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HERE AND NOW
THIRD EDITION

POWERFUL IDEAS IN
EVERYDAY LI FE Lewis Vaughn
 •
PREFACE XXI

CHAPTER 1 PHILOSOPHY AND YOU 1

CHAPTER 2 GOD AND RELIGION 57

CHAPTER 3 MORALITY AND THE MORAL LIFE 135

CHAPTER 4 MIND AND BODY 205

CHAPTER s FREE WILL AND DETERM INISM 240

CHAPTER 6 KNOWLEDGE AND SKEPTICISM 274

CHAPTER 7 AESTHETICS 332

CHAPTER 8 THE JUST SOCIETY 354

CHAPTER 9 THE MEANING OF LIFE 406

APPENDIX A THE TRUTH ABOUT PH ILOSOPHY MAJORS 431

APPENDIX B ANSWERS TO EXERCISES 437

APPENDIX c HOW TO WRITE A PHILOSOPHY PAPER 441

NOTES 451

GLOSSARY 457

CREDITS 461

INDEX of MARGINAL
QUOTATIONS 463

GENERAL IN DEX 465

VII
Preface xxi

CHAPTER 1 PH I LOSOPHY AND YOU l

1.1 PHILOSOPHY: THE QUEST FOR UNDERSTANDING 2
The Good of Philosophy 2

Philosophical Terrain 4
What Do You Believe? Your Philosophical Beliefs 5
Essay/Discussion Questions 7
1.2 SOCRATES AND THE EXAMINED LIFE 8
Philosophers at Work: Plato 9
PLATO: The Republic 10
Philosophers at Work: The Pre-Socratics 12
Essay/Discussion Questions 14
1.3 THINKING PHILOSOPHICALLY 14
Reasons and Arguments 15
Philosophy Lab 16
Philosophers at Work: Philosophy Takes
on Racism 20
Reading Philosophy 27
Philosophers at Work: Hypatia 29
Philosophers at Work: Early Women
Philosophe rs: Themistoclea, Arignote,
and Theano 31
Fallacious Reason ing 33
Philosophy Now: Philosophy in the News 34
Essay/Discussion Questions 40
REVIEW NOTES 40
Writing to Understand: Arguing Your Own Views 42
KEY TERMS 42

ARGUMENT EXERCISES 43
ix
x Contents

NARRATIVE: Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates 47

PROBING QUESTIONS SS
FOR FURTHER READING SS

CHAPTER 2 GOD AND RELIGION 57

2.1 OVERVIEW: COD AND PHILOSOPHY 58
Why Religion Matte rs 59
Overview: The Philosopher's Quest 59
Philosophy Now: Who Believes in God? 60
What Do You Believe? Hard-Wired for God? 63
Belief and Disbelief 64
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 66

2.2 ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF COD 66

Cosmological Arguments 66
AQUINAS: Summa Theologica 67
Philosophers at Work: St. T homas Aquinas 68
Philosophy Now: Science an d the Uncaused
Universe 69
CRAIG: Reasonable Faith 70
Design Argumen ts 72
PALEY: Natural Theology 72
HUME: Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion 74
Philosophy Now: Do Scientists Reject Religion? 78
On to logical Arguments 79
ANSELM: Proslogium 79
Philosophy Now: Evolution and Intelligent
Design 80
KANT: Critique of Pure Reason 83
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 83

2.3 COD AND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL 84

Rowe's Argumen t f rom Evil 84
ROWE: Philosophy of Religion 84
The Free Will Defense 87
SWINBURNE: Is There a God? 87
 Contents x 1

The Soul-Making Defense 88

HICK: Evil and the God of Love 88
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophica l
Views 91

2.4 THEISM AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE 92

ST. TERESA OF AVILA: The Life of

Teresa ofJesus 92
MACKIE: The Miracle of Theism 93
Philosophy Lab 94
ROWE: Philosophy of Religion 95
Philosophy Now: Proof of the Power of Prayer? 96
SWINBURNE: The Existence of God 97
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophica l
Views 98

2.5 BELIEF WITHOUT REASON 98

James: Pragmatic Fait h 99

JAMES: "The W ill to Believe" 100

MARTIN: Atheism: A Philosophical

Justification 106
Pascal: Betting on God 106
What Do You Believe? Do You Live by Faith? 107

PASCAL: Pensees and Other Writings 107

Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophica l
Views 109

2.6 EASTERN RELIGIONS 109

Buddhism 109
SUMEDHO: Buddha-Nature 11 2

RAHULA: What the Buddha Taught 11 2

Philosophy Now: Buddhism and Science 114

H induism 116
Philosophy Now: The Caste System 120

Daoism 123

CHUANG TZU: All Things Are One 123

LAO-TZU: Tao-te ching 124

Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophica l
Views 126
xii Contents

REVIEW NOTES 126

Writing to Understand: Arguing Your Own
Views 129

KEY TERMS 129

FICTION: Arthur C. Clarke, "The St ar" 131

PROBING QUESTIONS 133

FOR FURTHER READING 134

CHAPTER 3 MORALITY AND THE MORAL LIFE 135

3.1 OVERVIEW: ETHICS AND THE MORAL DOMAIN 136
Eth ics and Morality 136
Moral Theories 139
Philosophy Now: Morality and the Low 141
Philosophy Now: The Morality of Human
Cloning 144
Religion an d Morality 146
SHAFER-LANDAU: Whatever Happened
to Good and Evil? 147
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 148

3.2 MORAL RELATIVISM 148

Subjective Relativism 149
Cultural Relativism 151
What Do You Believe? Cultu ral Relativism
an d Women's Rights 152
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 155
3.3 MORALITY BASED ON CONSEQUENCES 155
Utilitarianism 156
MILL: "What Utilitarianism Is" 158
Philosophy Now: Utilitarianism an d the Death
Penalty 160
Philosophy Lab 164
Eth ical Egoism 165
Philosophers at Work: John Stuart Mill 165
Philosophy Now: To rture and the Ticking Bomb
Terro rist 166
 Contents xi ii

Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophica l

Views 169

3.4 M ORALITY BASED ON DUTY AND RIGHTS 169

KANT: Groundwork ofthe Metaphysic ofMorals 170

Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophica l
Views 175

3.5 MORALITY BASED ON CHARACTER 175

ARISTOTLE: Nicomachean Ethics 176
SHAFER-LANDAU: The Fundamentals of Ethics 180
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophica l
Views 181

3.6 FEMINIST ETHICS AND THE ETHICS OF CARE 181

JAGGAR: "Feminist Ethics" 182

CROSTHWAITE: "Gender and Bioethics" 182
HELD: The Ethics of Care 184
Philosophers at Work: Mar y Wollstonecraft 186
BAIER: "The Need for More T han Justice" 188
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophica l
Views 188

