328 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.— SUPPLEMENT. 



er, as I shall now and again have to show, really 

 shook himself free from the perplexities of thought 

 due to his father's errors. 



It may seem to many readers that these are 

 tedious matters to discuss at such length. After 

 aH, the import of propositions and the relation of 

 resemblance are matters which concern metaphy- 

 sicians only, or those who chop logic. But this 

 is a mistake. A system of philosophy — a school 

 of metaphysical doctrines — is the foundation on 

 which is erected a structure of rules and infer- 

 ences touching our interests in the most vital 

 points. John Stuart Mill, in his remarkable " Au- 

 tobiography," has expressly stated that a princi- 

 pal object of his " System of Logic" was to over- 

 throw deep-seated prejudices, and to storm the 

 stronghold in which they sheltered themselves. 

 These are his words : 1 



" Whatever may be the practical value of a 

 true philosophy of these matters, it is hardly pos- 

 sible to exaggerate the mischiefs of a false one. 

 The notion that truths external to the mind may 

 be known by intuition or consciousness, indepen- 

 dently of observation and experience, is, I am per- 

 suaded in these times, the great intellectual sup- 

 port of false doctrines and bad institutions. By 

 the aid of this theory, every inveterate belief and 

 every intense feeling, of which the origin is not 

 remembered, is enabled to dispense with the ob- 

 ligation of justifying itself by reason, and is erect- 

 ed into his own all-sufficient voucher and justifica- 

 tion. There never was such an instrument devised 

 for consecrating all deep-seated prejudices. And 

 the chief strength of this false philosophy in morals, 

 politics, and religion, lies in the appeal which it is 

 accustomed to make to the evidence of mathemat- 

 ics and of the cognate branches of physical sci- 

 ence. To expel it from these, is to drive it from 

 its stronghold; and because this had never been 

 effectually done, the intuitive school, even after 

 what my father had written in his 'Analysis of 

 the Mind,' had in appearance, and as far as pub- 

 lished writings were concerned, on the whole the 

 best of the argument. In attempting to clear up 

 the real nature of the evidence of mathematical 

 and physical truths, the ' System of Logic ' met 



» " Autobiography," pp. 225-227. 



the intuitive philosophers on ground on which 

 they had previously been deemed unassailable ; 

 and gave its own explanation, from experience 

 and association, of that peculiar character of what 

 are called necessary truths, which is adduced as 

 proof that their evidence must come from a deep- 

 er source than experience. Whether this has been 

 done effectually, is still subjudice; and even then, 

 to deprive a mode of thought, so strongly rooted 

 in human prejudices and partialities, of its mere 

 speculative support, goes but a very little way 

 toward overcoming it ; but, though only a step, it 

 is a quite indispensable one ; for since, after all, 

 prejudice «an only be successfully combated by 

 philosophy, no way can really be made against 

 it permanently until it has been shown not to 

 have philosophy on its side." 



This is at least a candid statement of mo- 

 tives, means, and expected results. Whether 

 Mill's exposition of the philosophy of the mathe- 

 matical sciences is satisfactory or not, we par- 

 tially inquired in the previous article ; and in one 

 place or another the inquiry will be further prose- 

 cuted in a pretty exhaustive manner. Mill allowed 

 that the philosophy of his solution was still sub 

 judice, and it must remain in that position for 

 some time longer. But of the importance of the 

 matter it is impossible to entertain a doubt. If 

 Mill's own philosophy be yet more false than was, 

 in his opinion, the philosophy which he under- 

 took to destroy, we may well adopt his own esti- 

 mate of the results. " Wliatever" he says, " may 

 be the practical value of a true philosophy of these 

 matters, it is hardly possible to exaggerate the mis- 

 chiefs of a false one." Intensely believing, as I 

 do, that the philosophy of the Mills, both father 

 and son, is a false one, I claim, almost as a right, 

 the attention of those who have sufficiently stud- 

 ied the matters in dispute to judge the arduous 

 work of criticism which I have felt it my duty to 

 undertake. 



Erratum. — In the first article on John Stuart 

 Mill's Philosophy, Contemporary Review for De- 

 cember, 1877, vol. xxxi., p. 170, fifth line (Popular 

 Science Monthly Supplement, No. IX., p. 280, 

 second column, last line), for Libiity read Necessi- 

 ty. — Contemporary Review. 



