Sciencehasnotsimplytorecognisethatmotiondeclines,buttoshowatwhatrate,andunderwhatconditionsitdeclines。Then,aswecannotmeasure’absolutemotion,’orassignanyfixedpointinspace,wecanobtainnoruleastoabsolutemotion。Ifweassume,however,thatwehavetoaccountnotformotionbutforchangeofmotion,wecangetaconsistent’law’whichatoncegivesasufficientaccountofmanyobservedphenomena。Weproceedtodefineforceasthecauseofchangeinmotion。Thenitbecomesanidenticalpropositionthatallchangeofmotionimpliesforce,orthatbodiesnotacteduponcontinuetomoveuniformly。Thusthedefinitionofforcetakestheshapeofanaprioriaxiomastoforce。Weimaginethatinsteadofsimplyco-ordinatingourexperienceweare’applyingafundamentalidea’toit,theidea,namely,ofa’cause’or’force。’102*Theaxiomisnot’independentofexperience。’Rightlyunderstood,thewholeprocessisoneofinterpretingexperience。Mill,however,ishardlycorrectinsayingthatthelawwasprovedbyexperiment。
Wecannotobservea’force’apartfromthemovingbody。ForceisoneofBentham’s’fictitiousentities,’awordwhichenablesustostatetherelationsofmovingbodiesaccurately。Itharmonisesourconceptions。Theoldbeliefthatallmotionsstopisnotdisprovedbydiscoveringcasesinwhichforceisabsent,butbypostulatingthepresenceofforcewhereverwefindchangeofmotion。Therealproofisnotindirectexperimentbutintheharmonisingofanindefinitenumberofcomplexstatementswhenoncetheprincipleissystematicallyapplied。Itcanrevealnofacttous,fornothingbutexperiencecanshowthattherearesuchthingsastheplanetsfortunatelyare,bodiesmovingfreely,soastoillustratethelawcontinuously。Millputsthefirstlawofmotiononalevelwiththelawthattheperiodoftheearth’srotationisuniform。Both’inductions,’hesays,areaccuratelytrue。103*Infact,however,theearth’smotionisnotabsolutelyuniform,atruthwhichwediscoverbyapplyingthelawsofmotion,thoughnodirectexperimentcouldexhibitthefact。Thelawofmotionhastheauthorityderivedfromitsrenderingpossibleaconsistentinterpretationofexperiences,whereastheearth’srotationissimplyaparticularfactwhichmightchangeiftheconditionswerealtered。The’law’implies,therefore,areconstructionofexperiencenotgivenbysimpleobservation。
ThisappliestoacontroversybetweenMillandWhewellastoKepler’sgreatdiscoveries。Theybothacceptthefamiliarfacts。
Kepler’sproblemwastoshowhowasimpleconfigurationofthesolarsystemwouldpresentthecomplexappearanceswhichwedirectlyobserve。Theoldobservationsgaveapproximatelycorrectstatementsofthemovementsoftheplanets,assumingtheearthtobefixed,or,aswemaysay,neglectingtheconsiderationofitsmotion。Histheoryshowshowtheapparentmovementsmustresultifwesupposethesuntobefixed,orratherasthesunisnotreallyfixedifwemeasurefromitasfixed。Whewelltreatsthisasacaseof’induction。’Itillustrateswhathecallsthe’colligationoffacts’——ahappyphrase,acceptedbyMill,forthearrangementoffactsinaneworder,andtheapplicationtothefactsoftheappropriateconceptions;inthiscase,ofthetheoremsofconicsectionsandsolidgeometry。Theargumenttakestheformofadiscussionastowhetherthisshouldbecalledinductionoranoperationsubsidiarytoinduction。104*Kepler,asMillurges,wassimplydescribingfacts。Hediscoveredafactinwhichallthepositionsoftheplanetagreed——namely,thattheywereinanellipse。Ifhehadbeensomewhereinspace,ortheplanethadleftavisibletrack,hemighthaveactuallyseenittobeanellipse。Hehadonlyto’piecetogether’hisobservations,asamanwhosailsroundanislanddiscoversitsinsularity。Theonlyinduction,then,wasthatasMarshadbeeninanellipsehewouldstayinanellipse。Apartfromtheverbalquestionwhethertheprocessberightlycalledinductionorsubsidiarytoinduction,therealissueisinMill’scomplaintthatWhewellsupposeda’conceptiontobesomethingaddedtothefacts。’Theconception,Milladmits,isinthemind,butitmustbeaconceptionof’somethinginthefacts。’TheellipsewasinthefactsbeforeKeplersawit。Hedidnotputit,butfounditthere。WhetherKepler’sprocesswasinductiveordeductiveorsubsidiary,itwasanessentialpartofscientificinvestigation。