3.7 ALBERT CAMUS: AN EXISTENTIALIST VOICE 188

CAMUS: The Myth of Sisyphus 190

Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophica l
Views 192

3.8 CONFUCIANISM 192

CONFUCIUS: Analects 193
NOSS: A History ofthe World's Religions 195
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophica l
Views 195

REVIEW NOTES 196

Writing to Understand: A rguing You r
Own Views 198
KEY TERMS 198

FICTION: Ursula K. Le Guin, " The Ones Who Walk Away

from Ornelas" 200

PROBING QUESTIONS 203

FOR FURTHER READING 203

x iv Contents

CHAPTER 4 MIND AND BODY 205

4.1 OVERVIEW: THE M IND-BODY PROBLEM 206
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 211

4.2 SUBSTANCE DUALISM 211

DESCARTES: Discourse on the Method of Rightly
Conducting the Reason 2 12
SCHICK: Doing Philosophy 212

DESCARTES: Meditations on First Philosophy 213

What Do You Believe? T he Immortal Soul 2 14

SEARLE: Mind 216

Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 217

4.3 MIND-BODY IDENTITY 217

SMART: "Sensations and Brain Processes" 217

CHALMERS: The Conscious Mind 2 18

NAGEL: "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" 220

Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 221

4.4 THE M IND AS SOFTWARE 222

FODOR: "T he Mind-Body Problem" 222

BLOCK: "Troubles with Functionalism" 223

What Do You Believe? Al and Human Rights 224

SEARLE: Mind 226

Philosophers at Work: Alan Turing 227
Philosophers at Work: John R. Searle 228
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 229
Philosophy Now: A l, Ethics, and War 230

4.5 THE MIND AS PROPERTIES 230

CHALMERS: The Conscious Mind 232
Philosophy Lab 233
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 234

REVIEW NOTES 234

Writing to Understand: Arguing Your Own Views 235
 Contents xv

KEY TERMS 236

FICTION: Terry Bisson, "They're Made out of Meat" 237

PROBING QUESTIONS 238

FOR FURTHER READING 238

CHAPTER 5 FREE WILL AND DETERMINISM 240

5.1 OVERVIEW: THE FREE WILL PROBLEM 241
What Do You Believe? Fate 245
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 246
5.2 DETERMINISM AND INDETERMINISM 246
D'HOLBACH: "Of the System of Man's Free
Agency" 246
Philosophers at Work: William James 248
JAMES: "The Dilemma of Determinism" 249
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 250
5.3 COMPATIBILISM 250
LOCKE: An Essay Concerning Human
Understanding 251
STACE: Religion and the Modern Mind 251
Philosophy Now: Does Belief in Free Will Matter? 252
ROWE: "Two Concepts of Freedom" 254
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 255
5.4 LIBERTARIANISM 255
Philosophy Now: Science and Free Will 256
VAN INWAGEN: An Essay on Free Will 257
Philosophy Lab 258
TAYLOR: Metaphysics 258
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 261
5.5 SARTRE' S PROFOUND FREEDOM 261
SARTRE: "Existentialism Is a Humanism" 262
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 266
xvi Contents

REVIEW NOTES 266

Writing to Understand: Arguing Your Own
Views 268
KEY TERMS 268

FICTION: Thomas D. Davis, "A Little Omniscience Goes

a Long Way" 270

PROBING QUESTIONS 273

FOR FURTHER READING 273

CHAPTER 6 KNOWLEDGE AND SKEPTICISM 274

6.1 OVERVIEW: THE PROBLEM OF KNOWLEDGE 275
What Do You Believe? Cognitive Re lativism
Undone 277
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Vi ews 280

6.2 THE RATIONALIST ROAD 281

Plat o's Rationalism 281
PLATO: Meno 283
Descart es' Doubt 284
DESCARTES: Meditations on First Philosophy 285
Philosophy Now: Living in The Matrix 287
Philosophy Lab 288
Descart es' Cert ainty 288
DESCARTES: Meditations on First Philosophy 288
Philosophers at Work: Rene Descartes 290
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Vi ews 292

6.3 THE EMPIRICIST TURN 293

Locke 293
LOCKE: An Essay Concerning Human
Understanding 293
Ber keley 299
BERKELEY: Of the Principles of Human
Knowledge 300
Hume 303
Philosophers at Work: David Hume 304
 Contents xv ii

HUME: An Enquiry Concerning Human

Understanding 305
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophica l
Views 310

6.4 THE KANTIAN COMPROMISE 311

KANT: Critique of Pure Reason 312
Philosophers at Work: Immanuel Kant 313
Philosophy Now: Conceptua lizing the World 316
Writing to Understand: Criti quing Philosophica l
Views 319

6.5 A FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE ON KNOWLEDGE 319

AINLEY: "Feminist Philosophy" 320
ANTONY: " Embodiment and Epistemology" 320
ANDERSON: "Feminist Epi stemology an d
Philosophy of Science" 321
COLE: Philosophy and Feminist Criticism 321
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophica l
Views 325

REVIEW NOTES 325

Writing to Understand: A rguing You r Own
Views 328

KEY TERMS 329

FICTION: Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking-Glass" 330

PROBING QUESTIONS 330

FOR FURTHER READING 331

CHAPTER 7 AESTHETICS 332

7.1 OVERVIEW: PHILOSOPHY OF BEAUTY 333
Writing to Understand: Criti quing Philosophica l
Views 333

7.2 WHAT IS ART? 333

Philosophy Now: Is It Art? 334
BELL: Art 335
Writing to Understand: Criti quing Philosophica l
Views 335
Philosophy Now: Controversial Ar t 336
xvii i Contents

7.3 AESTHETIC VALUE 338

Philosophers at Work: Ar thu r C. Dante 339
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 34 0

7.4 PLATO, ARISTOTLE, AND HUME 340

ARISTOTLE: The Poetics 340
Philosophy Lab 341
HUME: Of the Standard of Taste 343
Philosophy Now: Feminist Art 344
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 34 8

REVIEW NOTES 349

Writing to Understand: Arguing Your Own
Views 350

KEY TERMS 350

FICTION: Edgar All an Poe, "The Oval Portrait" 351

PROBING QUESTIONS 352

FOR FURTHER READING 352

CHAPTER 8 THE JUST SOCIETY 354

8.1 OVERVIEW: JUSTICE AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY 355
What Do You Believe? Polit ica l Views in
Flux 358
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 359

8.2 PLATO 'S THEORY: JUSTICE AS MERIT 360

PLATO: The Republic 361
Philosophy Now: Merit or Equality: Who Gets
to Live? 363
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical
Views 364

8.3 SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORIES 364

Hobbes 365
Philosophers at Work: Thomas Hobbes 365
HOBBES: Leviathan 366
 Contents xix

Locke 370
LOCKE: Second Treatise of Government 371
Rawls 375
Philosophers at Work: John Locke 375
RAWLS: A Theory ofjustice 376
Writing to Understand: Criti quing Philosophica l
Views 378

