THE AIM AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD. 7 



whole world of psychical existents, whose very nature it is 

 to appear in the " panorama " surrounding a single centre 

 only. Not a single feature of such facts can be excluded 

 from the operations of Science, yet how can they be regarded 

 as "the same for all"? Only, I submit, by a kind of extra- 

 polation from that part of the Objective " physical reality " 

 which, as a matter of fact, is the same for all. We must say, 

 that is, of such experiences, not that being the same for all 

 they become Objective, but that being Objective (simpliciter) 

 they are regarded as the same for all, and therefore, part of 

 the proper subject matter of Science. Being experiences 

 whose content announces itself as independent of the self 

 of the moment over against which they are set, they may be 

 thought of as occurring with an identical character in any 

 centre. They become, that is, objects whose features, like 

 those of " material objects " are capable of exact determination 

 without reference to their presentation at all although, of 

 course, their position as a class of existents is fixed by their 

 peculiar relation to the " finite centre " in which they occur. 



3. 



The actual contents of the Objective must be reviewed very 

 briefly. " Everyone except a philosopher," says Mr. Eussell,* 

 " can see the difference between a post and my idea of a post." 

 I ignore this uncomplimentary reservation and assume that 

 we are all prepared to admit not only that they are existents 

 of different orders, but also that both have (like all existents) 

 the character of Objectivity the post, because it would be the 

 particular thing which it is, even if I did not happen to see it ; 

 the idea because it would be an idea with just that particular 

 content, even if I did not happen to perceive that I had " had " 

 it. Difficulty only arises in the absence of the plain guarantee 

 of "priority" which the perception of existence itself gives. 

 In this case, to quote Mr. Eussell again. " there exists 



* Russell, Principles of Mathematics, i, p. 451. 



