The Higher Usefulness of Science 65 



does not try to refer the refractive index of water to 

 hydrogen, or some "determiner" in hydrogen, and the 

 specific gravity to oxygen. On the contrary, the con- 

 ception is, according to my understanding, that the 

 refractive index and every other attribute of water is 

 the joint product of oxygen and hydrogen acting upon 

 each other, or possibly certain attributes of oxygen 

 and certain attributes of hydrogen so acting. In other 

 words, chemical generation is conceived as a process 

 of genuine interaction among the parts of the generat- 

 ing mass or whole, and not as a process in which indi- 

 vidual atoms or electrons, acting independently, pro- 

 duce the new bodies. The process is conceived as a 

 general interaction among, rather than as the isolated 

 action of, the elements or factors of the generator. 



Another important thing about the rationale of the 

 process is that this generalized or pervasive action, 

 when sufficiently examined, leaves no room for doubt 

 or vagueness of thought, or appeal to wholly outside 

 forces and factors, for the reason that quantitative 

 relations of some sort can always be discovered be- 

 tween the total situation presented by the generator 

 and the total situation presented by the offspring or 

 product ; and for the additional reason that the process 

 readily repeats itself time after time if the totality of 

 conditions are present. In other words the real ground 

 of certitude about chemical generation is always some- 

 where short of the ultimate elements and forces con- 

 cerned in the operation. Chemists were just as certain 



