherelementisasifitwerediaphanous。
Yetit_can_bedistinguished，ifwelookattentivelyenough，andknowthatthereissomethingtolookfor。"（1）"Consciousness"
（Bewusstheit），saysanotherphilosopher，"isinexplicableandhardlydescribable，yetallconsciousexperienceshavethisincommonthatwhatwecalltheircontenthasapeculiarreferencetoacentreforwhich’self’isthename，invirtueofwhichreferencealonethecontentissubjectivelygiven，orappears……Whileinthiswayconsciousness，orreferencetoaself，istheonlythingwhichdistinguishesaconsciouscontentfromanysortofbeingthatmightbetherewithnooneconsciousofit，yetthisonlygroundofthedistinctiondefiesallcloserexplanations。Theexistenceofconsciousness，althoughitisthefundamentalfactofpsychology，canindeedbelaiddownascertain，canbebroughtoutbyanalysis，butcan——-
1G。E。Moore：_Mind_，vol。XII，N。S。，[1903]，p。450。
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neitherbedefinednordeducedfromanythingbutitself。"（1）
’Canbebroughtoutbyanalysis，’thisauthorsays。Thissupposesthattheconsciousnessisoneelement，moment，factor——callitwhatyoulike——ofanexperienceofessentiallydualisticinnerconstitution，fromwhich，ifyouabstractthecontent，theconsciousnesswillremainrevealedtoitsowneye。Experience，atthisrate，wouldbemuchlikeapaintofwhichtheworldpicturesweremade。Painthasadualconstitution，involving，asitdoes，amenstruum（2）
（oil，sizeorwhatnot）andamassofcontentintheformofpigmentsuspendedtherein。Wecangetthepuremenstruumbylettingthepigmentsettle，andthepurepigmentbypouringoffthesizeoroil。Weoperateherebyphysicalsubtraction;andtheusualviewis，thatbymentalsubtractionwecanseparatethetwofactorsofexperienceinan——-
1PaulNatorp：_Einleitung_in_die_Psychologie_，1888，pp。14，112。
2"Figurativelyspeaking，consciousnessmaybesaidtobetheoneuniversalsolvent，ormenstruum，inwhichthedifferentconcretekindsofpsychicactsandfactsarecontained，whetherinconcealedorinobviousform。"G。T。Ladd：_Psychology，_Descriptive_and_Explanatory_，1894，p。30。
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analogousway——notisolatingthementirely，butdistinguishingthemenoughtoknowthattheyaretwo。
II
Nowmycontentionisexactlythereverseofthis。_Experience，_I_believe，_has_no_such_inner_duplicity;_
_and_the_separation_of_it_into_consciousness_
_and_content_comes，_not_by_way_of_subtraction，_
_but_by_way_of_addition_——theaddition，toagivenconcretepieceofit，othersetsofexperiences，inconnectionwithwhichseverallyitsuseorfunctionmaybeoftwodifferentkinds。
Thepaintwillalsoservehereasanillustration。
Inapotinapaint-shop，alongwithotherpaints，itservesinitsentiretyassomuchsaleablematter。Spreadonacanvas，withotherpaintsaroundit，itrepresents，onthecontrary，afeatureinapictureandperformsaspiritualfunction。Justso，Imaintain，doesagivenundividedportionofexperience，takeninonecontextofassociates，playthepartofaknower，ofastateofmind，of’consciousness’;whileinadifferentcontextthesameundividedbitofexperienceplaysthepartofathingknown，of10
anobjective’content。’Inaword，inonegroupitfiguresasathought，inanothergroupasathing。And，sinceitcanfigureinbothgroupssimultaneouslywehaveeveryrighttospeakofitassubjectiveandobjective，bothatonce。
Thedualismconnotedbysuchdouble-barrelledtermsas’experience，’’phenomenon，’
’datum，’’_Vorfindung_’——termswhich，inphilosophyatanyrate，tendmoreandmoretoreplacethesingle-barrelledtermsof’thought’
and’thing’——thatdualism，Isay，isstillpreservedinthisaccount，butreinterpreted，sothat，insteadofbeingmysteriousandelusive，itbecomesverifiableandconcrete。Itisanaffairofrelations，itfallsoutside，notinside，thesingleexperienceconsidered，andcanalwaysbeparticularizedanddefined。
TheenteringwedgeforthismoreconcretewayofunderstandingthedualismwasfashionedbyLockewhenhemadetheword’idea’
standindifferentlyforthingandthought，andbyBerkeleywhenhesaidthatwhatcommonsensemeansbyrealitiesisexactlywhatthephilosophermeansbyideas。NeitherLocke11
norBerkeleythoughthistruthoutintoperfectclearness，butitseemstomethattheconceptionIamdefendingdoeslittlemorethanconsistentlycarryoutthe’pragmatic’methodwhichtheywerethefirsttouse。
Ifthereaderwilltakehisownexperiences，hewillseewhatImean。Lethimbeginwithaperceptualexperience，the’presentation，’socalled，ofaphysicalobject，hisactualfieldofvision，theroomhesitsin，withthebookheisreadingasitscentre;andlethimforthepresenttreatthiscomplexobjectinthecommon-
sensewayasbeing’really’whatitseemstobe，namely，acollectionofphysicalthingscutoutfromanenvironingworldofotherphysicalthingswithwhichthesephysicalthingshaveactualorpotentialrelations。Nowatthesametimeitisjust_those_self-same_things_whichhismind，aswesay，perceives;andthewholephilosophyofperceptionfromDemocritus’stimedownwardshasjustbeenonelongwrangleovertheparadoxthatwhatisevidentlyonerealityshouldbeintwoplacesatonce，bothinouterspaceandinaperson’smind。’Representative’
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theoriesofperceptionavoidthelogicalparadox，butontheotherhandtheviolatethereader’ssenseoflife，whichknowsnointerveningmentalimagebutseemstoseetheroomandthebookimmediatelyjustastheyphysicallyexist。
