A Rational and Humane Science 



in which a cell in the human body might come 

 to an adequate understanding of the body ; and 

 that would be rather through experience than 

 through direct reasoning. It is conceivable that 

 there might be some cell in the body which, through 

 the nerves, etc., was in actual touch and sym- 

 pathetic relationship with every other cell. Then 

 it certainly would have the materials of the required 

 solution. Every change in other parts of the 

 body would register itself in this particular cell ; 

 and its little brain (if it had one), without exactly 

 making any great effort, would reflect sympatheti- 

 cally the structure of the whole body would 

 become, in fact, a mirror of it. This will perhaps 

 give you the key to my notion of what a true 

 Science might be. 



But before proceeding to that, I want to go a 

 little more in detail into the fallacy of the absolute 

 intellectual view of Science. I say, first, that a 

 complete summary of any object or process in 

 Nature is impossible ; secondly, that such sum- 

 mary as we do make is, and must inevitably and 

 necessarily be, coloured by the underlying feeling 

 with which we approach that phase of Nature. 



To take the first point. You say, Why is a 

 complete summary not possible ? A watch or 

 other machine may be completely described and 

 defined ; why should not (with a little more 

 knowledge) a fir-tree, or the human eye, or 

 the solar system, be completely described and 

 defined ? 



And this brings us to what may be called the 

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