8.4 SOCIALIST THEORIES 379

Philosophy Lab 380
Philosophy Now: Is the Unit ed States a Socialist
Country? 381
MARX and ENGELS: Manifesto ofthe Communist
Party 381
Writing to Understand: Criti quing Philosophica l
Views 387

8.5 FEMINISM ANO SOCIAL JUSTICE 387

OKIN: Justice, Gender, and the Family 388
MILLER: Political Philosophy 392
Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophica l
Views 392

REVIEW NOTES 393

Writing to Understand: Arguing You r Own
Views 395

KEY TERMS 395

FICTION: William Golding, "Lord of the Flies" 397

PROBING QUESTIONS 405

FOR FURTHER READING 405

CHAPTER 9 THE MEAN ING OF LIFE 406

9.1 OVERVIEW: PHILOSOPHY ANO THE MEAN ING
O F LIFE 407
Philosophy Lab 410
9.2 PESSIMISM: LIFE HAS NO MEANING 411
TOLSTOY: My Confession 411
xx Contents

SCHOPENHAUER: "On the Sufferings of the

Wo rl d" 413
BAGG/NI: What's It All About? 414
Philosophy Now: Nietzsche: Reflections
on Meaning 415

9.3 OPTIMISM : LIFE CAN HAVE MEANING 416

Meaning from Above 416
TOLSTOY: My Confession 416
Philosophy Now: Is Re ligion Necessary
fo r a Meaningful Life? 4 19
BAGG/NI: What's It All About? 420
Meaning from Below 4 21
EDWARDS: The Encyclopedia of Philosophy 421
REVIEW NOTES 426
What Do You Believe? What Can and Cannot
Give Life Meaning? 427
Writing to Understand: Argu ing Your Own
Views 428

FICTION: Voltaire, "The Good Brahmin" 429

PROBING QUESTIONS 430

FOR FURTHER READING 430

Append ix A: The Truth about Philosophy Majors 431

Append ix B: Answe rs to Exercises 437
Append ix C: How to Write a Philosophy Paper 4 41
Notes 451
Glossary 457
Credits 461
Index of Marginal Quotations 463
General Index 465
 PREFACE
........... . ....................._........._......._............._................................................................-................................_. ........ .......................__. ......... . ... ...... . . .__. . ..... __.
__. ._ ...... ..... .... ..... ..... ................ ...... . ... .
_.

This third edition of Philosophy Here and Now stays true to the aspirations and char-
acter of the first and second. From the beginning, the text has been designed to
provide an extraordina ry amount of encouragement and guidance to students \vho
are encountering philosophy for the first (and perhaps last) time. !rs ambitious aim is
to get such students to take some big steps tO\vard understa nd ing, appreciating, and
even doi ng philosophy. Philosophy Here and Now thus tries to do a great deal more
than most other texts or readers. To foster a serious understanding of philosophy, it
includes solid coverage of critical thinking skills and argument basics as well as guid-
ance and practice in read ing philosophical works. Studenrs of course can appreciate
the point and power of philosophy as they comprehend philosophical \vritings, but
their app reciation blossoms when they see ho\v philosophical issues and reason ing
play out in contemporary society and how philosophical insights apply to their O\vn
lives. So the book's coverage and pedagogical features help students grasp philoso-
phy's relevance and t imeliness. Studenrs learn how to do philosophy-to think and
write philosophically-\vhen they get encouragement and practice in analyzing and
critiquing their own vie\vS and those of the philosophers they study. To this end,
Phiwsophy Here and Now emphasizes philosophical writi ng, reinforced with step-
by-step coaching in how to \vrite argumentative essays and supported by multiple
opportunities to hone basic skills.
In add ition to these core elements, Philosophy Here and Now further engages
today's learners \Vith abunda nt illustrations and color graphics; marginal notes,
questions, and quotes; profiles of a diverse array of philosophers; and ample repre-
sentation of non-Western and nont raditional sources.

TOPICS AND READINGS

Nine chapters cover the existence of God, morality and the moral life, mind and
body, free wi ll and determinism, knowledge and skepticism, aesthetics, political
philosophy, and the meaning of life. These topics are explored in read ings from
seventy-five traditional and contemporary philosophers integrated into the main
text, featuring both indispensable standards and ne\ver selections. The standards
include Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Pascal, Anselm, Descartes, Hume, Hobbes, Locke,
Berkeley, Kant, d'Holbach, Paley, James, Sartre, Marx, and others. Among t he more
recent voices are Searle, C halmers, C raig, Swinburne, H ick, Mackie, Rowe, Ga rd-
ner, Blu m, Dersho\vitz, Rahula, Jaggar, Held, Baier, Nagel, Block, Van l n\vagen,
Taylor, D u Sautoy, Ducasse, Cole, Ainley, Rawls, O kin, and Schopenhauer.
All these selections are juxtaposed with end-of-chapter pieces of fiction or
narrative-stories meant to explore and dramatize the philosophical issues encountered
xxi
xxii Preface

in the chapters. They include some classic stories such as "The Good Brahmin" by
Volta ire, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Ornelas" by Ursula Le Gu in, and "They're
Made Out of Meat" by Terry Bisson, as \veil as lesser-kno\vn fiction by notable writers
like Arthur C. Clarke and William Golding. Each story is accompanied by discus-
sion/essay questions designed to dra\v out irs philosophical implications.

MAIN FEATURES
• A comprehensive introductory chapter that lays the groundwork for philo-
sophical thinking. Through examples drawn from philosophical literature and
everyday life, th is chapter explains clearly the nature and scope of philosophy
and ho\v it relates to students' lives. This much, of course, is \vhat any good text
in this field should do. But this first chapter also shows how to devise and evalu-
ate arguments and gu ides students in critically thinking, reading, and \vriting
about philosophical issues.
• Critical thinking questions that correspond to relevant passages in the main
text or readings. These questions, located in the margins of the text, invite stu-
dents to ponder the implications of the material and to th ink critically about
the assumptions and arguments found there. The questions are numbered and
highlighted and easily lend themselves to both \vriting assignments and class
discussion. The point of their marginal placement is to prompt students to think
carefully and analytically as they read.
• Four types of text boxes that demonstrate the value and relevance of philoso-
phy in the modern world:
• "Philosophy Now"-These boxes contain news items and research reports
that illustrate ho\v each chapter's philosophical issues permeate everyday life.
They demonstrate that philosophical concerns arise continually in science,
society, ethics, religion, politics, medicine, and more. Each box ends \vith
questions that prompt critical thinking and philosophical reflection.
• "What Do You Believe?"-Prompting student engagement and reflec-
tion, these boxes explore issues related to the chapter's topics and challenge
students' beliefs.
• "Philosophers at Work'' -These boxes profile the lives and wo rk of com-
pelling figures in philosophy, past and present, Western and non-Western or
nontraditional, men and women. Some feature philosophers from the past
\vhose story adds a human and historical dimension to the ideas discussed in
the chapter, and some profile contemporary thinkers who are grappling \vith
the important issues of the day. The point of these features is, of course, to
sho\v that philosophy is very much a living, relevant enterprise.
• " Philosophy Lab"-These boxes present simple thought experiments chal-
lenging students to think through scenarios that can reveal deeper philo-
sophical insights or perspectives.
• In-depth coverage of philosophical writing includes step-by-step coaching in
argument basics and multiple opportunities to hone critical thinking skills.
 Preface xx11 1