Thepuzzleofhowtheoneidenticalroomcanbeintwoplacesisatbottomjustthepuzzleofhowoneidenticalpointcanbeontwolines。Itcan，ifitbesituatedattheirintersection;andsimilarly，ifthe’pureexperience’oftheroomwereaplaceofintersectionoftwoprocesses，whichconnecteditwithdifferentgroupsofassociatesrespectively，itcouldbecountedtwiceover，asbelongingtoeithergroup，andspokenoflooselyasexistingintwoplaces，althoughitwouldremainallthetimeanumericallysinglething。
Well，theexperienceisamemberofdiverseprocessesthatcanbefollowedawayfromitalongentirelydifferentlines。Theoneself-
identicalthinghassomanyrelationstotherestofexperiencethatyoucantakeitindisparatesystemsofassociation，andtreatitas13
belongingwithoppositecontexts。Inoneofthesecontextsitisyour’fieldofconsciousness’;
inanotheritis’theroominwhichyousit，’anditentersbothcontextsinitswholeness，givingnopretextforbeingsaidtoattachitselftoconsciousnessbyoneofitspartsoraspects，andtooutrealitybyanother。Whatarethetwoprocesses，now，intowhichtheroom-experiencesimultaneouslyentersinthisway？
Oneofthemisthereader’spersonalbiography，theotheristhehistoryofthehouseofwhichtheroomispart。Thepresentation，theexperience，the_that_inshort（foruntilwehavedecided_what_itisitmustbeamere_that_）isthelastterminatrainofsensations，emotions，decisions，movements，classifications，expectations，etc。，endinginthepresent，andthefirstterminaseriesof’inner’operationsextendingintothefuture，onthereader’spart。Ontheotherhand，theverysame_that_
isthe_terminus_ad_quem_ofalotofprevious14
physicaloperations，carpentering，papering，furnishing，warming，etc。，andthe_terminus_a_
_quo_ofalotoffutureones，inwhichitwillbeconcernedwhenundergoingthedestinyofaphysicalroom。Thephysicalandthementaloperationsformcuriouslyincompatiblegroups。
Asaroom，theexperiencehasoccupiedthatspotandhadthatenvironmentforthirtyyears。Asyourfieldofconsciousnessitmayneverhaveexisteduntilnow。Asaroom，attentionwillgoontodiscoverendlessnewdetailsinit。Asyourmentalstatemerely，fewnewoneswillemergeunderattention’seye。
ASaroom，itwilltakenanearthquake，oragangofmen，andinanycaseacertainamountoftime，todestroyit。Asyoursubjectivestate，theclosingofyoureyes，oranyinstantaneousplayofyourfancywillsuffice。INtherealworld，firewillconsumeit。INyourmind，youcanletfireplayoveritwithouteffect。Asanouterobject，youmustpaysomuchamonthtoinhabitit。Asaninnercontent，youmayoccupyitforanylengthoftimerent-free。
If，inshort，youfollowitinthementaldirection，15
takingitalongwitheventsofpersonalbiographysolely，allsortsofthingsaretrueofitwhicharefalse，andfalseofitwhicharetrueifyoutreatitasarealthingexperienced，followitinthephysicaldirection，andrelateittoassociatesintheouterworld。
III
Sofar，allseemsplainsailing，butmythesiswillprobablygrowlessplausibletothereaderwhenIpassformperceptstoconcepts，orfromthecaseofthingspresentedtothatofthingsremote。Ibelieve，nevertheless，thatherealsothesamelawholdsgood。Ifwetakeconceptualmanifolds，ormemories，orfancies，theyalsoareintheirfirstintentionmerebitsofpureexperience，and，assuch，aresingle_thats_
whichactinonecontextasobjects，andinanothercontextfigureasmentalstates。Bytakingthemintheirfirstintention，Imeanignoringtheirrelationtopossibleperceptualexperienceswithwhichtheymaybeconnected，whichtheymayleadtoandterminatein，andwhichthentheymaybesupposedto’represent。’
16
Takingtheminthiswayfirst，weconfinetheproblemtoaworldmerely’thought-
of’andnotdirectlyfeltorseen。Thisworld，justliketheworldofpercepts，comestousatfirstasachaosofexperiences，butlinesofordersoongettraced。Wefindthatanybitofitwhichwemaycutoutasanexampleisconnectedwithdistinctgroupsofassociates，justasourperceptualexperiencesare，thattheseassociateslinkthemselveswithitbydifferentrelations，（2）andthatoneformstheinnerhistoryofaperson，whiletheotheractsasanimpersonal’objective’world，eitherspatialandtemporal，orelsemerelylogicalormathematical，orotherwise’ideal。’
Thefirstobstacleonthepartofthereadertoseeingthatthesenon-perceptualexperiences——-
2Hereaselsewheretherelationsareofcourse_experienced_
relations，membersofthesameoriginallychaoticmanifoldofnon-
perceptualexperienceofwhichtherelatedtermsthemselvesareparts。
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haveobjectivityaswellassubjectivitywillprobablybeduetotheintrusionintohismindof_percepts_，thatthirdgroupofassociateswithwhichthenon-perceptualexperienceshaverelations，andwhich，asawhole，they’represent，’
standingtothemasthoughtstothings。Thisimportantfunctionofnon-perceptualexperiencescomplicatesthequestionandconfusesit;for，sousedarewetotreatperceptsasthesolegenuinerealitiesthat，unlesswekeepthemoutofthediscussion，wetendaltogethertooverlooktheobjectivitythatliesinnon-
perceptualexperiencesbythemselves。Wetreatthem，’knowing’perceptsastheydo，asthroughandthroughsubjective，andsaythattheyarewhollyconstitutedofthestuffcalledconsciousness，usingthistermnowforakindofentity，afterthefashionwhichIamseekingtorefute。（1）
Abstracting，then，fromperceptsaltogether，whatImaintainis，thatanysinglenon-perceptual——-
1Oftherepresentativefunctionsofnon-perceptualexperienceasawhole，Iwillsayawordinasubsequentarticle;itleadstoofarintothegeneraltheoryofknowledgeformuchtobesaidaboutitinashortpaperlikethis。
