THE NATURE OF STIMULATION 25 



individual conditioning components are themselves in their turn 

 contained as constituents of other complexes and are condi- 

 tioned here again by other factors. These factors in themselves 

 as such are not directly necessary to the taking place or existing 

 of the special component and can, therefore, be replaced by 

 others. Closer observation shows that there is a constant inter- 

 dependence between all things in the world. Every thing in the 

 world is indirectly dependent upon every other, although often so 

 remotely that we are not able to trace the connection. Absolute 

 things, completely isolated and independent of others, do not exist 

 in the world. In observing and studying complexes individually, 

 we must not forget that we only think of them as isolated from 

 the great eternal coherence, from which they are in reality not 

 separated. The conception of condition, however, only then has 

 meaning, if we refer to it in connection with the direct depend- 

 ence of one factor upon another. Nevertheless if we understand 

 by conditions those which are connected by multitudinous inter- 

 mediate components, then we would render the conception of 

 conditions useless. For if every thing in the world were the 

 condition for every other, the conception of relation would lose 

 its value in special states or processes. Should the conception of 

 condition have a meaning in regard to a certain state or process, 

 then we should only look upon that part of a complex upon which 

 the other is directly dependent as a condition. When, however, 

 we meet with a factor for a process or state, which can appar- 

 ently be replaced by another factor, we have not carried the 

 analysis far enough. Upon deeper penetration into the subject, 

 it is found that the essential condition for the process, which 

 exists, is a component common to both factors, one of which in 

 consequence can replace the other. 



It is the task of all scientific research to penetrate deeper and 

 deeper into these relations, these connections and the order of 

 succession of states and processes and to separate them into 

 their individual components, and in this way gain a more thor- 

 ough knowledge of the constancy of existence and happenings in 

 the world. 



This analytical process, it is true, only advances very grad- 



