HIGHER CLAIMS OF M. COMTE. 131 



cues, demands respectful consideration. Widely as we 

 differ from him, we cheerfully bear witness to the largeness 

 of his views, the clearness of his reasoning, and the value 

 of his sijeculations as contributing to intellectual progress. 

 Did we believe a serial arrangement of the sciences to be 

 possible, that of M. Comte would certainly be the one we 

 should adopt. His fundamental propositions are thor- 

 oughly intelligible ; and if not true, have a great semblance 

 of truth. . His successive stejDS are logically co-ordinated ; 

 and he supports his conclusions by a considerable amount of 

 evidence — evidence which, so long as it is not critically exam- 

 ined, or not met by counter evidence, seems to substantiate 

 his positions. But it only needs to assume that antagon- 

 istic attitude which ought to be assumed towards new 

 doctrines, in the belief that, if true, they will prosper by 

 conquering objectors — it needs but to test his leading 

 doctrines either by other facts than those he cites, or by 

 his own facts differently applied, to at once show that they 

 will not stand. We will proceed thus to deal with the 

 general principle on which he bases his hierarchy of the 

 sciences. 



In the second chapter of his Gours de Philosophie Posi- 

 tive, M. Comte says : — " Our problem is, then, to find 

 the one ratio7ial order, amongst a host of possible sys- 

 tems." ..." This order is determined by the degree 

 of simplicity, or, what comes to the same thing, of general- 

 ity of their phenomena." And the arrangement he de- 

 duces runs thus: Mathematics, Astronomy, Physics, Chem- 

 istry, Physiology, Social Physics. This he asserts to be 

 " the true filiation of the sciences." He asserts further, 

 that the principle of progression from a greater to a less 

 degi-ee of generality, " which gives this order to the whole 

 body of science, arranges the parts of each science." And, 

 finally, he asserts that the gradations thus established a 

 priori among the sciences, and the parts of each science, "is 



