311 



LOGIC. 



LOGIC. 



313 



We also explain that we are not writing for (nor against) the competent 

 disputant, but for the learner who has mastered the comm jn elements ; 

 that we refer to England (meaning the three kingdoms) and English 

 thought only ; and that we treat of that part of logic which may be 

 styled an exact science, without any discussion of the grounds on 

 which its obvious postulates are founded. 



The changes to which we have alluded arise from that revival of the 

 taste for philosophy which has commenced and is continuing, both in 

 England and France. So far as England is concerned this revival was 

 preceded by the publication of Dr. Whately's work, the first edition 

 of which was an article in the Encyclopaedia Metropolitana (about 

 1826). The author had for years taught the subject at Oxford, and 

 had trained some, at least, to see the low state into which logic had 

 fallen ; a state not exaggerated in the unfriendly criticism presently 

 mentioned. This work placed logic, in a comparatively attractive 

 form, within the reach of many out "of Oxford, to whom all the attain- 

 able books had been sealed by the stamp of a current prejudice; and 

 it had merits of its own. The Archbishop of Dublin possesses the 

 talent which distinguished Paley from his predecessors ; the talent of 

 rendering a dry subject attractive in a sound form by style, illustra- 

 tion, and clearness combined. And to him is due the title of the 

 restorer of logical study in England. 



In 1836, ten years after the publication of Dr. Whately's work, Sir 

 William Hamilton [Bloc. Div.] was appointed professor of logic and 

 metaphysics in the University of Edinburgh. The extraordinary cha- 

 racter of his learning ia not overrated in the article cited. But it 

 should be added, as necessary to be known by any one who enters on 

 the logical controversies of the day, that his strange hatred of the 

 mathematical sciences was owing to an unusual inaptitude for them, 

 which prevented, probably any sufficient study, certainly any real 

 understanding, even of their lowest branches. In 1829, he commenced 

 that powerful series of articles in the ' Edinburgh Review' by which 

 his reputation was first established out of Edinburgh : these were re- 

 published with some additional notes, under the title of ' Discussions 

 in Philosophy ;' and no higher logical student can dispense with them. 

 In 1833 appeared the celebrated criticism on Dr. Whately's Logic, 

 of which the first thing to be said is that it is due to Dr. Whately 

 himself that it had an audience to listen to it : its history, philosophy, 

 and philology, would have fallen dead upon the previous generation. 

 Accordingly this criticism, though most valuable as a logical disserta- 

 tion, and of a necessity to be read which does not lessen with time, is 

 nothing as a criticism ; for it neither is nor proceeds upon a true view 

 of the place and office of the work criticised. Nevertheless, it was one 

 of the stimulants of the revival. 



The meaning of the word logic has undergone much variation in 

 different hands. It has been what the writer pleases, from the whole 

 of the inquiry into truth and falsehood down to the investigation of 

 the Aristotelian syllogism. This diversity of signification is probably 

 near its end. There is a growing disposition to admit Kant's defini- 

 tion, which describes it as the science of the necessary laws of thowjld : 

 it is said to treat of the form of thought independently of its matter. 

 Though neither Aristotle nor his followers confine themselves within 

 this definition, nor even so much as distinctly conceive it, all will ac- 

 knowledge that the definition singles out the most important distinctive 

 feature of their system. A few words on the relation of form and 

 matter will be requisite. 



