Civilisation : Its Cause and Cure 



selves, i.e., to things embodying an infinite range 

 of attributes. 



The peculiar method of Science is now clear to 

 us, and can be abundantly illustrated from modern 

 results. Our experience consists in sensations, we 

 feel the weight of heavy bodies, we see them fall 

 when let go, we have sensations of heat and cold, 

 light and darkness, and so forth. But these sensa- 

 tions are more or less local and variable from 

 man to man, and we naturally seek to find some 

 common measure of them, by which we can talk 

 about and describe them exactly, and independently 

 of the peculiarities of individual observers. Thus 

 we seek to find some common phenomenon which 

 underlies (as we say) the sensations of heat and 

 cold, or of light and darkness, or something which 

 explains (i.e. is always present in) the case of 

 falling bodies — and to do this we adopt the method 

 of generalisation above described, i.e., we observe 

 a great number of individual cases and then see 

 what qualities or attributes they have in common. 

 So far good. But it is just here that the fallacy 

 of the ordinary scientific procedure comes in ; 

 for, forgetting that these common qualities are 

 mere abstractions from the real phenomena we 

 credit them with a real existence, and regard the 

 actual phenomena as secondary results, ** effects " 

 or what-not of these " causes." This in plain 

 language is putting the cart before the horse — or 

 rather the shadow before the man. Thus finding 

 that a vast number of variously shaped and coloured 

 bodies tend to fall towards the earth, we erect this 



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