• "Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical Views" -These boxes

appear at the end of each section and consist of essay questio ns that prompt
students to critically examine the strengths and weaknesses of the vie\vS dis-
cussed in the sections.
• "Writing to Understand: Arguing Your Own Views" - These boxes
prompt students to explain and defend thei r O\vn views on the chapter's
topics in short essays.
• " How to Write a Philosophy Paper" -This appendix offers concise, step-
by-step guidance in crafting an effective philosophical essay.
• A final chapter on ''The Meaning of Life." This chapter discusses how philoso-
phers have clarified and explored the topic of life's meani ng. It covers the main
philosophical perspectives on the subject and samples the views of philosophers
past and present.
All these features are supplemented \Vith other elements to make the material
even more engaging and accessible:
• Marginal quotes. These pithy, compelling quotes from an array of philosophers
appear throughout the text, inviting students to join the ongoing conversation
of philosophy.
• Key Terms, marginal definitions, and end-of-book Glossary. Key Terms in
each chapter appear in boldface at their first appearance in a chapter, and mar-
gi nal definitions help studenrs learn the terms within their immediate context. A
list of the chapter's Key Terms appears at the end of each chapter, along \vith the
page numbers on which the term and irs definition fi rst appear. Last, a Glossary
of those Key Terms and definitions provides an essential reference for students as
they review and prepare fo r tesrs as well as draft their own philosophical essays
and argumenrs.
• Chapter O bjectives. This list at the begin ning of each chapter helps to scaffold
student learni ng by providing both structure and suppo rt for previewing, note
taking, and retention of content.
• End-of-chapter reviews. Concluding each chapter, this feature revisits the
Chapter Objectives, encouraging students to reflect and revie\v.
• An index of marginal quotes. This supplemental index helps students locate the
wo rds of philosophers that seem especially insightful or inspiri ng to them.
• For Further reading. Located at the end of each chapter, these useful referen ces
poi nt students to sources that \viii enhance thei r understanding of chapter issues
and argumenrs.
• Timeline. Featuring philosophers' lives and important events, this visual learn-
ing tool helps students appreciate the histo ric significance of philosophical ideas
by placi ng them \vithi n a larger context.
• Charts, tables, and color photos. Appearing throughout the book, these have
been selected or created to deepen studen t engagement with and understanding
of complex ideas and abstract co nceprs. In additio n, captions fo r these images
incl ude brief, open-ended questions to help studenrs "read" visuals \Vith the same
critical attentio n they learn to bring to written texrs.
xxiv Preface

NEW TO THIS EDITION

• An expanded chapter on aesthetics (Chapter 7). Jc covers issues relating to the

definition of art, objective and subjective standards, femi nist art, controversial
artworks, on line art, and the philosophical examination of art by Plato, Aristotle,
Hume, Gardner, Ducasse, and Dan to. Several new photos illustrate fem inist art,
co ntroversial art, and art that provokes discussion about what art is and isn't.
• Expanded coverage in Chapter 9 {The Meaning of Life). In addition to in-
cluding readings by Tolstoy, Schopenhauer, Baggini, and Ed\vards {and com-
mentary on Niet2Sche), the text now adds four more philosophers who debate
the objectivity of meaning in life. Klemke and Lucretius lay out their case for
subjectivist mean ing, and Wolf and Belshaw argue fo r objectivist meaning.
• More history of philosophy in Chapter 1. No\v there's coverage of the pre-
Socratics Thales, Empedocles, and Parmenides, as well as four early women phi-
losophers: Hypatia, Themistoclea, Arignote, and Theano.
• More text boxes adding depth to discussions or demonstrating how philo-
sophical thinking can tackle tough contemporary issues. These cover human
rights for robots, to rturing terrorists, racism, Buddhism and science, belief in
God, and scientists and religion.

ANCILLARIES

The Oxford University Press Ancillary Resou rce Center {ARC) {www.oup-a rc.com/
vaughn-philosophy-here-and-no\v) houses a \vealth of instructor resources, includ-
ing an Instructor's Manual with sample syllabi, read ing summaries, essay/discussion
questions, suggested Web links, and a glossary of key terms from the text; a Com-
puterized Test Bank \Vith fifty or more multiple-choice and true/false questions per
chapter {also available as a traditional "pencil-and-paper" Test Bank in the Instruc-
tor's Manual); and PowerPoint lecture outlines.
A companion website {www.oup.com/us/vaughn) contains study materials for
students, including level-one and level-nvo practice quizzes with multiple-choice
and true/false questions taken from the Test Bank, essay/discussion questions, read-
ing summaries, flashcards of key terms from the text, and suggested Web links.
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 The rest of the boys waked at about the same time that Bart did,
and he soon rejoined them below. The smell of broiled ham was
wafted over the ship. Great was the wonder of Bruce, Arthur, Tom,
and Phil at their present situation, and even greater was their
wonder at seeing the repast which Solomon had already spread out
upon the quarter-deck.
For Solomon had been working like a beaver.
He had forced open the cabin door, and let out all the water. He
had then obtained some coal, which, though wet, burned merrily in
the galley stove, and had found the cooking utensils, which he had
fortunately conveyed to the cabin when he had first been driven
from the galley.
The biscuit were, of course, soaked and saturated with salt water;
but Solomon declared that they were made to be soaked before
cooking, and that the salt water was “jes as good as fresh—ebry
mite.” So he fried these in butter, and sprinkled over them some
pepper, which was in the sea-chest, and which, with all the other
contents of the chest, had not been injured. Ham, and toasted
cheese, and potted meats, and tea and coffee, together with other
articles too numerous to mention, formed the breakfast; and it is
scarce necessary to say that the boys did full justice to it.
After breakfast they began to consider what next they should do.
The land was close by, about half a mile away. The line of coast
extended far away towards the left, but on the right it ended in a
headland. The sea was very quiet, but on the shore before them
there was a heavy surf, the result of the past storm. They saw
farther away to the left a smooth beach, where a landing might be
easily effected, and another place towards the right where there was
very little surf. This last seemed the best place for attempting a
landing.
The shore was not very attractive. In some places rocky cliffs
arose, crowned at the summit with spruce and birch; in other places
there were slopes covered with the same sort of trees. There was no
sign whatever of any house, or of any cultivation, or of any pasture
land, or of any clearing. The forest seemed unbroken.
The boys were now as ignorant of the country as they had been
when they first saw it. Each still held the same opinion which he had
announced before.
Phil thought that it was Newfoundland.
Tom, that it was Prince Edward’s Island.
Bart, that it was some part of Nova Scotia, or Cape Breton.
Pat, that it was the Magdalen Islands.
Bruce, that it was the coast of New Brunswick, somewhere near
the Miramichi.
And Arthur, that it was Gaspé, not far from the Bay de Chaleur.
Thus, although this particular spot seemed desolate enough, no
one gave any thought to that, for they all supposed that inhabitants
could be found within no very great distance. .
After some deliberation, it was at length concluded to go ashore.
The strips of wood which Solomon had already, with wise
forethought, procured, were easily shaped into very respectable
paddles by means of a hatchet and a knife.
They then determined to secure themselves from want while
ashore, and this they did by putting into the boat one of the barrels
of biscuit and the chest of provisions.
Then they all embarked and pulled away. They paddled along
without difficulty towards the beach on the right, where the surf
seemed less. On approaching this, they found a cove formed by a
gully among the hills, and at one end there were grassy banks, near
which a stream of fresh water flowed into the sea.
Here they landed.
 XVII.
The Lookout over the Sea.—The missing Ship.—Where are the
Boys?—Where are the Boys?—Where are the Boys?—Where are the
Boys?—Where are the Boys?—Where are the Boys?—An elaborate
Calculation.—Dragging the Anchor.—A Chart on the Cabin Table.—
Writ in Water.—Hope.—The Antelope sails ‘North by East.—Corbet
watches the Horizon.—Midday.—Despair.—Corbet crushed!