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experiencetendstogetcountedtwiceover，justasaperceptualexperiencedoes，figuringinonecontextasanobjectorfieldofobjects，inanotherasastateofmind：andallthiswithouttheleastinternalself-diremptiononitsownpartintoconsciousnessandcontent。Itisallconsciousnessinonetaking;and，intheother，allcontent。
Ifindthisobjectivityofnon-perceptualexperiences，thiscompleteparallelisminpointofrealitybetweenthepresentlyfeltandtheremotelythought，sowellsetforthinapageofMunsterberg’s_Grundzuge_，thatIwillquoteitasitstands。
"Imayonlythinkofmyobjects，"saysProfessorMunsterberg;"yet，inmylivingthoughttheystandbeforemeexactlyasperceivedobjectswoulddo，nomatterhowdifferentthetwowaysofapprehendingthemmaybeintheirgenesis。Thebookherelyingonthetablebeforeme，andthebookinthenextroomofwhichI
thinkandwhichImeantoget，arebothinthesamesensegivenrealitiesforme，realitieswhichIacknowledgeandofwhichItakeaccount。
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Ifyouagreethattheperceptualobjectisnotanideawithinme，butthatperceptandthing，asindistinguishablyone，arereallyexperienced_there_，_outside_，yououghtnottobelievethatthemerelythought-ofobjectishidawayinsideofthethinkingsubject。TheobjectofwhichIthink，andofwhoseexistenceItakecognizancewithoutlettingitnowworkuponmysenses，occupiesitsdefiniteplaceintheouterworldasmuchasdoestheobjectwhichI
directlysee。"
"Whatistrueofthehereandthethere，isalsotrueofthenowandthethen。Iknowofthethingwhichispresentandperceived，butI
knowalsoofthethingwhichyesterdaywasbutisnomore，andwhichIonlyremember。
Bothcandeterminemypresentconduct，botharepartsoftherealityofwhichIkeepaccount。
ItistruethatofmuchofthepastIamuncertain，justasIamuncertainofmuchofwhatispresentifitbebutdimlyperceived。Buttheintervaloftimedoesnotinprinciplealtermyrelationtotheobject，doesnottransformitfromanobjectknownintoamentalstate……
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ThethingsintheroomherewhichIsurvey，andthoseinmydistanthomeofwhichIthink，thethingsofthisminuteandthoseofmylong-
vanishedboyhood，influenceanddecidemealike，witharealitywhichmyexperienceofthemdirectlyfeels。Theybothmakeupmyrealworld，theymakeitdirectly，theydonothavefirsttobeintroducedtomeandmediatedbyideaswhichnowandherearisewithinme……Thisnot-mecharacterofmyrecollectionsandexpectationsdoesnotimplythattheexternalobjectsofwhichIamawareinthoseexperiencesshouldnecessarilybetherealsoforothers。Theobjectsofdreamersandhallucinatedpersonsarewhollywithoutgeneralvalidity。Butevenweretheycentaursandgoldenmountains，theystillwouldbe’offthere，’infairyland，andnot’inside’ofourselves。"（1）
Thiscertainlyistheimmediate，primary，naif，orpracticalwayoftakingourthought-ofworld。Weretherenoperceptualworldtoserveasits’reductive，’inTaine’ssense，by——-
1Munsterberg：_Grundzuge_der_Psychologie_，vol。I，p。48。
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being’stronger’andmoregenuinely’outer’
（sothatthewholemerelythought-ofworldseemsweakandinnerincomparison），ourworldofthoughtwouldbetheonlyworld，andwouldenjoycompleterealityinourbelief。
Thisactuallyhappensinourdreams，andinourday-dreamssolongasperceptsdonotinterruptthem。
Andyet，justastheseenroom（togobacktoourlateexample）is_also_afieldofconsciousness，sotheconceivedorrecollectedroomis_also_astateofmind;andthedoubling-upoftheexperiencehasinbothcasessimilargrounds。
Theroomthought-of，namely，hasmanythought-ofcouplingswithmanythought-ofthings。Someofthesecouplingsareinconstant，othersarestable。Inthereader’spersonalhistorytheroomoccupiesasingledate——hesawitonlyonceperhaps，ayearago。Ofthehouse’shistory，ontheotherhand，itformsapermanentingredient。Somecouplingshavethecuriousstubbornness，toborrowRoyce’sterm，offact;othersshowthefluidityoffancy——weletthemcomeandgoasweplease。Groupedwith22
therestofitshouse，withthenameofitstown，ofitsowner，builder，value，decorativeplan，theroommaintainsadefinitefoothold，towhich，ifwetrytoloosenit，ittendstoreturnandtoreassertitselfwithforce。（1）Withtheseassociates，inaword，itcoheres，whiletootherhouses，othertowns，otherowners，etc。，itshowsnotendencytocohereatall。Thetwocollections，firstofitscohesive，and，second，ofitslooseassociates，inevitablycometobecontrasted。
Wecallthefirstcollectionthesystemofexternalrealities，inthemidstofwhichtheroom，as’real，’exists;theotherwecallthestreamofinternalthinking，inwhich，asa’mentalimage，’itforamomentfloats。（2）Theroomthusagaingetscountedtwiceover。Itplaystwodifferentroles，being_Gedanke_and_Gedachtes_，thethought-of-an-object，andtheobject-thought-of，bothinone;andallthiswithoutparadoxormystery，justasthesame——-
1Cf。A。L。Hodder：_The_Adversaries_of_the_Sceptic_，pp。94-99。
2Forsimplicity’ssakeIconfinemyexpositionto’external’
reality。Butthereisalsothesystemofidealrealityinwhichtheroomplaysitspart。Relationsofcomparison，ofclassification，serialorder，value，alsoarestubborn，assignadefiniteplacetotheroom，unliketheincoherenceofitsplacesinthemererhapsodyofoursuccessivethoughts。
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materialthingmaybebothlowandhigh，orsmallandgreat，orbadandgood，becauseofitsrelationstooppositepartsofanenvironingworld。
