McPhee in the midst of wonders still holds to the ineluctable power of empirical evidence. Is there any other kind? He is the Vienna Circle and the square peg at St Anne’s-in-Logres. Lewis must have known lots of MacPhees in Oxford:
“I am very glad to see you, Mrs. Studdock,” he said in what Jane took to be a Scotch accent, though it was really that of an Ulsterman.
“Don’t believe a word he says, Jane,” said Mother Dimble. “He’s your prime enemy in this house. He doesn’t believe in your dreams.”
“Mrs. Dimble,” said MacPhee, “I have repeatedly explained to you the distinction between a personal feeling of confidence and a logical satisfaction of the claims of evidence. The one is a psychological event——”
“And the other a perpetual nuisance,” said Mrs. Dimble.
“Never heed her, Mrs. Studdock,” said MacPhee. “I am, as I was saying, very glad to welcome you among us. The fact that I have found it my duty on several occasions to point out that no experimentum crucis has yet confirmed the hypothesis that your dreams are veridical, has no connection in the world with my personal attitude.”
No comments:
Post a Comment