Demy Svo., Cloth. With 33 Illustrations. Price 7s. 6d. net. 



THE GRAMMAR OF SCIENCE 



Second Edition, thoroughly Revised and much Enlarged. 

 BY KARL PEARSON, M.A., F.R.S., 



PROFESSOR OF APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND MECHANICS IN UNIVERSITY 

 COLLEGE, LONDON. 



Contains two entirely New Chapters on Natural Selection and 

 Heredity, embracing a popular account of Professor Pearson's 

 own more recent work in this direction. 



SCOPE OF THE BOOK. 



This work attempts to give a philosophical basis to the fundamental 

 principles of modern science. It assumes no special mathematical or 

 biological training on the part of the reader, but endeavours to lay before 

 the man with average education an intelligible account of what science 

 professes to achieve and of what it does not. The first four chapters define 

 the material and lay down the principles of all scientific reasoning ; they 

 explain the scope, methods, and hopes of science and its relation to our 

 theory of life. The following four chapters discuss the axioms and prin- 

 ciples of physical science, and endeavour to give a rational view of 

 mechanism which is not open to the criticisms raised against it by Balfour, 

 Ward, and other recent metaphysical writers. The next three chapters 

 deal with the science of organic forms, discussing the principal factors of 

 evolution and endeavouring to give them exact quantitative definition. The 

 two chapters on evolution place before the reader the present position of 

 the Darwinian theory, at the same time indicating the futility of recent 

 reactionary attacks. The final chapter deals with the classification of the 

 sciences, and gives a bird's-eye view of the fields wherein the specialist 

 alone can work. 



PRESS NOTICES. 



' Not the least interesting part of this powerful book is the discussion of 

 the effect on the mind of a true scientific education, which enables a man 

 or woman to form judgments freed from individual bias. . . . We recom- 

 mend all readers, and especially scientists, metaphysicians, theologians, 

 and last, but not least, the writers of scientific text-books, to read and 

 digest this well- written, clearly-reasoned description of what science and 

 scientific method is.' Pall Mall Gazette. 



^ . . . We have been again and again impressed in examining "The 

 Grammar" with the remarkable lucidity of Professor Pearson's explana- 

 tions. ' Knowledge. 



' It is still a grammar in that it deals with the foundations of science ; 

 but a far more ambitious title might have been given to so comprehensive a 

 work. ' The Bookman . 



ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK, SOHO SQUARE, LONDON 



