136 Darwinism and Other Essays. 



that, in its investigation of nature, the human 

 mind has passed through three essentially different 

 stages. These are, first, the Theological stage, in 

 which all phenomena are viewed as resulting from 

 the volitions of supernatural agents ; second, the 

 Metaphysical stage, in which phenomena are sup- 

 posed to be determined by the existence of inher- 

 ent occult causes ; and, third, the Positive stage, in 

 which, the search for causes being abandoned, the 

 mind rests content with grouping phenomena ac- 

 cording to their relations of coexistence and suc- 

 cession. The exposition of this law of intellectual 

 development occupies a considerable portion of 

 Mr. Mill's volume, and is, we think, both lucid 

 and profound. But we cannot go so far as Mr. 

 Mill in accepting the theorem as a true and ad- 

 equate statement of the course which the human 

 mind has pursued. As such a statement, we be- 

 lieve it to be imperfect and superficial, though 

 containing a sufficient amount of truth to have 

 made its application to the study of history result 

 in sundry minor generalizations of the highest 

 value. The " positive " method of contemplat- 

 ing phenomena is doubtless becoming exclusively 

 prevalent with scientific explorers ; and for this 

 reason, the name " positivism," after losing its 

 more special connotations, is perhaps destined to 



