THE MIND OF PRIMITIVE MAN, 457 



opinion upon the ni!is.se.s of tlit^ poopio, and heroin lies the influence 

 of the dominant scientific theory upon the character of scientific 

 work. 



It would be in vain to try to understand the development of modern 

 science without an intellio-ent understandino- of modern philosophy; it 

 would be in vain to try to understand the history of mediaeval science 

 without an intelligent knowledge of medltvival theology; and so it is in 

 vain to tr}^ to understand primitive science without an intelligent 

 knowledge of })rimitive mythology. Mythology, theology, and phi- 

 losophy are different terms for the same influences which shape the 

 current of human thought and which determine the character of the 

 attempts of n)an to' explain the phenomena of nature. To primitive 

 man — who has been taught to consider the heavenly orbs as animate 

 beings, who sees in every animal a being more powerful than man, to 

 whom the mountains, trees, and stones are endowed with life — expla- 

 nations of phenomena will suggest themselves entirely difl'erent from 

 those to which we are accustomed, since we base our conclusions upon 

 the existence of matter and force as bringing about the olxserved 

 results. If we do not consider it possible to explain the whole range 

 of phenomena as the result of matter and force alone, all our explana- 

 tions of natural phenomena nuist take a difl'erent aspect. 



In scientific inquiries we should always be clear in our own minds of 

 the fact that we do not carry the analysis of any given phenomenon to 

 completion; ])ut that we always eml)ody a number of hypotheses and 

 theories in our explanations. In fact, if we were to do so, ]:)rogress 

 would hardly ])ecome possible, because every phenomenon would 

 require an endless amount of time for thorough treatment. We are 

 oidy too apt, however, to forget entirely the general, and, for most of 

 us, purel}^ traditional, theoretical basis, which is the foundation of our 

 reasoning, and to assume that the result of our reasoning is a])solute 

 truth. In this we commit the same error that is committed, and has 

 been committed, by all the less civilized peoples. They are more 

 easily satisfied than we are at the present time, but they also assume as 

 true the traditional element which enters into their explanations, and 

 therefore accept as absolute truth the conclusions based on it. It is 

 evident that the fewer the number of traditional elements that enter 

 into our reasoning, and the clearer we endeavor to be in regard to the 

 hypothetical part of our reasoning, the more logical will be our con- 

 clusions. There is an undoubted tendency in the advance of civiliza- 

 tion to eliminate traditional elements, and to gain a clearer and clearer 

 insight into the hypothetical basis of our reasoning. It is therefore 

 not surprising that, with the advance of civilization, reasoning becomes 

 more and more logical, not because each individual carries out his 

 thought in a more logical manner, but because the traditional material 

 which is handed down to each individual has been thought out and 

 worked out more thoroughly and more carefully. While in primitive 