Themanofsciencemust,asMilltrulysays,interpretthefacts,andnothingbutthefacts;hemustalso,asWhewelltrulyreplies,’colligate’orarrangethefactsinaneworder。Theconstructiveprocesswhichjustifiesmeinsayingthisisanisland,orthisisanellipse,ispreciselywhatmakesscientificknowledgepossible,andinvolvessomethingmorethanamereputtingtogetherofrawfact。Everyfact,asWhewellsees,mayberegardedasacaseofcountlesslaws,eachofwhichmaybetrueunderappropriateconditions。Toeliminatetheirrelevant,toorganisethewholesystemoftruths,soastomaketheorderofnatureasMillforciblysays105*deduciblefromthesmallestpossiblenumberofgeneralpropositions,istheaimofscience;
andMillobscuresthissofarasheregardssuchoperationsasKepler’sasmereobservationsoffact,insuchasenseastoomitthenecessityofaneworganisationofthedata。
IhavegoneintosomedetailinordertoshowwhatwastheessentialcharacteristicofMill’sdoctrine,whichwasitself,asIhavesaid,anexplicitstatementoftheprinciplesimplicitlyassumedbyhispredecessorsinthesameschool。Todohimfulljustice,itwouldbenecessarytoshowwhatwasthealternativepresentedbyhisopponents。TheScottishwritersandWhewellbroughtback’innateideas,’orendeavouredtoconnectknowledgebybeliefsandintuitionsarbitrarilyinsertedintothefabricasakindofsupernaturalrevelation。Toexplaintheseintuitivedogmasintoeffectsof’association’wasthenaturalretort。
Meanwhilethetranscendentalschoolwastakingthebolderlineofrejectingexperiencealtogether,treatingitwithcontemptasamereropeofsand,andinferringthattheuniverseitselfisincarnatelogic——acomplexwebwovenoutofdialectic,andcapableofbeingevolvedfrommixing’is’and’isnot。’ToMillthisappearedrightly,asIshouldsay,tobemysticismandontology,orachimericalattempttogetridoftheinevitableconditionsofallknowledgeofreality。Therealproblemofmetaphysicsappearstobethediscoveryoftherightmethodofstatement,whichwillexplainwhatappearedtobetheinsolubleantithesisbetweenempiricismandintuitionismtotakeMill’sphrase,andshowthattheyareattemptstoformulatecorrelativeandessentialtruths。
IX。THEMORALSCIENCES
Happily,philosophicaltheoriesarenotreallyimportantsolelyasgivingtenableanddefinitiveresults,butasindicationsoftheintellectualtemperamentofdifferentschools,andofthemethodsofreasoningwhichtheyfindcongenial。
Withoutfurtherdisquisition,IshallconcludebyindicatingbrieflyMill’sapplicationofhisprinciplestothe’MoralSciences。’Thisisthesubjectofthelastbookofhistreatise,andrepresents,aswehaveseen,thepurposeofthewhole。As,however,thefullapplicationwillappearhereafter,Imayhereconfinemyselftocertaincriticalpoints。Millbeginsofcoursebyarguingthatthe’MoralSciences’arepossible,andaretobecreatedbyapplyingthemethodofthephysicalsciences。Thissuggeststhefreewilldifficulty。Thedoctrineof’philosophicalnecessity’had’weighedonhisexistencelikeanincubus’duringhisearlydepression。106*HeescapedbythesolutionwhichnowformsachapterintheLogic。HediscoveredthattheHumeandBrowntheoryremovedthemisleadingassociationswiththeword’necessity。’Itwouldbetruer,hethinks,tosaythatmatterisfreethanthatmindisnotfree。107*Thesupposedexternal’tie’whichbindsthingstogetherisanonentity。Inpractice,however,Owenandhislikehadbecomefatalistsratherthannecessitarians。Holdingthatcharacterisformedbycircumstances,theyhadforgottenthatourowndesiresarepartofthe’circumstances,’andthereforethatthemindhasthepowertoco-operateinthe’formationofitsowncharacter。’This,Millthinks,istheennoblingbeliefwhichiscompletelyreconcilablewiththeadmissionthathumanactionsarecaused,althoughthetwodoctrineshadbeenonbothsidesregardedasincompatible。
