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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



make up the truths of the science. It i9 

 perfectly well known that the history of 

 all the sciences shows that in their early 

 stages one of the most formidable tasks 

 of the investigator has been to get rid 

 of the mass of irrational and supersti- 

 tious beliefs by which the subjects have 

 been overlaid and obscured. Social sci- 

 ence is no exception, and in its pres- 

 ent formative stage it presents precisely 

 the same difficulties that other sciences 

 have encountered, except that the errors 

 and prejudices are here older, more in- 

 veterate, and deeply rooted than in any 

 of the former spheres of scientific in- 

 quiry. In physics and chemistry the 

 phenomena dealt with have been fully 

 surrendered to the experimentalist and 

 the reasoner, and there is no longer any 

 interference with him in pushing his 

 conclusions to the farthest limit. But 

 sociology has not reached this fortunate 

 stage. Its investigation is interfered 

 with and impeded by theologians on 

 religious grounds. 



We are not at liberty to suppose 

 that the intelligent authorities of Yale 

 College were ignorant of what they were 

 doing when they formally recognized 

 that human society is to be studied in 

 future by the method which has created 

 all the other sciences, and made provi- 

 sion for its teaching in this manner. 

 They knew that the first allegiance of 

 the man of science is to truth as it is 

 determined by processes of reason, and 

 that he is bound to make no terms with 

 preconceived erroneous opinions. That 

 the trustees understood this and acted 

 accordingly, is sufficiently shown by 

 their selection of a professor to fill the 

 new chair of Political Economy and 

 Social Science. They could easily have 

 chosen a facile man for perfunctory 

 work, who would have occupied himself 

 in expounding the miscellaneous mat- 

 ters that now pass current with the 

 public under the name of "social sci- 

 ence." But they sought and obtained a 

 thoroughgoing student of the subject, 

 a man of intellectual force and inde- 



pendence, who would give character 

 to the position, and reflect honor upon 

 the college, by his own original con- 

 tributions to the science committed to 

 his care. That among the considerable 

 number of men who compose the gov- 

 erning body of Yale College a major- 

 ity of them clergymen, as we are told 

 there would have been some more 

 narrow-minded than others, who would 

 be disposed to interfere with the Profes- 

 sor's work and hamper his teaching, was 

 perhaps inevitable; but the liberality 

 and good faith of the institution were 

 virtually pledged to maintain the rights 

 of science in the liberty of its official 

 representative. 



Professor Sumner adopted as his 

 text-book Spencer's " Study of Sociol- 

 ogy," to be used by the senior class, 

 consisting of young men from twenty 

 to twenty-three years of age, of mature 

 mind, and who have for years had the 

 benefit of Yale College teaching. He 

 adopted the book because it was the 

 only one to be had at all suited to his 

 purpose. It is an introduction to social 

 science by its ablest living investigator. 

 Profoundly impressed with the difficul- 

 ties of the study in the present state 

 of knowledge, with the misconceptions 

 that are formed of it, and the causes 

 of erroneous thinking in regard to it, 

 Spencer deviated from his regular line 

 of work to make this useful prepara- 

 tory volume for those who propose to 

 devote themselves to the general in- 

 quiry. He explained, in a succession 

 of chapters, how men's judgments are 

 liable to be warped in considering so- 

 cial questions by their habits of thought 

 and their preconceived ideas. One of 

 these chapters was entitled " The Theo- 

 logical Bias," and we are informed 

 that this was considered by some of the 

 faculty so objectionable as to render the 

 volume unfit to be put into the hands 

 of the Yale seniors. 



Now, it is to be remembered that 

 Yale College was committed, through 

 the action of its authorities, to the 



