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Show SIR OLIVER LODGE, noted British psychic investigator, in-vestigator, who reads an important im-portant paper on relations between science and the question ques-tion of life after death. PSYCHIC SEER FUTURE LIFE Sir Oliver Lodge Reads Notable Nota-ble Paper Before British Association for Advancement Advance-ment of Science. PRESENT DATA IS NO BASIS FOR SKEPTICISM Believes Science Will Learn Much About Spirit World and Means of Communication. Com-munication. BIRMINGHAM, England, Sept. 10 Published forecasts of the address of Sir Oliver Lodge, president of the British Brit-ish Association for the Advancement of Science, intimating that ho would make statements of a startling character concerning con-cerning immortality and the proof of life after death, although publicly denied de-nied by Sir Oliver himself, caused the reading of bis address at the meeting tonight to be anticipated with lively interest in-terest and- heard with profound attention. atten-tion. Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge delivered tho inaugural address at the meeting of the British association at Central hall tonight. to-night. The hall was crowded to its utmost capacity with men and women. Mme. Curie There. A presidential address before the British association seldom has been awaited with such oagorness on tho part of tho general public as that delivered tonight. The loading scientists of the world wero in the audience, including Mme. Curie, the co-discoverer -with her lato husband of radium, and fifty other groat foreign savants. Usually such addresses are too scientific scien-tific and abstruse to appeal to popular taste, but it "was known that Sir Oliver Lodge was to deal -with tho mystery of after-life and the question of the persistence per-sistence of personality after death, and, in avowing hiB belief in such after-lifo, tho speaker went further than any scientist had yot gone townrdB answor-ing answor-ing a questioa so profoundly intorost-ing intorost-ing to the mass of "mankind. Tho address vas listoned to with impressive im-pressive Bilence, which was broken only by tho murmur of half -suppressed laughter laugh-ter or little outbursts of applause. His subject was " Continuity," and summarized in his own words, Sir Oliver's Oli-ver's argument was: A marked feature of the present scientific era is the discovery of, and intorest in, various kinds of atomism; so that continuity seems ill danger of being lost sight of. Another tendency is toward com-nrahensive com-nrahensive negative generalizations from a limited point of view. Another is to take refuge in rather vague forms of statement, and to shrink from further examination exami-nation of the puzzling and the obscure. ob-scure. Another is to deny the existence of anything which makes no appeal to organs of senso, and no ready response re-sponse to laboratory experiment. Against these tendencies the author contends. He urges a belief in ultimate continuity as essential too science. lie regards scientific concentration as an inadequate basis for philosophic generalization. gener-alization. Ho believes that obscure phenomena may be expressed simply if properly faced, and he poiuts out that the non-appearance of anything perfectly perfect-ly uniform and omnipresent is only what should be expected, and is no argument ar-gument against its real substantial existence. ex-istence. Life After Death. In conclusion Sir Oliver touched upon the question of life after death. r Ho declared his conviction that "occurrences "occur-rences now regarded as occult can bo examined and reduced to order by the methods iof soionco carefully and persistently per-sistently applied," and that "already the facts so examined have convinced me that memory and affoction are not limited to that association with matter bv which alone thoy can manifest them-selvcB them-selvcB bore, and now, and that personality per-sonality persists boyoud bodily death." Sir Oliver further declared the "cvi-douce "cvi-douce to my mind goes to prove that discarnalo intelligence, under certain conditions, may interact with us on the material side," and that "we may bono to attain some understanding of tho nature of a largor, perhaps otborml existence ex-istence and of the conditions regulating regulat-ing intercourse across the chasm. In his remarks leading up to theso declarations, Sir Oliver said: "Eliminating from our purview, as (Continued on. Page Two.) PSYCHIC SEER FLAYS SKEPTICS OF SCIENCE (Continued from Page Ono.) is nlways necessary, a great mass of human hu-man activity, and limiting ourselves to a scrutiny on tho ono side of pure science alone, let us ask what, in the main, is the characteristic of the promising, prom-ising, though perturbing period in which wc live. Different persons would give different answers, but the answer i. venture to give israpid progrcBS, combined with fundamental skepticism. skepti-cism. ' Sir Oliver explained by fundamental skepticism that lie did not mean tho "well worn and almost antiquo thomo of theological skepticism.-'' That controversy con-troversy was practically in abcyaiico iust now. "J.n nhvsiologv tho conflict ranges round vitalism' he said. "In chem-istrv chem-istrv the debate concerns atomic structure. struc-ture. In biology the. dispute is on tho laws of inheritance. In economic and political science or sociology, what is there that is not under discussion i Jn the vast group of mathematical and physical .sciences ' present day1 criticism concerns what, if I had to express it in one word, 1 should call continuity. Where Science Fails. "Philosophers have begun to question some of I he larger general ixations of science. Not by philosophers only, but by scientific men also, ancient postulates postu-lates are being pulled up by tho roots. " In most parts of physics, simplicity has sooner or later to give place to com- nlnvifv Hinnirli cortttinlv J lirCfG that tho simple laws were true. The law is not really disobeyed, but is modified though the action of a known additional addi-tional cause. Hence it is all in the direction of progress. "If we had to summarize the main trend of physical controversy at present, pres-ent, I feci inclined to urge that it largely large-ly turns on tho question as to which way ultimate victory lies in