142 THE AIM AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD. 



to establish it needs no arguments beyond those that have 

 already been considered in previous sections. 



69. 



The doctrine of the primary facts presented in this essay is 

 a variety of what has recently been called the "New Realism " ;* 

 and I hesitate to say that I have derived it from Mr. G-. E. 

 Moore and Mr. Bertrand E-ussell only because I have no right 

 to suggest the responsibility of these philosophers for details 

 which they might quite possibly reject. The essence of the 

 doctrine is the view that a large part of the contents of our 

 consciousness from moment to moment consists of elements 

 which exhibit themselves as having a certain unique " priority " 

 to our conscious processes. These elements constitute what 

 I have described as the Objective. They fall into three well 

 marked genera physical exlstents, psychical existents, and 

 subsistents, which share with the former the characteristics of 

 being regarded as " the same for all," and of having a certain 

 relevance to human purpose, expressed by saying that " they 

 have to be reckoned with." 



In our consideration of the first of these genera we found 

 ourselves driven to defend in substance, but to modify in detail 

 the common-sense notion which regards the material world as 

 composed of Objective " things " into whose structure primary 

 and secondary qualities enter on equal terms; occupying at 

 different moments of an Objective flux of time definite points 

 in an Objective space. We also devoted some attention to the 

 fact that the elements of the Objective are very often members 

 of series, and gave special study to the series of numbers which 

 plays so important a part in the development of Science. 



The aim of the scientific process as it occurs in the 

 individual is to render the Objective in its actual determina- 

 tions intelligible. This happens when primary facts enter into 



* See an article by Professor J. S. Mackenzie in Mind, N.S., No. 59. 



