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life is an essential part , and the result of organization . Now , Mr . Editor , whichever of these opinions be right , or whether , indeed , there be any essential difference between them , there certainly
can be nothing in either to warrant a declaration of war , or the indulgence of any other feelings in a wise man than a wish to see the truth promoted by fair and peaceable discussion * Unfortunately , however , medical men are slaves to system as much as
theologians , and they can descend to the same arts to silence an opponent . Neither of the gentlemen referred to has been sparing in the language of abuse ; but Mr . Abernethy , by the dextrous use of a weapon peculiarly his own , has contrived to put down
his adversary beyond the power of a resurrection . If you ask me what this weapon is ; I answer , the cry of heresy . Mr . Abernethy has discovered that the tenet of his opponent upon the subject of life is sceptical , and of a demoralizing nature , and therefore dangerous to society .,
In the progressive state of science , it often happens that men outlive their early opinions . If this proves nothing else , it is at any rate a good argument for proposing them with
modesty , and will save us eventually much shame and self-reproach . To stigmatize an opinion with ill names is oftentimes a substitute for argument ; but when this is not thJe case , it is the
mark of a bad temper , and shews plainly that we are not willing to trust solely to the evidence of truth . It is also unfair and unphilosophical to measure an opinion by its supposed consequences . Medical men , above all others , should abstain from
such a mode of reasoning ; for they ought to know that a strong religious prejudice prevails in the world against the profession itself , on account of the supposed sceptical tendency of their studies .
The most obnoxious passages in Mr . A ^ bernethy ' s work are to be found in his first Lecture ; where he takes frequent opportunity of designating his opponents as c * sceptics , " " modern sceptics , " and " - professed sceptics . ' * This term he well knows to
be of innocent signification , and rather honourable than otherwise , as implying reflection and judgment :
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but then it acts differently upon the great mass of society , with whom it serves as a scare-cro w * and therefore the better suits his purpose . Medical men are generally supposed to derive their opinions from demonstrable facts ;
and whatever is not of this sort is , with them , matter of doubt or scepticism . Mr . Abernethy may \ fancy himself exempt from the charge ; but I have reason to know that in what is called " the religious world , " he is considered as much a sceptic as his opponent .
He tells us that in France , a nation where the writings of its philosophers and wits have greatly contributed to demoralize the people , " he does not wonder that physiological studies should be rendered conformable to
what is esteemed most philosophical or clever ; but that their principles should be extolled in England , he thinks " cannot but excite the surprise and indignation of any one fully apprized of Oieir pernicious tendency . " With reference to the system of his
opponents , he says , " Whoever , therefore , inculcates opinions tending to subvert morality , benevolence , and the social interests of mankind , deserves the severest reprobation from every member of our profession , because his conduct must bring it into distrust with the public / ' If this passage
stood alone , no person would object to it ; but applying , as he means it , to the theory of his opponent , it savours too much of the disingenuous arts of controversy . For myself , I am not prepared to say whether the system of materialism , which I suppose to be the result of Mr , . Lawrence ' s theory ,
be true or false ; but 1 really cannot see that the belief of it involves the serious consequences imagined by Mr-Abernethy . That this gentleman does not always reason accurately , yeven where he appears to be most at home ,
is evident from the following passage : " What Mr . Hunter thought about sensation a l know not ; what 1 think , I willingly declare , which is , that it can be neither the result of organization , nor an affection of mere life . In
reasoning on the motions of the matter which surrounds us , and also of that of which we are composed , we must grant either that the atoms are motive , or that they are impelled to move . So also in reasoning with respect to sensation , if the atoms be
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I . 7 . . . ' , » 624 Medical Dispute on the Origin of Vitality *
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1819, page 624, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1777/page/36/
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