As’subjective’wesaythattheexperiencerepresents;as’objective’itisrepresented。
Whatrepresentsandwhatisrepresentedisherenumericallythesame;butwemustrememberthatnodualismofbeingrepresentedandrepresentingresidesintheexperience_per_se_。Initspurestate，orwhenisolated，thereisnoself-
splittingofitintoconsciousnessandwhattheconsciousnessis’of。’Itssubjectivityandobjectivityarefunctionalattributessolely，，realizedonlywhentheexperienceis’take，’i。e。，talked-of，twice，consideredalongwithitstwodifferingcontextsrespectively，byanewretrospectiveexperience，ofwhichthatwholepastcomplicationnowformsthefreshcontent。
TheinstantfieldofthepresentisatalltimeswhatIcallthe’pure’experience。Itisonlyvirtuallyorpotentiallyeitherobjectorsubjectasyet。Forthetimebeing，itisplain，unqualifiedactuality，orexistence，asimple_that_。Inthis24
_naif_immediacyitisofcourse_valid_;itis_there_，we_act_uponit;andthedoublingofitinretrospectionintoastateofmindandarealityintendedthereby，isjustoneoftheacts。The’stateofmind，’firsttreatedexplicitlyassuchinretrospection，willstandcorrectedorconfirmed，andtheretrospectiveexperienceinitsturnwillgetasimilartreatment;buttheimmediateexperienceinitspassingisalways’truth，’（1）practicaltruth，_something_to_act_on_，atitsownmovement。Iftheworldwerethenandtheretogooutlikeacandle，itwouldremaintruthabsoluteandobjective，foritwouldbe’thelastword，’wouldhavenocritic，andnoonewouldeveropposethethoughtinittotherealityintended。（2）
IthinkImaynowclaimtohavemademy——-
1Notetheambiguityofthisterm，whichistakensometimesobjectivelyandsometimessubjectively。
2Inthe_Psychological_Review_forJuly[1904]，Dr。R。B。PerryhaspublishedaviewofConsciousnesswhichcomesnearertominethananyotherwithwhichIamacquainted。Atpresent，Dr。Perrythinks，everyfieldofexperienceissomuch’fact。’Itbecomes’opinion’or’thought’onlyinretrospection，whenafreshexperience，thinkingthesameobject，altersandcorrectsit。Butthecorrectiveexperiencebecomesitselfinturncorrected，andthustheexperienceasawholeisaprocessinwhichwhatisobjectiveoriginallyforeverturnssubjective，turnsintoourapprehensionoftheobject。IstronglyrecommendDr。Perry’sadmirablearticletomyreaders。
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thesisclear。Consciousnessconnotesakindofexternalrelation，anddoesnotdenoteaspecialstufforwayofbeing。_The_peculiarity_of_our_experiences，_
_that_they_not_only_are，_but_are_known，_
_which_their_’conscious’_quality_is_invoked_to_
_explain，_is_better_explained_by_their_relations_——
_these_relations_themselves_being_experiences_——_to_
_one_another_。
IV
WereInowtogoontotreatoftheknowingofperceptualbyconceptualexperiences，itwouldagainprovetobeanaffairofexternalrelations。Oneexperiencewouldbetheknower，theothertherealityknown;andIcouldperfectlywelldefine，withoutthenotionof’consciousness，’whattheknowingactuallyandpracticallyamountsto——leading-towards，namely，andterminating-inpercepts，throughaseriesoftransitionalexperienceswhichtheworldsupplies。ButIwillnottreatofthis，spacebeinginsufficient。（1）Iwillratherconsider——-
1Ihavegivenapartialaccountofthematterin_Mind_，vol。X，p。
27，1885，andinthe_Psychological_Review_，vol。II，p。105，1895。SeealsoC。A。Strong’sarticleinthe_Journal_of_Philosophy，_Psychology_and_Scientific_Methods_，volI，p。
253，May12，1904。Ihopemyselfverysoontorecurtothematter。
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afewobjectionsthataresuretobeurgedagainsttheentiretheoryasitstands。
V
Firstofall，thiswillbeasked："Ifexperiencehasnot’conscious’existence，ifitbenotpartlymadeof’consciousness，’ofwhatthenisitmade？Matterweknow，andthoughtweknow，andconsciouscontentweknow，butneutralandsimple’pureexperience’issomethingweknownotatall。Say_what_itconsistsof——foritmustconsistofsomething——orbewillingtogiveitup！"
Tothischallengethereplyiseasy。Althoughforfluency’ssakeImyselfspokeearlyinthisarticleofastuffofpureexperience，Ihavenowtosaythatthereisno_general_stuffofwhichexperienceatlargeismade。Thereareasmanystuffsasthereare’natures’inthethingsexperienced。
Ifyouaskwhatanyonebitofpureexperienceismadeof，theanswerisalwaysthe27
same："Itismadeof_that_，ofjustwhatappears，ofspace，ofintensity，offlatness，brownness，heaviness，orwhatnot。"ShadworthHodgson’sanalysishereleavesnothingtobedesired。（1）
Experienceisonlyacollectivenameforallthesesensiblenatures，andsavefortimeandspace（and，ifyoulike，for’being’）thereappearsnouniversalelementofwhichallthingsaremade。
VI
Thenextobjectionismoreformidable，infactitsoundsquitecrushingwhenonehearsitfirst。
"Ifitbetheself-samepieceofpureexperience，takentwiceover，thatservesnowasthoughtandnowasthing"——sotheobjectionruns——"howcomesitthatitsattributesshoulddiffersofundamentallyinthetwotakings。
Asthing，theexperienceisextended;asthought，itoccupiesnospaceorplace。Asthing，itisred，hard，heavy;butwhoeverheard28
ofared，hardorheavythought？Yetevennowyousaidthatanexperienceismadeofjustwhatappears，andwhatappearsisjustsuchadjectives。Howcantheoneexperienceinitsthing-functionbemadeofthem，consistofthem，carrythemasitsownattributes，whileinitsthought-functionitdisownsthemandattributesthemelsewhere。Thereisaself-contradictionherefromwhichtheradicaldualismofthoughtandthingistheonlytruththatcansaveus。Onlyifthethoughtisonekindofbeingcantheadjectivesexistinit’intentionally’
