124 Measurement of Belief. [CHAP. vi. 



well. In every case in which we extend our inferences by 

 Induction or Analogy, or depend upon the witness of others, 

 or trust to our own memory of the past, or come to a conclu 

 sion through conflicting arguments, or even make a long and 

 complicated deduction by mathematics or logic, we have a 

 result of which we can scarcely feel as certain as of the pre 

 mises from which it was obtained. In all these cases then 

 we are conscious of varying quantities of belief, but are the 

 laws according to which the belief is produced and varied the 

 same ? If they cannot be reduced to one harmonious scheme, 

 if in fact they can at best be brought to nothing but a number 

 of different schemes, each with its own body of laws and rules, 

 then it is vain to endeavour to force them into one science. 



This opinion is strengthened by observing that most of 

 the writers who adopt the definition in question do practi 

 cally dismiss from consideration most of the above-mentioned 

 examples of diminution of belief, and confine their attention 

 to classes of events which have the property discussed in 

 Chap. I., viz. ignorance of the few, knowledge of the many. 

 It is quite true that considerable violence has to be done to 

 some of these examples, by introducing exceedingly arbitrary 

 suppositions into them, before they can be forced to assume 

 a suitable form. But still there is little doubt that, if we 

 carefully examine the language employed, we shall find that 

 in almost every case assumptions are made which virtually 

 imply that our knowledge of the individual is derived from 

 propositions given in the typical form described in Chap. I. 

 This will be more fully proved when we come to consider 

 some common misapplications of the science. 



6. Even then, if the above-mentioned view of the 

 subject were correct, it would yet, I consider, be insufficient 

 for the purpose of a definition ; but it is at least very doubtful 

 whether it is correct. Before we could properly assign to 



