CHAP. III.] DERIVATION OF THE LAWS. 41 



nation of the laws of thought, and the practical use of them 

 when discovered, we are, for all really scientific ends, uncon- 

 cerned with the truth or falsehood of any metaphysical specula- 

 tions whatever. 



3. The course which it appears to me to be expedient, under 

 these circumstances, to adopt, is to avail myself as far as possible 

 of the language of common discourse, without regard to any 

 theory of the nature and powers of the mind which it may be 

 thought to embody. For instance, it is agreeable to common 

 usage to say that we converse with each other by the communi- 

 cation of ideas, or conceptions, such communication being the 

 office of words ; and that with reference to any particular ideas or 

 conceptions presented to it, the mind possesses certain powers or 

 faculties by which the mental regard maybe fixed upon some ideas, 

 to the exclusion of others, or by which the given conceptions or 

 ideas may, in various ways, be combined together. To those 

 faculties or powers different names, as Attention, Simple Appre- 

 hension, Conception or Imagination, Abstraction, &c., have been 

 given, names which have not only furnished the titles of distinct 

 divisions of the philosophy of the human mind, but passed into 

 the common language of men. Whenever, then, occasion shall 

 occur to use these terms, I shall do so without implying thereby 

 that I accept the theory that the mind possesses such and such 

 powers and faculties as distinct elements of its activity. Nor is 

 it indeed necessary to inquire whether such powers of the under- 

 standing have a distinct existence or not. We may merge these 

 different titles under the one generic name of Operations of the 

 human mind, define these operations so far as is necessary for the 

 purposes of this work, and then seek to express their ultimate laws. 

 Such will be the general order of the course which I shall pur- 

 sue, though reference will occasionally be made to the names which 

 common agreement has assigned to the particular states or ope- 

 rations of the mind which may fall under our notice. 



It will be most convenient to distribute the more definite re- 

 sults of the following investigation into distinct Propositions. 