（tousethescholasticterm）;onlyifthethingisanotherkind，cantheyexistinitconstituitivelyandenergetically。Nosimplesubjectcantakethesameadjectivesandatonetimebequalifiedbyit，andatanothertimebemerely’of’it，asofsomethingonlymeantorknown。"
Thesolutioninsistedonbythisobjector，likemanyothercommon-sensesolutions，growsthelesssatisfactorythemoreoneturnsitinone’smind。Tobeginwith，_are_thoughtandthingasheterogeneousasiscommonlysaid？
29
Noonedeniesthattheyhavesomecategoriesincommon。Theirrelationstotimeareidentical。
Both，moreover，mayhaveparts（forpsychologistsngeneraltreatthoughtsashavingthem）;andbothmaybecomplexorsimple。
Bothareofkinds，canbecompared，addedandsubtractedandarrangedinserialorders。Allsortsofadjectivesqualifyourthoughtswhichappearincompatiblewithconsciousness，beingassuchabarediaphaneity。Forinstance，theyarenaturalandeasy，orlaborious。Theyarebeautiful，happy，intense，interesting，wise，idiotic，focal，marginal，insipid，confused，vague，precise，rational，causal，general，particular，andmanythingsbesides。Moreover，thechapterson’Perception’inthepsychology-
booksarefulloffactsthatmakefortheessentialhomogeneityofthoughtwiththing。
How，if’subject’and’object’wereseparated’bythewholediameterofbeing，’andhadnoattributesandcommon，coulditbesohardtotell，inapresentedandrecognizedmaterialobject，whatpartcomesinthoughtthesense-
organsandwhatpartcomes’outofone’sown30
head’？Sensationsandapperceptiveideasfuseheresointimatelythatyoucannomoretellwhereonebeginsandtheotherends，thanyoucantell，inthosecunningcircularpanoramasthathavelatelybeenexhibited，wheretherealforegroundandthepaintedcanvasjointogether。（1）
Descartesforthefirsttimedefinedthoughtastheabsolutelyunextended，andlaterphilosophershaveacceptedthedescriptionascorrect。
Butwhatpossiblemeaninghasittosaythat，whenwethinkofafoot-ruleorasquareyard，extensionisnotattributabletoourthought？Ofeveryextendedobjectthe_adequate_
mentalpicturemusthavealltheextensionoftheobjectitself。Thedifferencebetweenobjectiveandsubjectiveextensionisoneofrelationtoacontextsolely。Inthemindthevariousextentsmaintainnonecessarilystubbornorderrelativelytoeachother，while——-
1Spencer’sproofofhis’TransfiguredRealism’（hisdoctrinethatthereisanabsolutelynon-mentalreality）comestomindasasplendidinstanceoftheimpossibilityofestablishingradicalheterogeneitybetweenthoughtandthing。Allhispainfullyaccumulatedpointsofdifferencerungraduallyintotheiropposites，andarefullofexceptions。
——-
31
inthephysicalworldtheyboundeachotherstably，and，addedtogether，makethegreatenvelopingUnitwhichwebelieveinandcallrealSpace。As’outer，’theycarrythemselvesadversely，sotospeak，tooneanother，excludeoneanotherandmaintaintheirdistances;
while，as’inner，’theirorderisloose，andtheyforma_durcheinander_inwhichunityislost。（1）
Buttoarguefromthisthatinnerexperienceisabsolutelyinextensiveseemstomelittleshortofabsurd。Thetwoworldsdiffer，notbythepresenceorabsenceofextension，butbytherelationsoftheextensionswhichinbothworldsexist。
Doesnotthiscaseofextensionnowputusonthetrackoftruthinthecaseofotherqualities？
Itdoes;andIamsurprisedthatthefactsshouldnothavebeennoticedlongago。Why，forexample，dowecallafirehot，andwaterwet，andyetrefusetosaythatourmentalstate，whenitis’of’theseobjects，iseitherwetorhot？’Intentionally，’atanyrate，andwhen32
thementalstateisavividimage，hotnessandwetnessareinitjustasmuchastheyareinthephysicalexperience。Thereasonisthis，that，asthegeneralchaosofallourexperiencesgetssifted，wefindthattherearesomefiresthatwillalwaysburnsticksandalwayswarmourbodies，andthattherearesomewatersthatwillalwaysputoutfires;whilethereareotherfiresandwatersthatwillnotactatall。Thegeneralgroupofexperiencesthat_act_，thatdonotonlypossesstheirnaturesintrinsically，butwearthemadjectivelyandenergetically，turningthemagainstoneanother，comesinevitablytobecontrastedwiththegroupwhosemembers，havingidenticallythesamenatures，failtomanifesttheminthe’energetic’way。（1）I
makeformyselfnowanexperienceofblazingfire;Iplaceitnearmybody;butitdoesnotwarmmeintheleast。Ilayastickuponit，andthestickeitherburnsorremainsgreen，asI
please。Icallupwater，andpouritonthefire，andabsolutelynodifferenceensues。Iaccount33
forallsuchfactsbycallingthiswholetrainofexperiencesunreal，amentaltrain。Mentalfireiswhatwon’tburnrealsticks;mentalwateriswhatwon’tnecessarily（thoughofcourseitmay）putoutevenamentalfire。Mentalknivesmaybesharp，buttheywon’tcutrealwood。Mentaltrianglesarepointed，buttheirpointswon’twound。With’real’objects，onthecontrary，consequencesalwaysaccrue;andthustherealexperiencesgetsiftedfromthementalones，thethingsfromoutthoughtsofthem，fancifulortrue，andprecipitatedtogetherasthestablepartofthewholeexperience-
chaos，underthenameofthephysicalworld。Ofthisourperceptualexperiencesarethenucleus，theybeingtheoriginally_strong_
experiences。Weaddalotofconceptualexperiencestothem，makingthesestrongalsoinimagination，andbuildingouttheremoterpartsofthephysicalworldbytheirmeans;
andaroundthiscoreofrealitytheworldoflaxlyconnectedfanciesandmererhapsodicalobjectsfloatslikeabankofclouds。
Intheclouds，allsortsofrulesareviolated34
