166 



DISCOVERY 



CH. 



which shows the dependence of one group of facts upon 

 another, it is called a scientific law, or a law of Nature. 

 Often the law can be expressed in mathematical terms ; 

 but it may be only a brief description in words of certain 

 relationships in the field of Nature. In either case, 

 there must be no exception to the law. The laws of 

 civil life can be broken, and sometimes are broken 

 deliberately in order to direct attention to their injustice. 

 But a law of Nature is simply a statement of relationship, 

 and when observations prove the statement to be incor- 

 rect, then the law has to be abandoned or modified to 

 take the new facts into consideration. 



The method of science, indeed, is the method of the Chancery 

 Court it involves the collection of all available evidence and 

 the subjection of all such evidence to the most searching examina- 

 tion and cross examination. False evidence may be tendered 

 and for the time being accepted ; but sooner or later the perjury 

 is discovered. Our method, in fact, goes beyond that of the 

 courts : we are not only always prepared to reconsider our 

 judgments but always searching for fresh evidence ; we dare 

 to be positive only when, time after time, the facts appear to 

 warrant a definite conclusion. Prof. H. E. Armstrong. 



The broad generalisation which is accepted as a law 

 of Nature by one generation may thus prove to be only 

 an approximation to the truth when fuller knowledge 

 has been acquired. When a formula expressing relation- 

 ships between facts or phenomena in Nature is so exact 

 and comprehensive that it suffices for whatever new 

 knowledge has been gained by the increase of perceptive 

 powers from one generation to another, it stands out 

 as a great achievement of scientific thought. 



The grand, and indeed only, character of truth is its capability 

 of enduring the test of human experience, and coming unchanged 

 out of every possible form of fair discussion. Sir John Hersckel 



Pre-conceived ideas and traditional beliefs are drags 