UponthisendlesscontroversyIcanonlysuggestonehint。Mill,Ithink,wasrightinsayingthatthedifficultydependsontheconfusionof’determinism’with’fatalism’。thatis,withthebeliefthatthewilliscoercedbysomeexternalforce。Buthedoesnotseethathisdoctrineofcausationalwaysraisesthedifficulty。Heordersustothinkofthesuccessionofideasasduesimplytoassociation,asintheexternalworldeventsaretoberegardedassimplyfollowingeachother;andineithercaseitisimpossibletoavoidtheimpressionthattheremustbesomeconnectinglinkwhichbindstogetherentirelydisparatephenomena。Wecannothelpaskingwhy’this’shouldalwaysfollow’that,’andinferringthatthereissomethingmorethanabaresequence。Thereallineofescapeis,Ithink,shownbyanimprovedviewofcausation。Ifweholdthatthetheoryofcauseandeffectsimplyarisesfromtheanalysisofasingleprocess,weneednoexternalforcetoactuponthewill。Thereisno’coercion’involved。Giventheeffect,theremusthavebeenthecause;asgiventhecause,theeffectmustfollow。’AlltheuniversemustexistinorderthatImustexist’isastrueasthat’Imustexistifalltheuniverseexists。’Thereisnotamanplusalaw,butthelawisalreadyimpliedintheman;orthedistinctionofcauseandeffectcorrespondstoadifferenceinourwayofregardingthefacts,andimpliesnoadditiontothefacts。Imustnot,however,launchintothisinquiry。IonlynotethatMill’sviewisconnectedwithhisfavouriteprincipleoftheindefinitemodifiabilityofcharacter。108*ToMill,astohisfather,thisseemedtoholdouthopesforthe’unlimitedpossibility’ofelevatingtherace。IfJ。S。Milldenied’thefreedomofthewill,’or,rather,theexistenceof’will’itselfasaseparateentity,actuallyoriginatingactiveprinciples,headmittedthatthedesireserroneouslyhypostatisedas’will’
couldworkwonders。Asthecausallinkbetweeneventsisafigment,so,inthesphereofmind,weareboundbynofixedmysterioustie。Hethusescapesfromthepainfulsenseofcoercionbyholdingthataninfinitevarietyofresultsismadepossiblebytheinfinitecombinationsofmaterials,though,ineachcase,thereisanecessarysequence。Association,infact,isomnipotent。Asitcanmaketheso-callednecessarytruths,itcantransformtheveryessenceofcharacter。Accordinglythefoundationofthemoralsciencesistobefoundinthepsychology,foranexpositionofwhichhereferstohisfather,toMrBain,andtoMrHerbertSpencer。109*Hethusdrops,consciouslyornot,theclaimoftreatingmetaphysicaldoctrineascommonground,andassumesthetruthoftheassociationdoctrine。Topassfromtheseprinciplestoquestionsofactualconductrequiresasciencenothithertoconstructed——thescience,namely,ofhumancharacter,forwhichheproposesthenameEthology。This,aswehaveseen,occupiedhisthoughtsforsometime,tillitwasultimatelydroppedforpoliticaleconomy。
Thedifficultyofformingsuchascienceuponhistermsisobvious。Itholdsanambiguousplacebetween’psychology’andthe’sociology’whichheafterwardsacceptsfromComte;andasProfessorBainremarks,hisdoctrinewouldnotfiteasilytoanysuchscience。Hehasgotridof’necessity’onlytoocompletely。
Infact,hisviewoftheindefinitepowerofassociation,andhisstrongdesiretoexplainalldifferences,eventhosebetweenthesexes,asduetooutwardcircumstances,seemtomakecharactertooevanescentaphenomenontobesubjectedtoanydefinitelaws。110*Ethology,however,istakenbyhimtobethesciencewhichcorrespondstothe’artofeducation,’takeninitswidestsense,andwould,ifconstructed,bea’deductivescience,’
consistingofcorollariesfrompsychology,the’experimentalscience。’111*Theutilityofsuchasciencefromhispointofviewisobvious。Itwouldbeastatementofthewayinwhichsocietywasactuallytobebuiltupoutoftheclustersofassociatedideas,heldtogetherbytheunitMan。