whichinthecorearekept。Extensionstherecanbeindefinitelylocated;motionthereobeysnoNewton’slaws。
VII
Thereisapeculiarclassofexperiencetowhich，whetherwetakethemassubjectiveorasobjective，we_assigntheirseveralnaturesasattributes，becauseinbothcontextstheyaffecttheirassociatesactively，thoughinneitherquiteas’strongly’orassharplyasthingsaffectoneanotherbytheirphysicalenergies。I
referhereto_appreciations_，whichformanambiguoussphereofbeing，belongingwithemotionontheonehand，andhavingobjective’value’
ontheother，yetseemingnotquiteinnernorquiteouter，asifadiremptionhadbegunbuthadnotmadeitselfcomplete。
Experiencesofpainfulobjects，forexample，areusuallyalsopainfulexperiences;perceptionsofloveliness，ofugliness，tendtopassmusteraslovelyorasuglyperceptions;intuitionsofthemorallyloftyareloftyintuitions。
35
Sometimestheadjectivewandersasifuncertainwheretofixitself。Shallwespeakofseductivevisionsorofvisionsofseductivethings？Ofhealthythoughtsorofthoughtsofhealthyobjects？Ofgoodimpulses，orofimpulsestowardsthegood？Offeelingsofanger，orofangryfeelings？Bothinthemindandinthething，thesenaturesmodifytheircontext，excludecertainassociatesanddetermineothers，havetheirmatesandincompatibles。
Yetnotasstubbornlyasinthecaseofphysicalqualities，forbeautyandugliness，loveandhatred，pleasantandpainfulcan，incertaincomplexexperiences，coexist。
Ifoneweretomakeanevolutionaryconstructionofhowalotoforiginallychaoticpureexperiencebecamegraduallydifferentiatedintoanorderlyinnerandouterworld，thewholetheorywouldturnuponone’ssuccessinexplaininghoworwhythequalityofanexperience，onceactive，couldbecomelessso，and，frombeinganenergeticattributeinsomecases，elsewherelapseintothestatusofan36
inertormerelyinternal’nature。’Thiswouldbethe’evolution’ofthepsychicalfromthebosomofthephysical，inwhichtheesthetic，moralandotherwiseemotionalexperienceswouldrepresentahalfwaystage。
VIII
Butalastcryof_non_possumus_willprobablygoupfrommanyreaders。"Allveryprettyasapieceofingenuity，"theywillsay，"butourconsciousnessitselfintuitivelycontradictsyou。
We，forourpart，_know_thatweareconscious。
We_feel_ourthought，flowingasalifewithinus，inabsolutecontrastwiththeobjectswhichitsounremittinglyescorts。Wecannotbefaithlesstothisimmediateintuition。Thedualismisafundamental_datum_：LetnomanjoinwhatGodhasputasunder。"
Myreplytothisismylastword，andI
greatlygrievethattomanyitwillsoundmaterialistic。
Icannothelpthat，however，forI，too，havemyintuitionsandImustobeythem。Letthecasebewhatitmayinothers，I
amasconfidentasIamofanythingthat，in37
myself，thestreamofthinking（whichIrecognizeemphaticallyasaphenomenon）isonlyacarelessnameforwhat，whenscrutinized，revealsitselftoconsistchieflyofthestreamofmybreathing。The’Ithink’whichKantsaidmustbeabletoaccompanyallmyobjects，isthe’Ibreath’whichactuallydoesaccompanythem。Thereareotherinternalfactsbesidesbreathing（intracephalicmuscularadjustments，etc。，ofwhichIhavesaidawordinmylargerPsychology），andtheseincreasetheassetsof’consciousness，’sofarasthelatterissubjecttoimmediateperception;butbreath，whichwasevertheoriginalof’spirit，’breathmovingoutwards，betweentheglottisandthenostrils，is，Iampersuaded，theessenceoutofwhichphilosophershaveconstructedtheentityknowntothemasconsciousness。_That_
_entity_is_fictitious，_while_thoughts_in_the_concrete_
_are_fully_real。__But_thoughts_in_the_concrete_are_
_made_of_the_same_stuff_as_things_are。
IwishImightbelievemyselftohavemade38
thatplausibleinthisarticle。INanotherarticleIshalltrytomakethegeneralnotionofaworldcomposedofpureexperiencesstillmoreclear。
39
II
AWORLDOFPUREEXPERIENCE
ITisdifficultnottonoticeacuriousunrestinthephilosophicatmosphereofthetime，alwayslooseningofoldlandmarks，asofteningofoppositions，amutualborrowingfromoneanotherreflectingonthepartofsystemsancientlyclosed，andaninterestinnewsuggestions，howevervague，asiftheonethingsureweretheinadequacyoftheextantschool-solutions。Thedissatisfactionwiththeseseemsdueforthemostparttoafeelingthattheyaretooabstractandacademic。Lifeisconfusedandsuperabundant，andwhattheyoungergenerationappearstocraveismoreofthetemperamentoflifeinitsphilosophy，eventhoughtitwereatsomecostoflogicalrigorandofformalpurity。Transcendental40
idealismisincliningtolettheworldwagincomprehensibly，inspiteofitsAbsoluteSubjectandhisunityofpurpose。Berkeleyanidealismisabandoningtheprincipleofparsimonyanddabblinginpanpsychicspeculations。
Empiricismflirtswithteleology;and，strangestofall，naturalrealism，solongdecentlyburied，raisesitsheadabovetheturf，andfindsgladhandsoutstretchedfromthemostunlikelyquarterstohelpittoitsfeetagain。Weareallbiasedbyourpersonalfeelings，Iknow，andIampersonallydiscontentedwithextantsolutions;soIseemtoreadthesignsofagreatunsettlement，asiftheupheavalofmorerealconceptionsandmorefruitfulmethodswereimminent，asifatruelandscapemightresult，lessclipped，straight-edgedandartificial。
Ifphilosophybereallyontheeveofanyconsiderablerearrangement，thetimeshouldbepropitiousforanyonewhohassuggestionsofhisowntobringforward。Formanyyearspastmymindhasbeegrowingintoacertaintypeof_Weltanschauung_。Rightlyorwrongly，Ihave41
