SECTION 23. GENERALISATION. 353 



to a problem, premising that there is here no attempt to exhaust 

 the possible number of aspects. In all investigations we must 

 proceed in this manner if we are to escape serious error, and 

 if we are to proffer an appreciable contribution towards solving 

 a problem. We base the first portion of our example on the 

 now discarded table of Secondary Categories and the second 

 on the table of Primary Categories, emphasising in this place 

 only the former. 



(a) State what is the precise object of the enquiry the nature 

 of habit, and roughly define^ the term Habit. 



(b) Determine whether there is such a thing as a habit at all ; 

 whether its existence is relatively doubtful or' relatively indubit- 

 able. 



(c) Determine to what degree a habit may be part of a more 

 comprehensive phenomenon embracing, say, automatic, reflex, 

 and deliberate action, or may be constituted of varying phe- 

 nomena, including now some psychic factors and now others; 

 or may represent as a totality or in part a qualitatively unique 

 phenomenon ; or may enter into the whole or part of the mental 

 life; or may be evanescent or last a life-time. 



(rf) Determine how far one habit evolves out of preceding, 

 depends on or conditions co-existing, and forms a basis for 

 succeeding, habits and other activities, and determine how far 

 habits differ from one another as wholes or in their parts. 



(e) Follow a habit from its one or more lowest, through its 

 one or more normal or perfect, to its one or more highest, 

 stages, 1 allowing for average, casual, momentary, time-pro- 

 duced, environment-produced, transitional, imperfect, perfect, 

 exceptional, abnormal, and morbid characteristics. 



(/) Determine whether differences of degree as to any aspect 

 of a habit produce any fundamental or what difference, and 

 whether habits are related by a chain of degrees to other related 

 phenomena such as automatic, reflex, and deliberate action. 



(g) Gradually eliminate and also add, one by one and also 

 in groups and in different quantities, the alleged static and 

 dynamic constituents of a habit and apply exact measurement, 

 calculation, experiment, and deductive method. 



(h) Trace step by step, or continuously, the evolution, imme- 

 diate and more remote origin, development, dissolution or trans- 

 formation, further evolution, and general effects of habits or 

 of a habit, and apply the other modal aspects in the table of 

 Primary Categories. 



(/') Allow in the investigation of a habit for possible contra- 

 dictory, contrary, opposite, common, disparate, dependent, 



1 In following, for instance, the change in volume of water from boiling 

 point to freezing point, we shall be surprised to find that the volume of 

 water, when closely approaching the freezing point, ceases to contract and 

 begins to expand. Only tireless vigilance, which takes nothing for granted, 

 will disclose such eccentricities. 



23 



