126 



REASONS FOE DISSENTING FROM COMTE. 



&quot; . . . je nc dois pas ne&quot;gliger 

 d indiquer d avance, comme 

 une propriete essentielle de 

 1 echelle encyclopediquo que 

 je vais proposer, sa con- 

 formite generale avec 1 en- 

 serable de 1 histoire scien- 

 tifique; en ce sens, que, 

 nialgre la simultaneitereelle 

 et continue du developpe- 

 ment desdiffe rentes sciences, 

 celles qui seront classees 

 comme anterieures seront, 

 en effet, plus anciennes ct 

 constamment plus avancees 

 que celles presentees comme 



posterieures.&quot; p. 84 



. . . . &quot; Get ordre est de&quot;- 

 . termine par le degre de sim- 

 plicite, ou, ce qui revient 

 au nieme, par le degre do 

 ge&quot;neralite des phenomenes.&quot; 

 p. 87. 



duced. Ideas wholly foreign to this 

 social state cannot be evolved, and if 

 introduced from without, cannot get 

 accepted or, if accepted, die out 

 when the temporary phase of feeling 

 which caused their acceptance, ends. 

 Hence, though advanced ideas when 

 once established, act upon society 

 and aid its further advance ; yet the 

 establishment of such ideas depends 

 on the fitness of the society for re 

 ceiving them. Practically, the popu 

 lar character and the social state, 

 determine what ideas shall be cur 

 rent; instead of the current ideas 

 determining the social state and the 

 character. The modification of men s 

 moral natures, caused by the continu 

 ous discipline of social life, which 

 adapts them more and more to social 

 relations, is therefore the chief proxi 

 mate cause of social progress. (Social 

 Statics, chap, xxx.) 



The order in which the generaliza 

 tions of science are established, is 

 determined by the frequency and im- 

 pressiveness with which different 

 classes of relations are repeated in 

 conscious experience ; and this de 

 pends, partly on the directness with 

 which personal welfare is affected; 

 partly on the conspicuousness of one or 

 loth the phenomena letiveen which a 

 relation is to le perceived; partly on the 

 absolute frequency with which the re 

 lations occur ; partly on their relative 

 frequency of occurrence; partly on 

 their degree of simplicity ; and partly 

 on their degree of alstractness. (First 

 Principles, 1st ed., 36; appended 

 to this pamphlet. 