gottothepointwhereIcanhardlyseethingsinanyotherpattern。Ipropose，therefore，todescribethepatternasclearlyasIcanconsistentlywithgreatbrevity，andtothrowmydescriptionintothebubblingvatofpublicitywhere，jostledbyrivalsandtornbycritics，itwilleventuallyeitherdisappearfromnotice，orelse，ifbetterluckbefallit，quietlysubsidetotheprofundities，andserveasapossiblefermentofnewgrowthsoranucleusofnewcrystallization。
I。RADICALEMPIRICISM
Igivethenameof’radicalempiricism’tomy_Weltanschauung_。Empiricismisknownastheoppositeofrationalism。Rationalismtendstoemphasizeuniversalsandtomakewholespriortopartsintheorderoflogicaswellasinthatofbeing。Empiricism，onthecontrary，laystheexplanatorystressuponthepart，theelement，theindividual，andtreatsthewholeasacollectionandtheuniversalasanabstraction。
Mydescriptionofthings，accordingly，startswiththepartsandmakesofthewhole42
abeingofthesecondorder。Itisessentiallyamosaicphilosophy，aphilosophyofpluralfacts，likethatofHumeandhisdescendants，whoreferthesefactsneithertoSubstancesinwhichtheyinherenortoanAbsoluteMindthatcreatesthemasitsobjects。ButitdiffersfromtheHumiantypeofempiricisminoneparticularwhichmakesmeaddtheepithetradical。
Toberadical，anempiricismmustneitheradmitintoitsconstructionsanyelementthatisnotdirectlyexperienced，norexcludefromthemanyelementthatisdirectlyexperienced。
Forsuchaphilosophy，_the_relations_that_connect_
_experiences_must_themselves_be_experienced_relations，_
_and_any_kind_of_relation_experienced_must_
_be_accounted_as_’real’_as_anything_else_in_the_
_system。Elementsmayindeedberedistributed，theoriginalplacingofthingsgettingcorrected，butarealplacemustbefoundforeverykindofthingexperienced，whethertermorrelation，inthefinalphilosophicarrangement。
Now，ordinaryempiricism，inspiteofthefactthatconjunctiveanddisjunctiverelations43
presentthemselvesasbeingfullyco-ordinatepartsofexperience，hasalwaysshownatendencytodoawaywiththeconnectionsofthings，andtoinsistmostonthedisjunctions。
Berkeley’snominalism，Hume’sstatementthatwhateverthingswedistinguishareas’looseandseparate’asiftheyhad’nomannerofconnection。’
JamesMill’sdenialthatsimilarshaveanything’really’incommon，theresolutionofthecausaltieintohabitualsequence，JohnMill’saccountofbothphysicalthingsandselvesascomposedofdiscontinuouspossibilities，andthegeneralpulverizationofallExperiencebyassociationandthemind-dusttheory，areexamplesofwhatImean。
Thenaturalresultofsuchaworld-picturehasbeentheeffortsofrationalismtocorrectitsincoherenciesbytheadditionoftrans-
experientialagentsofunification，substances，intellectualcategoriesandpowers，orSelves;
44
whereas，ifempiricismhadonlybeenradicalandtakeneverythingthatcomeswithoutdisfavor，conjunctionaswellasseparation，eachatitsfacevalue，theresultswouldhavecalledfornosuchartificialcorrection。_Radical_empiricism，_
asIunderstandit，_does_full_justice_to_
_conjunctive_relations_，without，however，treatingthemasrationalismalwaystendstotreatthem，asbeingtrueinsomesupernalway，asiftheunityofthingsandtheirvarietybelongedtodifferentordersoftruthandvitalityaltogether。
II。CONJUNCTIVERELATIONS
Relationsareofdifferentdegreesofintimacy。
Merelytobe’with’oneanotherinauniverseofdiscourseisthemostexternalrelationthattermscanhave，andseemstoinvolvenothingwhateverastofartherconsequences。
Simultaneityandtime-intervalcomenext，andthenspace-adjacencyanddistance。Afterthem，similarityanddifference，carryingthepossibilityofmanyinferences。Thenrelationsofactivity，tyingtermsintoseriesinvolving45
change，tendency，resistance，andthecausalordergenerally。Finally，therelationexperiencedbetweentermsthatformstatesofmind，andareimmediatelyconsciousofcontinuingeachother。TheorganizationoftheSelfasasystemofmemories，purposes，strivings，fulfilmentsordisappointments，isincidentaltothismostintimateofallrelations，thetermsofwhichseeminmanycasesactuallytocompenetrateandsuffuseeachother’sbeing。
Philosophyhasalwaysturnedongrammaticalparticles。With，near，next，like，from，towards，against，because，for，through，my——
thesewordsdesignatetypesofconjunctiverelationarrangedinaroughlyascendingorderofintimacyandinclusiveness。_A_priori，wecanimagineauniverseofwithnessbutnonextness;
oroneofnextnessbutnolikeness，oroflikenesswithnoactivity，orofactivitywithnopurpose，orofpurposewithnoego。Thesewouldbeuniverses，eachwithitsowngradeofunity。
Theuniverseofhumanexperienceis，byoneoranotherofitsparts，ofeachandallthesegrades。
46
Whetherornotitpossiblyenjoyssomestillmoreabsolutegradeofuniondoesnotappearuponthesurface。
Takenasitdoesappear，ouruniverseistoalargeextentchaotic。Noonesingletypeofconnectionrunsthroughalltheexperiencesthatcomposeit。Ifwetakespace-relations，theyfailtoconnectmindsintoanyregularsystem。
Causesandpurposesobtainonlyamongspecialseriesoffacts。Theself-relationseemsextremelylimitedanddoesnotlinktwodifferentselvestogether。_Prima_facie，ifyoushouldlikentheuniverseofabsoluteidealismtoanaquarium，acrystalglobeinwhichgoldfishareswimming，youwouldhavetocomparetheempiricistuniversetosomethingmorelikeoneofthosedriedhumanheadswithwhichtheDyaksofBorneodecktheirlodges。Theskullformsasolidnucleus;butinnumerablefeathers，leaves，strings，beads，andlooseappendicesofeverydescriptionfloatanddanglefromit，and，savethattheyterminateinit，seemtohavenothingtodowithoneanother。Evensomyexperiencesandyoursfloatanddangle，47
