LOGIC AS THE ESSENCE OF PHILOSOPHY 59 



tradition. In that logic, hypotheses which seem primd 

 facie possible are professedly proved impossible, and it is 

 decreed in advance that reality must have a certain 

 special character. In modern logic, on the contrary, 

 while the primd facie hypotheses as a rule remain admis- 

 sible, others, which only logic would have suggested, are 

 added to our stock, and are very often found to be 

 indispensable if a right analysis of the facts is to be 

 obtained. The old logic put thought in fetters, while the 

 new logic gives it wings. It has, in my opinion, introduced 

 the same kind of advance into philosophy as Galileo 

 introduced into physics, making it possible at last to see 

 what kinds of problems may be capable of solution, and 

 what kinds must be abandoned as beyond human powers. 

 And where a solution appears possible, the new logic 

 provides a method which enables us to obtain results 

 that do not merely embody personal idiosyncrasies, but 

 must command the assent of all who are competent to 

 form an opinion. 



