216 THE LIMITATIONS OF SCIENCE 



Before much can be done to find out what the influ- 

 ence of science on morals has been, a school of critics 

 of men of science must be created. I am quite aware 

 that this opinion is counter to the general belief that 

 science is the most critical of all human endeavor. The 

 results of experimental investigation and the mathe- 

 matical laws formulated from them seem so positive, 

 so subject to minute and patient scrutiny, that it may 

 well seem that men of science are critical. But this 

 form of criticism is limited to the mere question of 

 accuracy of observation and logic. Before the sub- 

 jective influence of science on character can be deter- 

 mined, the postulates of science and the scientific 

 method itself must be outlined clearly and discussed 

 critically; it is this higher criticism which is lacking 

 in men of science. 



If such a body of criticism existed it is probable 

 that a philosophy of science could be created. But the 

 present method of educating men to engage in scientific 

 work is little likely to foster the critical or even the his- 

 torical attitude. In fact, most men of science know 

 so little of metaphysics or even of the historical de- 

 velopment of science that they are quite ignorant of 

 how metaphysical their sciences are. If they were 

 conversant with the history of scientific thought, they 

 would see that while scientific laws are as positive and 

 as objective as human knowledge has been able to 

 attain, yet the hypotheses of science, which aim to dis- 



