THE SCIENTIFIC MOOD 17 



Perhaps this protests a little too much, that 

 the scientific man is as other men are, but it 

 emphasizes a useful point, that the scientific mood 

 does not necessarily imply any particular knowl- 

 edge of this or that science. Some men who are 

 quite ignorant of any of the concrete sciences 

 have nevertheless a highly developed scientific 

 mood. Give them data and a clearly stated 

 problem, and they soon show that they are 

 scientific in every fibre of their mind. It is 

 indeed a vulgar error that science is anything by 

 itself. To speak of "going in for science" is like 

 proposing to go in for breathing or good digestion. 



When all is said, however, we feel that there is 

 something distinctive in the scientific mood, and 

 this requires further analysis. It will appear 

 that our conclusions agree with Sir Michael 

 Foster's, but they emphasize intellectual rather 

 than moral features. 



A PASSION FOR FACTS. As a first characteristic 

 of the scientific mood we would rank a passion 

 for facts, which corresponds to the quality of 

 truthfulness in Sir Michael Foster's analysis. 

 It is the desire for accuracy of observation and 

 precision of statement. "First make sure of the 

 facts," is a fundamental precept in science, but 

 it is no easy matter. Even in regard to simple 

 problems it is often difficult to get a grip of the 

 facts of the case. Even in regard to simple oc- 



