52 



SCIENCE. 



The progress of science within the past few decades, 

 and the very wide applications rendering divisions of sci- 

 entific research and use indispensable, has made it neces- 

 sary more and more to distinguish the several subordi- 

 nate branches of a general division with reference to 

 special relations and purposes of science. What has 

 been denominated physical science in the reeent past is 

 found to include too extensive a field of culture and use, 

 and to require too vast an amount of scientific labor in 

 research, analysis and application, both for individual 

 gratification and for the demands of science. Then 

 " Natural Philosophy " monopolized the whole field. 

 Now Chemical Philosophy has taken the lank of a dis- 

 tinct department, and has extended its domain in every 

 direction wherever it could find a field of research. It has 

 even been obliged to review its own analyses, and to criti- 

 cise its own results, by further experiment upon its own 

 elements, to determine whether they are themselves 

 compounds. And the analyses have yielded important 

 fruits. Recently four new elements — caesium, rubidium, 

 thallium and iridium--have been detected by the new 

 and wonderful method of the Spectrum Analysis, a no- 

 tice of which will be given farther onward. 



But Mechanical philosophy has an equal claim to dis- 

 tinction as a special department. Its aims and uses are 

 practical — the relations and applications of matter and 

 motion to mechanical effects ; and in this age of invent- 

 ive genius and of vastly extended applications of mechan- 

 ical force to the demands of utility, give increasing im- 

 portance to this department of science. The distin- 

 guishing triumphs of the past few years have resulted 

 from the conservation of those forces and agencies which 

 appear phenomenally in their general relations in physi- 

 cal nature, but are now specialized in this department 

 for the higher uses of human society. Thus the form of 

 force which has operated naturally as heat in all the 

 previous history of matter, has become a science in me- 

 chanical philosophy, manipulated and controlled by sci- 

 entific art, and takes the name of Thermotics, a science 

 of vast extent and application. Hydrology has become 

 specialized in Hydro-dynamics, Aerology in Pneumatics, 

 Electricity in Electro-magnetism, etc. The subdivision 

 of Physico-dynamic science into three departments — 

 Physics, Mechanics and Chemics — seems to be demanded 

 by the vastly extended range and special applications of 

 these, as well as by the legitimate distinction recognized 

 between phenomena and laws. 



Cosmogony is treated as a branch of Astronomy. It is 

 obvious this is its place, from the fact that Stellar As- 

 tronomy grows out of it, and includes its forming masses 

 and nebular states. This contemplates a prior state, and 

 the processes of the formation of special masses from the 

 original mass of nebulous matter. The advancement 

 from nebulous masses to globes in the various stages of 

 condensation gives Stellar Astronomy. The sun is one of 

 the stars, and is specialized as the center of the system to 

 which our planet belongs, and hence Solar Astronomy is 

 a consequent, and its place above Stellar Astronomy is 

 appropriate. Again ; our earth, far back in the periods 

 of world-formations, was in its cosmogenic stage, forming 

 part of the great nebulous cosmos ; hence the term 

 geogony, the science of the genesis of the earth, is grouped 

 with cosmogony. But while the greater part of the 

 earth's interior is still in its gaseous state, the facts per- 

 taining to its crust create a new sub-group, as Geology, 

 Mineralogy and Seismology. 



Biology is divided into two general departments, while 

 it includes three sub-sciences, viz.: Botany or Phytology, 

 Zoology and Anthroposophy,— the latter being the sci- 

 ence of the human physiological constitution. The radi- 

 cal distinction between animals and man pertains chiefly 

 to the immaterial nature — the latter possessing rational 

 and moral capacities, and also an order of physical nature 

 not possessed by animals ; yet a real distinction obtains 

 physiologically, and indeed a vastly greater difference 



than between any of the different orders of animals. 

 This distinction is stated in the classification. Physio- 

 logy, which pertains to man's physical nature, is the sub- 

 science of Biology, termed Anthroposophy, while com- 

 parative physiology, and morphology, belong respectively 

 to Zoology and Phytolcgy— the former relating to beings 

 having sentient but irrational life, and the latter to 

 insenlient or unconscious life. 



If this method of division, in which Biology and An- 

 thropology share in the inclusion of a special subject 

 appears to be anomalous, it is legitimate ; for while both 

 include those sciences which are grouped as belonging to 

 physiological nature, Anthropology includes also the 

 higher order of psychical nature, in essential connection 

 with our mental, rational and moral rature,— entities and 

 attributes of an imperishable subsistence, but whose func- 

 tions and development for temporal existence depend upon 

 the physiological connection. Biology is thegeneral science 

 of organic being having Life ; Botany isthespecial science 

 of organic being hatirg vegetal life ; Zoology is the 

 special science ot organic being having sentient life; An- 

 throposophy is the special science of organic being having 

 rational life — the latter term having been chosen to ex- 

 press the distinction maintained above. If it is held by 

 any readers ot this paper that animals possess a psychical 

 nature, as well as man, be it so. At least a nervo-ether- 

 eal nature may be predicated of beings having sensation 

 and the power of voluntary motion ; and such a substra- 

 tum or basis of the physical as well as the sentient nature 

 of animals, as corresponds with man's psychical nature, 

 may exist, perhaps must. If so, it is reasonable to pre- 

 sume it must be of an order as much lower than man's 

 psychical nature, as the mental or sentient constitution of 

 animals is lower than man's. But if such psychical nature 

 does exist, the fact can be known only by rational induc- 

 tion, for the beast has no capacity for language to verify 

 the assumption. 



INCOMPLETE, SUBORDINATE AND CONDITIONING 

 SCIENCES. 



Few of the physical sciences, especially, can be com- 

 pletly developed by themselves. Physics, Mechanics and 

 Chemics are more or less mutually related, either as con- 

 ditioned or conditioning. Astronomy has necessarily re- 

 quired for observation of its facts some of the principles 

 and laws of physical optics, while scientific art has been 

 called to construct appropriate instruments for observa- 

 tion, as the telescope and spectroscope. And the laws 

 of planetary and stellar motion must necessarily be known 

 before the science of astronomy can be fully acquired. 

 But classification cannot await the discovery of all the 

 facts of science, but must proceed with the materials at 

 hand, when radical distinctions have been determined. 



Geogony treats of general phenomena, the unformed, 

 but forming and mingling elements, and conditions of me- 

 teorology by furnishing the materials involved in the lat- 

 ter science, in its special sphere. 



Meteorology cannot be completed as a science by the 

 study of the atmosphere alone, but in connection with 

 the tacts which reveal themselves by the action of atmos- 

 pheric electricity. Thermotics, the science of heat, is 

 but partially developed by the study of the ethereal rad- 

 iations giving the physical phenomena of heat, but finds 

 its completion in the experiments and application of me- 

 chanics, of hydrology and pneumatics. 



Paleontology, being allied with mineralogy in respect 

 to the general process of stratification, by furnishing 

 materials which enter into it, properly belongs where it 

 is assigned ; yet these materials, constituted in part of 

 fossils, cannot be completed without employing the facts 

 which are brought forward in vital organisms. Hence 

 paleontology is given as a conditioning science, contri- 

 buting to botany and zoology, inasmuch as the ancient 

 organisms, while many of them contain extinct types, 

 are made a study in connection with living organisms ; 