C
aptain Corbet had arrived at the place where he supposed
he had left the Petrel, and on looking about saw no signs of
her, he was filled with despair. The wind had been blowing
all night long, and the sea had been rising to an extent that might
have justified the deepest anxiety; he had been upheld only by the
thought that he was bringing relief to the boys; and this solitary
consolation was taken from him by the first glance that he cast
around.
This was the fifth day since he had left them. He had gone,
proposing and expecting to be back in two days, or in three at
farthest. But he had gone much farther than he had at first
intended, and hence had left them longer than he had said.
And where were they now?
In vain he strained his eyes. The only sail on the water was that
schooner: possibly some fisherman cruising about in this direction.
Where were the boys?
Where were the boys that had been committed to his care,—the
boys who had been intrusted to him,—the boys who had confided in
him,—the boys who had placed their young lives in his keeping?
Where were the boys?
Where were the boys whom he had left; whom he had promised
to return for so promptly?
 He had led them into difficulty, and left them there!
He had led them into starvation—that was his first fault. How they
had suffered during those days of calm! He had led them to that
waterlogged vessel! He had gone on board with them; he had
caused them to put a confidence in that wrecked ship which was not
justifiable.
Worst of all, he had left them!
And now that he thought of it, what was that ship? She might
have been not water-logged—but sinking! The thought filled him
with horror. A sinking ship! and he had left them there!
No; she was not a sinking ship—he knew that.
He remembered the length of time that he had seen her from a
distance. He recalled the time he had been on board, and all the
observations which he had made. Water-logged she certainly was,
but not sinking—no, not sinking. Timber ships never sink. They
cannot sink. A timber ship is like a solid wooden ship low down in
the water, but absolutely unsinkable.
This thought brought some consolation to him in his despair.
But as he looked out over the sea, as he saw the swelling waves,
as he felt the Antelope toss, and leap, and plunge about, and as he
recalled the long night that had passed, with its storms and billows,
he trembled for the boys in the water-logged ship.
And again the old question came back,—
Where were the boys?
Where were the boys whom he had left in the water-logged ship?
He himself had anchored that ship in these waters, hard and fast;
but now, as he looked about far over the seas, he saw no sign of
any ship, or of any floating thing save that distant fishing schooner.
What did this mean?
Again and again he asked this question, and again and again he
shrank back from the answer that suggested itself.
He tried to console himself by thinking of the buoyancy of wood in
general, and of timber ships in particular. Alas! these efforts were all
in vain. For he remembered how rough the sea had been; and he
saw all around him even now the swelling waves. That ship had
already been torn and shattered by storms. That ship had been
forsaken by captain and crew. They had believed that she was about
to founder. Was this belief, then, so far wrong as he had supposed?
She was like a raft, torn and dislocated, which any fresh movement
of the water might shatter to pieces. Perhaps in the storm that had
fallen upon her in his absence the waves had wrought their will upon
her. Perhaps they had torn her to pieces in their wrath, and
scattered all her timbers afar over the surface of the deep. Perhaps
the only vestige of the Petrel which his eyes might ever see, might
be some floating timbers drifting past, and bearing to him the only
message which could ever come to the land of the living from the
lost boys.
Where were the boys?
Where, O, where were the boys whom he had led into danger, and
then madly deserted?—doubly deserted, in fact; first, when he sailed
away, leaving them on board the wrecked ship, and secondly, in that
worse desertion, when he had gone away so thoughtlessly, so
wickedly, and so madly, from the Magdalen Islands to the Miramichi
River? How could he have ever thought of it? What could have so
infatuated him as to lead him so far away from those helpless boys
in their desperate position?
Where were the boys?
O, where were the boys? And what had they thought of him?
What misery had they not suffered! What despair! How often must
they have watched for his return! And day had succeeded to day,
and night to night, but he had never come! While they were
watching for his appearance, he was calmly sailing away, or was
loitering in distant ports, leaving them to their terrific fate!
Where were the boys?
What was their fate?
What had become of that ship?
 She had been anchored fast. She was gone now. Gone! Gone
were those boys, for whom he would have laid down his life; but
whom, nevertheless, he had deserted and betrayed. And he—what
could he do? Where could he go? Where could he search for them?
Over what seas could he sail? With what hope? Was there any hope?
Hope! Alas! what hope could he form when he looked out over these
foaming waves, and felt the Antelope quiver beneath the force of
their assault?
These, or something very much like these, were the thoughts that
filled the soul of the unhappy, the despairing Corbet, as he rolled his
venerable eyes over the wide waste of waters, and saw that the
Petrel was gone. It was a moment full of deeper misery and keener
anguish than any which the good captain had ever known in the
whole course of his life, though that life had by no means been
without its sufferings. Yet among all the sufferings and sorrows of a
life full of vicissitudes, it had never fallen to his lot to experience
such a misfortune as this,—to reproach himself so keenly, so
severely, and yet so justly. Whatever the fate of the boys might have
been, he knew perfectly well that he, and he alone, was the cause;
nor could he plead, even to his own conscience, the excuse that his
motives were right. For his motives were not right, and he knew it.
His motives had been nothing better than wild desires for sudden
wealth. True, he had only wished that wealth for his “babby;” but
that did not in the least mitigate his offence. At the very least, he
had been guilty of carelessness so gross that it was hardly inferior to
downright, deliberate crime.
So the poor captain’s anguish of soul was extreme, and utter, as
well it might be. So keen, indeed, was his suffering, that his hair
might have turned white from its severity,—a circumstance not
unusual,—but in the captain’s case it was not possible, since, as is
well known, his hair was already as gray as it well could be, and
therefore the good Captain Corbet could only suffer in secret, and
occasionally wipe away the tears that dropped from his eyes with
the sleeve of his venerable coat.
 At length the thought occurred to him that perhaps he had not
come to the right place.
To his mind, the thought was well nigh inconceivable; yet, after
all, it was barely possible, and in his despair he caught at this straw.
After all, navigation by dead reckoning is not the most accurate way
in the world of working one’s way along; and Captain Corbet felt this
in an obscure and shadowy sort of way; so it need not be wondered
at if he sought relief in the thought that he had possibly gone astray.
So he called upon Wade to take the helm, while he went below to
make some elaborate calculations.
He did it in this way.
He first got a mug of water.
Then he seated himself by the cabin table.
Then he dipped the fore finger of his right hand in the water.
Then, with this finger, he traced certain mysterious marks upon
the table.
Now, these mysterious marks were designed by this ancient
mariner to represent nothing less than the coasts surrounding the
Gulf of St. Lawrence. To an unprejudiced observer, this idea would
never have suggested itself; but to the mind of the venerable
Corbet, these marks were as plain and as intelligible as the finest