When miny things are thought of in one way, which way is neither 

 governed nor modified by the difference between one thing and another, 

 there is a common form of thought about distinct matters. Thus 

 arithmetic is a formal science with reference to concrete magnitude : 

 that 8 and 4 make the same as 4 and 8 is a form, a law of thought, 

 which is not affected by the objects counted being yards rather than 

 beep, or pints rather than men. Pass into algebra, and the difference 

 which are formal in arithmetic become only material : thus 8+4=4+ 

 8 is but one material instance of the form a + b = b + a. Are we there- 

 fore to say that arithmetic and algebra are parts of logic ? Certainly 

 not : logic deals with the pure form of thought, divested of every 

 possible distinction of matter. There is a form of thought in the 

 above which is not even confined to number, and not even confined to 

 magnitude : namely, that the manner in which we think of part 

 and whole, in every possible case in which these words can apply, is 

 wholly independent of the order in which the parts are considered as 

 coming together. For example, the notions animal and rational are 

 joined together in the mind when we think of man, but by a mode of 

 junction very different from that called addition in arithmetic. Never- 

 theless, it matters nothing as to the notion arrived at whether we 

 think of animal as subsequently limited by the notion rational, or of 

 rfiti'mul as subsequently limited by the notion animal. The pure form 

 of thought is that which belongs equally to the last instance and to 

 8 + 4 = 4 + 8; different matters, different modes of junction, under the 

 common law that order of junction is indifferent. 



We now set down the titles of various works of recent publication, 

 and not difficult to obtain, being works which may all be recommended 

 to the student who wishes to go fully into existing controversies, both 

 as hources in themselves and U.H guiiles to others. 



Paris, 1839-44, 4 vok 8vo : Barthelemy St. Hilaire, ' Logique 

 d'Aristote,' a translation of the ' Organon ' of Aristotle, with notes. 

 Paris, 1838, 2 'vols. 8vo : BartWlemy St. Hilaire, ' De la Logique 



d'Aristote,' a description of the ' Orgaoion ' which gained the prize of 

 the Institute. London, 1853, 2 vols. 8vo : 0. F. Owen, ' The Orgauon 

 of Aristotle,' an English translation. London, 1857, 8vo : J. H. M'Mahon, 

 ' The Metaphysics of Aristotle,' an English translation. Berlin, 1842, 

 8vo : F. A. Trendelenberg, ' Elementa Logices Aristotelicae,' extracts 

 from Aristotle, translated in the article ORGANON, and notes. Edin- 

 burgh, 1854, 12mo : T. S. Baynes, ' The Port Royal Logic,' a translation 

 from the French, with notes. Paris, 1840, 8vo : J. Tissot, ' Logique 

 de E. Kant,' a translation highly spoken of. There is an English 

 translation of Kant's Logic, not easily got, by T. Richardson, London, 

 1819, 8vo, collected with some other translations from Kant, under a 

 title-page of 1836. London, 1851, 2 vols. 8vo (3rd edition, one or more 

 since) : John S. Mill, ' System of Logic, ratiocinative and inductive, 

 being a connected view of the principles of evidence and the methods 

 of scientific investigation;' a great and widely known work, which takes 

 logic in the fullest extent of meaning : we think Mr. Mill would have 

 done more justice to himself, and given a better notion of his subject, 

 if he had taken a more descriptive title; the words which follow 

 " Logic " are of no use, for the book will be " Mill's Logic" all the 

 world over.- With this work, and in reference to a large part of its 

 contents, may be read Dr. Whewell's writings on philosophical method 

 and history, especially London, 1858, 8vo, ' Novum Orgauum Reno- 

 vatuni," and London, 1860, 8vo, ' The Philosophy of Discovery.' The 

 ' Kovum Organum ' of Bacon himself, not to speak of the recent edition 

 (Longman) of Leslie Ellis and others, which is a magnificent perform- 

 ance, may be easily and cheaply obtained in London, 1853, 8vo, 

 J. Devey, ' The Physical and Metaphysical Works of Lord Bacon,' 

 Edinburgh, 1850, 8vo : T. S. Baynes, ' The New Analytic of Logical 

 Forms,' a prize essay, the first treatise on Sir W. Hamilton's system, 

 with a note by Hamilton himself. London, 1853, 8vo, 2nd edition : 

 Win. Hamilton, ' Discussions on Philosophy, &c.,' already mentioned. 

