VIIL] Clxe Scientific l^ette of |)0sitifaism. 161 



in tliis infantile anthropomorphism. The child observes 

 that many phenomena are the consequences of affections 

 of itself; it soon has excellent reasons for the belief 

 that many other phaenomena are consequences of the 

 affections of other beings, more or less like itself. And 

 imving thus good evidence for believing that many of 

 the most interesting occurrences about it are explicable 

 on the hypothesis that they are the work of intelligences 

 like itself having discovered a vera causa for many 

 phenomena why should the child limit the application 

 of so fruitful an hypothesis? The dog has a sort of 

 intelligence, so has the cat; why should not the doll 

 and the picture-book also have a share, proportioned 

 to their likeness to intelligent things ? 



The only limit which does arise is exactly that which, 

 as a matter of science, should arise ; that is to say, the 

 anthropomorphic interpretation is applied only to those 

 phsenomena which, in their general nature, or their 

 apparent capriciousness, resemble those which the child 

 observes to be caused by itself, or by beings like itself. 

 All the rest are regarded as things which explain them- 

 selves, or are inexplicable. 



It is only at a later stage of intellectual development 

 that the intelligence of man awakes to the apparent 

 conflict between the anthropomorphic, and what I may 

 call the physical, 1 aspect of nature, and either endeavours 

 to extend the anthropomorphic view over the whole of 

 nature. which is the tendency of theology ; or to give 

 the same exclusive predominance to the physical view 



1 The word u positive " is ill every way objectionable. In one sense it 

 suggests that mental quality which was undoubtedly largely developed in 

 M. Comte, but can best be dispensed with in a philosopher ; in another, it is 

 unfortunate in its application to a system which starts with enormous nega- 

 tions ; in its third, and specially philosophical sense, as implying a system of 

 thought which assumes nothing beyond the content of observed facts, it 

 implies that which never did exist, and never will 



M 