terminating，itistrue，inanucleusofcommonperception，butforthemostpartoutofsightandirrelevantandunimaginabletooneanother。
Thisimperfectintimacy，thisbarerelationof_withness）betweensomepartsofthesumtotalofexperienceandotherparts，isthefactthatordinaryempiricismover-emphasizesagainstrationalism，thelatteralwaystendingtoignoreitunduly。Radicalempiricism，onthecontrary，isfairtoboththeunityandthedisconnection。Itfindsnoreasonfortreatingeitherasillusory。Itallotstoeachitsdefinitesphereofdescription，andagreesthatthereappeartobeactualforcesatworkwhichtend，astimegoeson，tomaketheunitygreater。
Theconjunctiverelationthathasgivenmosttroubletophilosophyis_the_co-conscious_
_transition_，sotocallit，bywhichoneexperiencepassesintoanotherwhenbothbelongtothesameself。Myexperiencesandyourexperiencesare’with’eachotherinvariousexternalways，butminepassintomine，andyourspassintoyoursinawayinwhichyoursandmineneverpass48
intooneanother。Withineachofourpersonalhistories，subject，object，interestandpurpose_are_continuous_or_may_be_continuous_。（1）Personalhistoriesareprocessesofchangeintime，and_the_change_itself_is_one_of_the_things_immediately_
_experienced。_’Change’inthiscasemeanscontinuousasopposedtodiscontinuoustransition。
Butcontinuoustransitionisonesortofaconjunctiverelation;andtobearadicalempiricistmeanstoholdfasttothisconjunctiverelationofallothers，forthisisthestrategicpoint，thepositionthroughwhich，ifaholebemade，allthecorruptionsofdialecticsandallthemetaphysicalfictionspourintoourphilosophy。
Theholdingfasttothisrelationmeanstakingitatitsfacevalue，neitherlessnormore;
andtotakeitatitsfacevaluemeansfirstofalltotakeitjustaswefeelit，andnottoconfuseourselveswithabstracttalk_about_it，involvingwordsthatdriveustoinventsecondaryconceptionsinordertoneutralizetheir——-
1Thepsychologybookshaveoflatedescribedthefactsherewithapproximateadequacy。Imayrefertothechapterson’TheStreamofThought’andontheSelfinmyown_Principles_of_Psychology_，aswellastoS。H。Hodgson’s_Metaphysics_of_Experience_，volI。，ch。VIIandVIII。
——-
49
suggestionsandtomakeouractualexperienceagainseemrationallypossible。
whatIdofeelsimplywhenalatermomentofmyexperiencesucceedsanearlieroneisthatthoughtheyaretwomoments，thetransitionfromtheonetotheotheris_continuous_。Continuityhereisadefinitesortofexperience;justasdefiniteasisthe_discontinuity-experience_
whichIfinditimpossibletoavoidwhenIseektomakethetransitionfromanexperienceofmyowntooneofyours。InthislattercaseI
havetogetonandoffagain，topassfromathinglivedtoanotherthingonlyconceived，andthebreakispositivelyexperiencedandnoted。Thoughthefunctionsexertedbymyexperienceandbyyoursmaybethesame（。e。g。，thesameobjectsknownandthesamepurposesfollowed），yetthesamenesshasinthiscasetobeascertainedexpressly（andoftenwithdifficultyanduncertainly）afterthebreakhasbeenfelt;whereasinpassingfromoneofmyownmomentstoanotherthesamenessofobjectandinterestisunbroken，andboththeearlierandthelaterexperienceareofthingsdirectlylived。
50
Thereisnoother_nature_，nootherwhatnessthanthisabsenceofbreakandthissenseofcontinuityinthatmostintimateofallconjunctiverelations，thepassingofoneexperienceintoanotherwhenthebelongtothesameself。
Andthiswhatnessisrealempirical’content，’
justasthewhatnessofseparationanddiscontinuityisrealcontentinthecontrastedcase。
Practicallytoexperienceone’spersonalcontinuuminthislivingwayistoknowtheoriginalsoftheideasofcontinuityandsameness，toknowwhatthewordsstandforconcretely，toownallthattheycanevermean。Butallexperienceshavetheirconditions;andover-subtleintellects，thinkingaboutthefactshere，andaskinghowtheyarepossible，haveendedbysubstitutingalotofstaticobjectsofconceptionforthedirectperceptualexperiences。
"Sameness，"theyhavesaid，"mustbeastarknumericalidentity;itcan’trunonfromnexttonext。Continuitycan’tmeanmereabsenceofgap;forifyousaytwothingsareinimmediatecontact，_at_thecontacthowcantheybetwo？
If，ontheotherhand，youputarelationof51
transitionbetweenthem，thatitselfisathirdthing，andneedstoberelatedorhitchedtoitsterms。Aninfiniteseriesisinvolved，"andsoon。Theresultisthatfromdifficultytodifficulty，theplainconjunctiveexperiencehasbeendiscreditedbybothschools，theempiricistsleavingthingspermanentlydisjoined，andtherationalistremedyingtheloosenessbytheirAbsolutesorSubstances，orwhateverotherfictitiousagenciesofunionmayhaveemployed。
Fromallwhichartificialitywecanbesavedbyacoupleofsimple-reflections：first，thatconjunctionsandseparationsare，atallevents，co-ordinatephenomenawhich，ifwetakeexperiencesattheirfacevalue，mustbeaccountedequallyreal;andsecond，thatifweinsistontreatingthingsasreallyseparatewhentheyaregivenascontinuouslyjoined，invoking，whenunionisrequired，transcendentalprinciplestoovercometheseparatenesswehaveassumed，thenweoughttostandreadytoperformtheconverseact。Weoughttoinvokehigherprinciplesof_dis_union，also，to52
makeourmerelyexperienced_dis_junctionsmoretrulyreal。Failingthus，weoughttolettheoriginallygivencontinuitiesstandontheirownbottom。Wehavenorighttobelopsidedortoblowcapriciouslyhotandcold。