XLIII.] COIITE AND HUxMBOLDT ON THE SCIENCES. 219 



NOTE. 

 COMTE AND HUMBOLDT ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE SCIENCES. 



It will be perceived tliat the idea of the series of the abstract My obliga- 

 sciences, which I have drawn out in some detail in the foregoing ^'°"® ^° 

 chapter, is taken from Comte's " Positive Philosophy." Comte's 

 series of the sciences is the following : — ■ 



Mathematics, including dynamics. His series 



Astronomy. of the 



-r,, . sciences. 



Physics. 



Chemistry. 



Biology. 



Sociology, or Historical and Political Science. 



My series is the same as this in principle, hut diifers in some "Where my 

 points of detail. The differences may be very briefly enumerated, ^'?™'* 

 and are as follow : — from his. 



I regard general dynamics as a branch, not of mathematics, Position of 

 but of physics ; meaning by physics the whole of the dynamical dynamics : 

 group of sciences. 



I do not place astronomy iu the series of the abstract sciences of astro- 

 at all, but in the parallel series of the cosmic sciences ; because "°™y- 

 astronomy, or the science of the celestial bodies, has not to do 

 with a special set of laws, but a special set of phenomena. The 

 force of gravitation, and the laws of motion, are exemplified in 

 terrestrial motions as well as in celestial ones : the law of the 

 motion of a cannon-ball, or of a stone thrown from the hand, 

 for instance, is of the same kind with the law of a planet's 

 motion. It is the error of cross division to classify the sciences 

 partly according to the nature of their subject-matter, as in 

 separating biology from physics and chemistry, and partly 

 according to its locality, as in separating astronomy from 

 terrestrial physics. 



With respect to the place of chemistry and biology, my ar- 

 rangement agrees with Comte's. Sociology, by which barbarous 

 compound Comte means the science of history and politics, 

 occupies the place in his series which I have assigned to a group 

 of sciences not yet systematized. Historical science is one of 