outlines of the Admiralty charts engraved in steel, and bristling with
names of places. In his mind’s eye he could see everything. He could
see Prince Edward’s Island, Cape Breton, Newfoundland, Gaspé, the
Bay de Chaleur, Miramichi, and the Magdalen Islands. There, too, full
and fair, in the centre of the scene, a big wet spot, made most
emphatically with his thumb, showed him the spot where he had left
the Petrel.
And this was Captain Corbet’s chart, and this was his mode of
navigating, and this was the scientific method which he adopted in
order to work his way out of a difficulty. Quadrant, sextant, and
other instruments of that character he did not need; he trusted to
his own head, and to his finger.
 It must be confessed that, on this occasion, these resources rather
failed him. The puzzle seemed insoluble. In vain he obliterated the
wet spot where he first stationed the Petrel. In vain he made
another dab with his thumb in a second place. He could not arrive at
any conclusion which was entirely satisfactory. He placed the mug of
water on the table, leaned his aged head in both hands, and sat
watching his chart in profound thought. A sudden sea struck the
Antelope. The good vessel leaped, as was natural, at such rough
treatment. As was natural, also, the mug of water leaped. Moreover,
it upset. The contents poured forth, and inundated the fable. The
chart was all obliterated.
At this casualty Captain Corbet rose. He betrayed no excitement,
no passion. He did not swear, as some wrecked sea captains have
done. He did not even utter an exclamation. He simply took his aged
coat tail and wiped the water off the table very carefully, and then
with his other aged coat tail he dried it, and even polished it most
elaborately. The table had not been so clean for ever so long. It
seemed to be astonished at itself. Captain Corbet, meanwhile,
remained mild and patient. Sir Isaac Newton himself, after the
burning of his Principia by his immortal little dog Diamond, was not
more placid. Without a word, our captain went to the bucket,
replenished the mug, returned to the table, resumed his seat, and,
holding the mug in his left hand, under the table, to prevent a
recurrence of this mishap, he dipped the fore finger of his right hand
into the water, and proceeded to retrace upon the table the outline
of his chart. In a little while there appeared before his eyes, as plain
as before, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with all the surrounding coasts—
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Gaspé, Newfoundland,
the Magdalen Islands, and plain in the middle the dab of his
venerable thumb representing the spot where he had left the Petrel.
But the problem remained insoluble. He was certain that he had
come back to the right spot. Again and again he traced, in a thin
line, made by his wet finger-nail, the course which he had taken;
first, from the Petrel to the Magdalen Islands, and, secondly, from
the Magdalen Islands to Miramichi, and, thirdly, from Miramichi to
the place where he now was. In each case his course had,
fortunately, been quite straight. Had there been head winds, it might
have been different; but, as it was, the straight course which he had
kept made the outlines on the table all the more simple, but at the
same time they made the problem all the more complex. The ship
was missing. He had left her at anchor. She could not sink. What,
then, had become of her?
The first answer was the terrible one that she had gone to pieces
in the storm. But this was the very one from which he was seeking
to escape, and against which he sought refuge in such facts as her
strength and the stiffness of a timber cargo.
But what other conclusion was there?
That he had mistaken his way?
Impossible!
On the table before him the marks that he had made confirmed
him in the opinion that he was, if not on the identical spot where he
had left the Petrel, at least sufficiently near to be able to see her if
she still was here.
Yet here she evidently was not.
What, then, had become of her?
To this only one answer remained, and in this he sought to find
comfort.
She might have dragged her anchor, and might have thereby
drifted, under the pressure of the storm, far enough away to be out
of sight.
But in what direction had she drifted?
The wind had been south by east. He knew that well enough. This
one fact, then, showed him what course she would have taken when
adrift. .
He wet his finger now for the last time. He planted it down upon
the place which he had marked as the position of the Petrel, and
then drew a line in the direction which he supposed might indicate
the course of her drift. Then he stopped to calculate the possible
distance which she might have traversed while dragging her anchor,
and made a mark to represent what, under this theory, might be her
present position.
Then he drew a long breath.
He then rose to his feet, and surveyed his chart for a few
moments with a thoughtful face.
And now the time had come for action. He had at last a theory.
His mind was made up. He hurried upon deck, and, seizing the tiller,
headed the Antelope north by west, in the direction which he
conjectured the drifting ship to have taken.
He had allowed between twenty and thirty miles for her drift. He
had calculated that a mile an hour would be a fair allowance for a
vessel that was dragging her anchor, and he did not think that the
wind had been strong enough to make her drag her anchor for more
than twenty hours, and certainly, as he thought, not more than
thirty, at the farthest. Upon this principle he acted, and when he
headed the Antelope north by west, he hoped to catch sight of the
lost ship before noon.
For the Antelope, with a fair wind, could make as much as four or
five miles an hour; and, after making every allowance for currents,
or for leeway, she ought to do twenty miles between six o’clock in
the morning and midday. And so, full of confidence in the ability of
the Antelope to do her duty, Captain Corbet took his station at the
helm.
Now that a gleam of hope had appeared, he was a different man.
The gleam became brighter and brighter, until at last it grew to be
positive sunshine. He forgot his recent despair. The more he thought
of his theory of the Petrel dragging her anchor, the more convinced
he was that it was correct, and the more certain he was that he
would ultimately catch sight of her.
And so he kept on his course, with his eyes fixed on the horizon
before him, anxiously awaiting the time when he would descry the
masts of the lost vessel becoming gradually defined against the sky.
Hour after hour passed.
 The Antelope sailed on.
Midday came.
The Antelope had traversed the distance which her commander
had allotted for the utmost possible drift of the Petrel.
Yet not the slightest sign of the Petrel had appeared.
The hopes upon which Captain Corbet had been relying gradually
sank under him. When midday came, and the masts of the Petrel did
not appear, hope sank away, and despondency came, and
despondency deepened into despair.
All that he had felt at early dawn, when he first looked abroad
upon the seas and found her not, now came back to him,—all the
self-reproach, all the remorse, all the anguish of soul.
He stood at the helm, and let the Antelope pass onward, but there
was no longer any hope in his mind. He was overwhelmed, and now
even the possibility of finding her seemed to be taken away.
All this time the wind had gone on increasing in violence, and the
sea had risen more and more. For himself and for the Antelope
Captain Corbet did not care; but the lowery sky and the stormy sea
seemed terrible to him, for they spoke to him of the lost boys, and
told a tale of horror.
 XVIII.
The venerable but very unfortunate, Corbet—The Antelope lies to.
—Emotions of her despairing Commander.—Night and Morning.—The
Fishing Schooner,—An old Acquaintance appears, and puts the old,
old Question.—Corbet overwhelmed.—He confesses all.—Tremendous
Effect on Captain Tobias Ferguson.—His Selfcommand.—Considering
the Situation.—Wind and Tide.—Theories as to the Position of the
lost Ones.—Up Sail and after.—The last Charge to Captain Corbet.

