V. 



THE LAST EFFORTS OF THE LOGISTICIANS. 



I. 



The logisticians have attempted to answer the fore- 

 going considerations. For this purpose they have 

 been obliged to transform logistic, and Mr. Russell 

 in particular has modified his original views on certain 

 points. Without entering into the details of the con- 

 troversy, I should like to return to what are, in my 

 opinion, the two most important questions. Have the 

 rules of logistic given any proof of fruitfulness and of 

 infallibility? Is it true that they make it possible to 

 demonstrate the principle of complete induction with- 

 out any appeal to intuition ? 



II. 



The Infallibility of Logistic. 



As regards fruitfulness, it seems that M. Couturat 

 has most childish illusions. Logistic, according to 

 him, lends "stilts and wings" to discovery, and on the 

 following page he says, " // is ten years since Signor 

 Peano published the first edition of his " Formulaire." 



What ! you have had wings for ten years, and you 

 haven't flown yet ! 



I have the greatest esteem for Signor Peano, who 



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