the fight between continuity and discontinuity." Sir Oliver then' discussed the atomic theory, which, ho said, "might be expressed ex-pressed as an invasion of number into unsuspectod regions,' ' and also the controversial con-troversial topic of the principles of relativity. rel-ativity. "Tf that principle in an cx-trome'sense cx-trome'sense establishes itself," ho said, "it would seem as if even time would become discontinuous and be supplied iu atoms, as money is doled out in penco or centimes instead of continuously in which case our customary existences will turn out to be no more really continuous con-tinuous than the events on a cinematograph cinemato-graph screen while that great agent of continuity, tho Ether of Space, will be relegated to the museum of historical histori-cal curiosities. "The TOther of Space is at least the great engine of continuity. Tt may be much more, for without it there could hardly be a material universe at all. 1 ' V hold that science is incompetent to make comprehensive denials, even about the ether, and that it goes wrong when it makes the attempt." This led the speaker to tho arguments that concluded with his utterances concerning con-cerning life after death. Attacking the school of arbitrary scientists who attempt at-tempt to account for all things by pre cisc scientific laws, he said: They account for things up to a point. But do they account for everything completely? Do they account ac-count for our own feeling ot joy and exaltation, for our sense of beaut', for the manifest beauty existing ex-isting throughout nature? Do not these things suggest something higher and nobler and more joyous, joy-ous, something for tho sake- of which all the struggle for existence goes on? A Deeper Meaning. Surely there must be a deeper j meaning involved in natural ob- jects. Orthodox explanations are only partial, though true as far as they go. Flowers attract insects for fertilization; and fruit tempts animals to cat it iu order to carry seeds. But these explanations cannot can-not be final. "We still have to explain ex-plain the insects. Wc have further to explain this competitive striving striv-ing towards life. Surely the effort j must have- somo significance, the development some nim. We thus reach the problem of existence itself, it-self, and the meaning of evolution. If we dogmatize in a negative direction di-rection and say that we can reduce everything to physics and. chemis-. . try, we gibbet ourselves as ludicrously ludi-crously narrow pedants, and are falling short of the richness and . fullness of our human birthright. But if we have learned from science that evolution is real, we have learned, a great deal. I must not venture to philosophize, but certainly certain-ly from the point of view of science sci-ence evolution is a great reality. That evolution progress is real is a doctrine of profound significance signifi-cance and our efforts at social'bet terment arc justified because wc are a part of the scheme, a part that has become conscious, a part that realizes, dimly at any rate, what it is doing and what it is aiming at. Maintains Immortality. Either we are immortal beings or wo are not. We may not know our dcstin3', but wo must have a destiny of sonic sort. Those who make denials de-nials arc just as likely to be wrong as those who make assertions; in fact, denials arc assertions thrown iuto negative form. Science may not be able to reveal human destiny, des-tiny, but it certainly should not obscure ob-scure it. Things are as they arc, whether we find them out or not; if posterity ever troubles its head about us. I am one of those who think that the methods of science are not so limited In their scope as has been thought; that they can be applied much moro widely and that the phychic region can be studied stud-ied and brought under law too. Allow Al-low us anyhow to make tho attempt. at-tempt. Givs us a fair field. This is not the place to enter into details or to discuss facts scorned by orthodox science, but T cannot help remembering that an utterance from this chair is no ephemeral production, pro-duction, for it remains to be criticised crit-icised by generations yet unborn, whoso knowledge must inevitably be fuller and wider than our own. Where Science Can Aid. Tn justice to myself and my coworkers co-workers T must not only leave on record our conviction that occurrences occur-rences now regarded as occule can be examined and reduced to order by the methods of science, but by going further nnd saying that al-roadv al-roadv the facts so oxamincd have convinced me that memory and affection af-fection are not limited to that association as-sociation with matter by which alone thy can manifest themsolvcs hero and now, and that personality persists beyond bodily death. The evidence in my mind goes to prove that discaniate intelligence under certain conditions, may interact inter-act with us on the material side, thus indirectly coming within our scientific ken; and that gradually wo may hope to attain some understanding under-standing of the nature of a larger, perhaps ethereal, existence; and of the conditions regulating intercourse inter-course across the chasm. A body of responsible investigators even now has been landed on the treacherous but promising Bhores of a new continent. con-tinent. The methods of science arc not the only way, though they are our way of arriving at truth. Men and brethren, wo are trustees trus-tees of tho truth of the physical universe as scientificall- explored; let us be faithful to our trust. Genuine religion has its roots deep down in the heart of humanity and in the reality of things, tt is not surprising that by our methods meth-ods we fail to grasp it; the actions of tho deity make no appeal to any special sense, only a universal ap"-peal; ap"-peal; and our methods are, as wo know, incompetent to detect complete com-plete uniformity. There is a principle of relativity here, and unless we encounter flaw or jar or change, nothing in us responds; re-sponds; we are deaf and blind, therefore, to the imminent grandeur around us, unless we have insight onough to appreciate the whole, and to recognize in the woven fabric of existence flowing steadily from the loom of an infinite progress toward perfection, the ever-growing garment gar-ment of a transcendent God. |