II. 



DARWIN'S VIEWS OF METHOD. 



IT is necessary to inquire briefly into Dar- 

 win's own views of scientific method. 

 He has given us the data for the inquiry, both 

 in direct statements and indirectly by his 

 opinions of the work and ability of other men. 

 In connection with this inquiry must be con- 

 sidered the intellectual and moral qualities of 

 the man himself, and the external influences 

 that bore upon him. 



In some quarters the notion is entertained 

 that the scientific method leads infallibly to 

 the truth, and that it is something quite dis- 

 tinct from the logical method of every-day 

 life; and yet there is a general haziness as to 

 what the scientific method is. The aim of the 

 scientist is truth, but he has no special mental 

 faculty with which to discover scientific truth. 

 He approaches his problem, equipped with the 

 same logical processes that the common man 

 uses in arriving at facts that are important to 

 his success in life. Neglect in applying those 



