2. MAN’S SUPREMACY DUE TO POWER OF THOUGHT.
That man is the supreme agent of intelligent progress is due to three factors: First, to the existence of the natural world; second, to the existence of man himself; third, to man’s ability to think. Given life and the world as a place to evolve that life, and it is barely possible that man might have survived, but without thought he could never have become supreme. Man is king of the animal kingdom because of his power of thought. Let us illustrate:
Ages ago when England was a part of the main land; when there was no North Sea nor English Channel; weare told that there lived in the forest tracts there about many large and ferocious animals; such as the elephant, the lion, and the tiger. There lived also in the region a smaller and apparently a weaker animal. This creature had no tusks to hook with, no great jaws to crunch with, and no claws to tear with; and an eye witness would have said “Such a weakling has no possible chance against these enemies of his; he and his descendants will succumb and the species will become extinct.” The region was tropical; but, of a sudden, a cataclysmic twist changed the temperature from a torrid to a frigid state. What happened? The large and ferocious animals either migrated to the south or froze to death; but this weakling put on furs, built fires, and remained in the jungle as its king. His name was man, and though he had no horns to hook with, he possessed a brain to think with; this gave him supremacy over the forces of nature.
From the beginning the adaptation of the lower animals has been physical; whereas man’s has been more or less intellectual. By means of deliberative thought man made the bow and arrow which could kill at a distance of 200 yards; then he invented the repeating rifle which may kill a mile away. Thought has taught man to harness the forces of nature in the form of all kinds of invention. Thought has given man the power to build bridges and palaces, to paint pictures, to chisel angels. Thought has pierced the fog of ignorance and brought light to the dark spots of the globe. Thought has build nations and established the spirit of good will on earth. Through the long years, thought has been the one tool of conquestwhich has enabled man to build for himself, out of the furnishings of nature, a heaven on earth.
Can you recall a department of life which thought has not embellished? Can you recall a single factor that has been raised to the nth power of efficiency without thought? Steam and electricity plus thought lights the world, unites the world, feeds and clothes the world. To-day, as in the olden time, men who think are ever at a premium. This holds true from the Shopkeeper to the Magnate of Wall Street; from Basil, the Blacksmith, to Edison, the King Inventor; from Reuben, the Farmer, to Burbank, the Wizard.
3. IMPORTANCE OF PROGRESSIVE THOUGHT.
Man not only thinks but he thinks progressively. The average horse of to-day, for example, is probably no more intelligent than was the average equine of the time of Alexander the Great, whose war horse, Bucephalus, attained historical fame. Yet, intellectually, the average man of to-day is far above the average man of Alexander’s time. “Horse-knowledge” is more or less stationary. Through instinct each generation makes use of the knowledge of its ancestors without any noticeable accretions. But “man-knowledge” is a growing product of progressive thought. Man appropriates all the knowledge of his forbears, and then adds to this a bit of his own. By being able to think progressively, man is enabled to stand upon the shoulders of his ancestors and thus to take advantage of a broader vision.
We are now led to the conclusion that man’s supremacyis due not only to his ability to think, but to his power of progressive thought.
4. NECESSITY OF RIGHT THINKING.
In the main, man’s thinking has been for his good, that is, in the long run, it has contributed to his general progress. If this had not been so, long since would he have dropped back to the level of the non-thinking animals.