 There is a writing of Sir W. Hamilton which, from its ephemeral 

 character, may be forgotten, but which is very characteristic of the 

 author, and contains logical discussion of permanent value ; London 

 and Edinburgh, 1847, 8vo : ' A Letter to A. De Morgan, Esq., on his 

 claim * to an independent re-discovery of a new Principle in the Theory 

 of Syllogism.' The prospectus of Hamilton's work on logic, which he 

 did not live to complete, attached to this writing and to others, should 

 not be forgotten. Edinburgh, 1858, 8vo : A. C. Fraser, ' Rational 

 Philosophy in History and in System," the programme of Sir W. 

 Hamilton s successor, who was further known by Edinburgh, 1856, 

 8vo, ' Essays in Philosophy,' a collection of reviews on philosophical 

 subjects, from the ' North British Review.' 



Of Whately's Logic, already mentioned, there are many editions ; 

 and the same of Dr. Watts's Logic,- an old aud well-known work, 

 which deserved much higher praise than it received. 



Oxford, 1856, 8vo, 3rd edition : H. L. Mansel, ' Artis Logicse Rudi- 

 menta,' an edition of the old and celebrated compendium of Aldrich, 

 with copious English notes ; the easiest aud best way in which a body 

 of discussion on the old logic can be read. Oxford, 1851, 8vo : 

 Hi L. Mansel, ' Prolegomena Logica,' an inquiry into the psychological 

 character of logical processes, a most acute work, opposed to all the 

 views of this article. The same writer's article on Metaphysics in the 

 new edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica (vol. xiv., 1857) will be 

 very useful in conjunction with the 'Prolegomena.' London, 1857, 

 8vo : W. Thomson, ' An Outline of the Necessary Laws of Thought, a 

 treatise on pure and applied logic ; valuable by thought, brevity, 

 eclectic character, and extent of plan. Oxford, 1850, 8vo : E. Poste, 

 ' The Logic of Science,' a translation of the Posterior Analytics of Aris- 

 totle, with notes. Oxford, 1848, 8vo : C. P. Chretien, ' An Essay on 

 Logical Method.' Oxford, 1851, 2 vols. (or books) 8vo: W. H. Karslake, 

 ' Aids to the Study of Logic.' These works are all highly aud justly 

 commended by Sir W. Hamilton. 



Edinburgh, 1857, 8vo : W. Spalding, ' Introduction to Logical 

 Science ' (reprint from the Encyclopedia Britannica), a thoughtful 

 work, of much collection and discussion as to recently disputed points. 

 London, 1856, 12mo : R. G. Latham, ' Logic in its Application to Lan- 

 guage,' a grammatical application well worthy the attention of teachers. 



Of writers who have called in mathematical principles and forms, we 

 have the following works: London, 1847, 8vo : A. De Morgan, + 

 ' Formal Logic, or the Calculus of Inference, necessary and probable.' 

 London, 1860, 8vo : A. De Morgan, ' Syllabus of a Proposed System of 

 Logic.' This syllabus contains .references to the author's papers in the 

 Cambridge Transactions, in which most of his novelties were first 

 broached. Cambridge, 1847, 8vo : G. Boole, ' Mathematical Analysis 

 of Logic.' London, 1854, 8vo : G. Boole, 'Investigation of the Laws 

 of Thought.' 



There is an immense collection published, and publishing in France, 

 under the name of ' Cours de la Patrologie,' by the Abbe' Migne. This 

 collection contains many writers whom the logician desires to have, 

 but can rarely obtain : as Boethius, Abelard, Peter Lombard, John of 



* The reply which closed thin controversy all subsequent feud being on new 

 grounds is in the first Appendix to Mr. l)e Morgan's ' l-'ormal Loiic,' presently 

 detcnbed. 



t u'hcn controversial points arc treated as in the present article, it is r.ot _ 

 fair th.it one of the parties to the disputes should takf the iiiijiearance ol ;.n ' 

 indifferent judge by writing anonymously. '1'his note is there. ore added to the 

 name of the writer of this article. 