T
HE unfortunate Corbet thus found himself in a state of
despair. The situation, indeed; could not possibly be worse.
The ship was gone; and where? Who could tell? Certainly
not he. He had exhausted all his resources. From the cabin table he
was unable to elicit any further information, nor could his aged brain
furnish forth intellectual power which was at all adequate to the
problem before it. He was alone. He had none to help him. With
Wade he did not offer to take counsel, feeling, perhaps, that Wade
would be about as useful in this emergency as the Antelope’s pump.
Meanwhile the storm increased, and Captain Corbet felt himself
unable to contend with it. The tattered old sails of the Antelope were
double-reefed, but seemed every moment about to fly into ribbons.
There was no object in keeping his present course any longer; and
so he decided, in view of the storm and his own indecision, to lie to.
And now the Antelope tossed, and pitched, and kicked, and bounded
beneath Captain Corbet,

"like a steed
That knows its rider,”

and Wade went below, and took refuge in sleep; and the good,
the brave, yet the unhappy Corbet took up his position upon the
windlass, and bestriding it, he sat for hours peering into space.
There were no thoughts whatever in his mind. He tried not to
speculate, he attempted not to solve the problem; but there was,
deep down in his soul, a dark, drear sense of desolation, a woful
feeling of remorse and of despair. Nothing attracted his attention on
that wide sea or troubled sky; not the waste of foaming waters, not
the giant masses of storm clouds, nor yet that fishing schooner,
which, only a few miles off was also, like the Antelope, lying to.
Captain Corbet did not notice this stranger; he did not speculate
upon the cause of her presence; he did not see that she was the
identical vessel that he had noticed before, and therefore did not
wonder why it was that he had been followed so long and so
persistently.
So he sat on the windlass, and gazed forth into illimitable space.
And the long, long hours passed away.
Evening came.
Deepening into night.
Night, and storm, and darkness came down, and the Antelope
tossed, and plunged, and kicked, and jumped; yet the sleepless
Corbet remained on deck, occasionally shifting his position, but still
overwhelmed by has misery.
Towards midnight the storm abated. Corbet waited a few hours
longer, and then stole below, hoping to forget his misery and relieve
his fatigues by a little sleep.
In vain.
The air of the cabin seemed to suffocate him. Sleep was
impossible. His distressing thoughts seemed to drive him into a
fever; he tried hard and for a long time to overcome them, and
finally succeeded in getting a short nap.
By this time it was dawn, and the good captain rose, and went
upon deck, feeling dejected and miserable.
He looked out over the waters, and noticed that the strange
schooner was bearing down straight towards him. She was coming
bows on, so that at first he did not know her from any other vessel;
but at length she came up, and hove to close by, disclosing the
symmetrical hull, the beautiful lines, the slender, tapering masts, and
the swelling, snow-white canvas of the Fawn. At the same moment
he saw a boat drop alongside, and into this leaped Captain Tobias
Ferguson, who at once pulled to the Antelope, and in a few minutes
stood on board.
The last time that he had seen Captain Ferguson he had looked
upon him in the light of a busybody, a vexatious and too inquisitive
spy, a persecutor and a tormentor. But now circumstances had
changed so utterly, and Captain Corbet’s sufferings both of mind and
body had been so acute, that the once dreaded Ferguson appeared
to him almost equal to some Heaven-sent deliverer. His wan face
flushed with joy; he could not speak; tears burst from his eyes; and
seizing Ferguson’s hand in both of his, he clasped it tight.
Ferguson darted over him one swift, keen glance that took in
everything, but made no comment upon the emotion that was so
visible.
“Well,” said he, “we’re bound to meet again. The fact is, I was
bound not to lose sight of you. I tell you I got those boys on my
brain, and couldn’t get them out no how. I knew you were going to
find them, or to try to find them. I believed they were all in danger,
and so I up sail and followed. And a precious hard job that following
was. Why, it was like making a race-horse follow a snail. I had to
turn back every other mile or so, and go away. I saw you lie to
yesterday, so I lay to; and here I am this morning, right side up, and
ready to repeat my question, Where are the boys? So come, now,
old man; no humbug, no shuffling. You’re in a fix. I know it well
enough. You’ve lost the boys. Very well. I’ll help you find ’em. So,
now, make a clean breast of it, and tell me all about it from the very
beginning.”
Saying this, Ferguson seated himself on the taffrail, and drawing
forth a cigar, lighted it, and waited for Captain Corbet to begin.
 But for Captain Corbet there was the difficulty. How could he
begin? How could he tell the miserable story of his madness and his
folly? of the ignorant confidence of the poor boys? of his culpable
and guilty negligence, doubly guilty, since he had deserted them not
only once in leaving the ship, but a second time in sailing away from
the Magdalen Islands? And for what purpose? Even had he reached
the ship with the sails, could he really have saved her? Yet here
stood his inquisitor, and this time his questions must be answered.
“Wal,” began Captain Corbet, in a tremulous voice, “I left em—”
“Yes.”
“I—I—left—left—em—”
“Well?”
“I ‘—I—left em, you know.”
“So you said three times; but I knew that before. The question is,
Where?”
“Aboard a ship.”
“Aboard a ship?”
“Yes.”
“What ship? Where?
“Somewhar’s about here.”
“About here? But what ship?”
“She—she—she—was—she—she was—wa-wa-water-logged.”
At this Ferguson started to his feet, almost leaping in the air as he
did so. For a moment he regarded the unhappy Corbet with an
expression of mingled horror and incredulity.
“You don’t mean it!” he said, at length.
Captain Corbet sighed.
“What?” cried Ferguson. “Were you mad? Were they mad? Were
you all raving, stark, staring distracted? What were you all thinking
of? A water-logged ship! Why, do you mean to stand there in your
boots, look me in the face, and tell me that about the boys?”
Captain Corbet trembled from head to foot.
 “A water-logged ship! Why, you might as well tell me you pitched
them all overboard and drowned them.”
Captain Corbet shuddered, and turned away.
Ferguson laid his hand upon his shoulder.
“Come,” said he, more quietly, “you couldn’t have been such a
fool! You must have considered that the boys had some chance.
What sort of a ship was she? What was her cargo?”
