312 SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE ORGANISM 



here simply what we meet everywhere in history a sort 

 of cumulation resting upon a psychological basis. 



The dissatisfaction that exists at any actual stage of 

 contradiction, both moral and logical, is one of the psychical 

 factors concerned ; the faculty of reasoning is the other. 

 Now it is a consequence of the reasoning faculty that the 

 dissatisfaction continually decreases, or at least changes in 

 such a way that each partial result of the logical process 

 brings with it the statement of new problems. The 

 number of such problems may become less, as the logical 

 process advances, and, indeed, there is an ideal state, both 

 logical and moral, in which there are no more problems, 

 but only results, though this ideal could hardly be regarded 

 as attainable by the human mind. In the history of those 

 sciences which are wholly or chiefly of the a priori type, 

 this process of deliverance from contradictions is most 

 advantageously to be seen. It is obvious in mechanics 

 and thermodynamics, and the theory of matter is another 



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very good instance. A certain result is reached ; much 

 seems to be gained, but suddenly another group of facts 

 presents itself, which had been previously unknown or 

 neglected. The first result has to be changed or enlarged ; 

 many problems of the second order arise ; there are con- 

 tradictions among them, which disappear after a certain 

 alteration of what was the first fundamental result, and so 

 on. And the same is true about morality, though the 

 difficulties are much greater here, as a clear and well- 

 marked standard of measurement of what is good and 

 what is bad, is wanting, or at least, is not conceded un- 

 animously. But even here there is a consensus on some 

 matters : one would hardly go back to slavery again, for 



