306 



SCIENTIFIC THOUGHT. 



4. 



Special 

 scientific 

 ideas. 



I therefore look upon the spirit of exact research as 

 thoroughly domiciled in the leading countries of Europe 

 during the second half of the century, and intend in the 

 sequel to explain more precisely the different views, the 

 leading ideas, under which this research is everywhere 

 conducted. These leading ideas have themselves been 

 more clearly brought out and recognised during this 

 period. 



The narrow spirit of the Baconian philosophy which 

 reigned in England, the vagueness of the philosophy of 

 nature which reigned in Germany, during the earlier 

 decades of the century, have disappeared in favour of the 

 more comprehensive and the stricter methods taught by 

 Lavoisier, by Monge, by Laplace, and by Cuvier in France. 

 New ideas of extensive bearing have been added, and in 

 the light of these the powers and the limits of science 

 have been more correctly recognised. 



To some of my readers well-known names will occur 



which might serve as guides to fix these leading ideas, 



5. under the influence of which the march of science has 



Philosophy 



of science, proceeded : Sir John Herschel, Auguste Comte, John 

 Stuart Mill, and Whewell 1 have indeed done much to 



1 Of these writings the earliest is 

 Sir John HerscheFs "Preliminary 

 Discourse on the Study of Natural 

 Philosophy," which appeared in 

 Lardner's ' Cabinet Cyclopedia ' in 

 1831. The writings of William 

 Whewell on the ' History ' and 'Phil- 

 osophy of the Inductive Sciences ' 

 were begun about the same time. 

 They were planned to serve three 

 distinct objects to give, 1st, a 

 philosophical history of astronomy, 

 mechanics, physics, chemistry, and 

 botany ; 2nd, an analysis of the na- 

 ture of induction and the rules of 



its exercise ; and 3rd, to answer the 

 question of applying inductive pro- 

 cesses to other than material sci- 

 ences as philology, art, politics, 

 and morals (see 'William Whewell,' 

 by I. Todhunter, vol. i. p. 90). 

 The 'History' appeared in 1837 in 

 three volumes, a second edition in 

 1847, a third in 1857 ; the ' Philo- 

 sophy ' appeared in 1840 in two 

 volumes, a second edition in 1847. 

 In the course of its execution the 

 original plan was not strictly ad- 

 hered to the scope of the History 

 was enlarged considerably, and the 