“Timber,” said the mournful Corbet in a melancholy wail.
Ferguson’s face brightened.
“You’re sure of that?”
“Gospel sure.”
“Not deals, now, or laths, or palings, or pickets, or battens, or
anything of that sort?”
“I saw the timber—white pine.”
“Well, that’s better; that gives them a chance. I’ve heard say that
a timber ship’ll float for years, if she’s any kind of a ship at all; and
so, perhaps, this one is drifting.”
Captain Corbet shook his head.
“Why not?” asked Ferguson, noticing the movement.
“I anchored her.”
“Anchored her?”
“Yes.”
“Anchored what? The timber ship?”
“Yes.”
“Anchored her? That’s queer! And where?”
“Why, somewhars about twenty mile or so back.”
“Somewhere about twenty mile or so back!” repeated Ferguson.
“Why, the man’s mad! See here, old man; what do you mean by
anchoring hereabouts? Did you try soundings?”
“Wal, n-n-no.”
 “Are you aware that the bottom is several miles down below, and
that all the chains and ropes of that ship, if they were all tied
together in one line, wouldn’t begin to reach half way?”
“Wal, now, railly, I hadn’t any idee. I jest kine o’ dropped anchor
to hold the ship till I got back.”
“Well, old man,” said Ferguson, “I’ve got a very good general idea
of your proceedings; but I want a few more particulars, so that I can
judge for myself about the poor lads. So I’ll trouble you to make a
clean breast of it, and in particular to let me know why you kept so
close when I asked you about it before. Close? Why, if you’d been
decoying those boys out there on purpose to get rid of them, you
couldn’t have fought shyer of my questions than you did.”
Upon this Captain Corbet proceeded, as Ferguson called it, to
“make a clean breast of it.” He began at the first, told about their
failure in provisions, their discovery of the ship, and his project of
saving her. He explained all about his reticence on the subject at the
Magdalen Islands, and the cause of his voyage to Miramichi. All this
was accompanied with frequent interruptions, expressive of self-
reproach, exculpation, remorse, misery, and pitiable attempts at
excusing his conduct.
Ferguson listened to all without expressing any opinion, merely
asking a question for information here and there; and at the close of
Captain Corbet’s confession, he remained forborne a considerable
time buried in profound reflection.
“Well,” said he, “the whole story is one that won’t bear criticism. I
won’t begin. If I did, you’d hear a little of the tallest swearing that
ever came to your ears. No, old man; I’ve got a wicked temper, and
I won’t get on that subject. The thing that you and me have got to
do is, to see what can be done about those boys, and then to do it
right straight off. That’s what we’ve got to do; and when I say we, I
mean myself, for you appear to have done about as much mischief
as is needful for one lifetime.”
Ferguson now began to pace the deck, and kept this up for about
half an hour, at the end of which time he resumed his seat on the
taffrail. Captain Corbet watched him with wistful eyes, and in deep
suspense; yet there was already upon his venerable face somewhat
less of grief, for he felt a strange confidence in this eager, energetic,
active, strong man, whose pertinacity had been so extraordinary,
and whose singular affection for the boys had been so true and so
tender.
“I’m beginning,” said Ferguson, at length, “I’m beginning to see
my way towards action, and that’s something; though whether it’ll
result in anything is more than I can begin to say.
“In the first place, I go on the theory that this timber ship didn’t
sink; that she stood this blow as solid as though she was carved out
of a single stick.
“In the second place, I scout your idea of anchoring her. That is
rank, raving insanity. To anchor a ship in three miles of water! Old
man, go home; you have no business on the sea.
“So she’s been drifting; yes, drifting. She was drifting when you
found her, and drifting when you left her. Where she was you can’t
tell, seeing that you can’t take an observation, and didn’t take one.
So we’re all astray there, and I can only calculate her probable
position from the course you took to the Magdalen Islands, and the
time occupied in making the trip by that astonishing old tub of
yours, that disgraces and ridicules the respectable name of Antelope.
“Very well. Now say she’s afloat, and has been drifting. The
question is, Where has she drifted to? She probably was found by
you somewhere about here. That was about a week ago. Well, after
the calm was over, then came a wind. That wind was a south-easter.
It got up at last into a storm, like the blow last night.
“Now, there are two things to be considered.
“First, the wind.
“Second, the current.
“First, as to the wind. It was a steady southeaster for nearly a
week, ending in a hard blow. That wind has had a tendency to blow
her over in that direction—over there, nor’-west. In that direction
she must have been steadily pushed, unless there was something to
prevent, some ocean currents or other.
“And this brings us to the next point—the currents.
“Now, over there, about thirty miles south of this, there is a
current setting out into the Atlantic from the River St. Lawrence; and
up there, thirty miles to the north, there is considerable of a current,
that runs up into the Straits of Belle Isle. Just round about here
there is a sort of eddy, or a back current, that flows towards the
Island of Anticosti. Now, that happens to be the identical place
towards which the wind would carry her. So, you see, granting that
the Petrel has remained afloat, the wind and the currents must both
have acted on her in such a way as to carry her to that desert island,
that horrible, howling wilderness, that abomination of desolation,
that graveyard of ships and seamen—Anticosti.”
At this intelligence, Captain Corbet’s heart once more sank within
him.
“Anti—Anticosti!” he murmured, in a trembling voice.
“Yes, Anticosti. And I ain’t surprised, not a bit surprised,” said
Ferguson. “I said so. I prophesied it. I was sure of it. I read it in
their faces at Magdalen. When I saw that rotten old tub, and those
youngsters, something told me they were going to wind up by
getting on Anticosti. When I saw you come back to Magdalen, I was
sure of it. I followed you to Miramichi to find out; and ever since I’ve
been following you, I’ve had Anticosti in my mind, as the only place I
was bound to.”
Captain Corbet drew a long breath.
“Wal,” said he, “at any rate, it’s better for them than bein—bein—
at—at the bottom of the sea.”
“’Tain’t any better, if they’ve been smashed against the rocks of
Anticosti in last night’s gale,” retorted Ferguson, who was not willing
that Captain Corbet should recover from his anxiety too soon.
“But mayn’t she—mayn’t she—catch?”
“Catch?”