THE RIGHT WAY IN PSYCHOLOGY. 



27 



When the mind receives, the things are given to it. Such 

 reception, by repetition, becomes recognition — a kind of know- 

 ledge ; but for the most part we do not understand things until 

 ■after we have thought about them. Our thinking, except in 

 cases where it leads to some physical action upon the thing : 

 or some mental action, if the thing is a mind ; does not alter 

 the thing. Nevertheless the thing is different to us because 

 now we understand it ; that is, we attribute to it characters of 

 which we were not at first aware ; and in some cases, characters 

 which never come within the range of direct perception. For 

 example, the sun, moon, and five planets are visible in the sky: 

 .they are given facts ; also their motions are visible facts. But 

 the solar system is not a given fact : it is au inferred fact, 

 which cannot be seen by human eyes. In this case the dis- 

 tinction is evident. In innumerable cases it is not so. The 

 given fact and our subsequent understanding of it become 

 welded in a concept ; and we come to imagine that we perceive 

 what in reality we do not pjerceive, but conceive. No practical 

 harm would ensue, if our understanding were always correct. 

 But we make mistakes. Once there was to human thinking 

 no solar system but a geocentric system. The case stands thus: 

 human knowledge is a product of given facts and human reason- 

 ing. Experience has taught us that our reasoning is liable to 

 err ; whereas we have no ground for suspecting the given facts 

 to be capable of error. Consequently, it is of fundamental 

 importance that we should know what facts are given. 



6. First view. Things in Gencrcd. — We perceive innumerable 

 things as different, and yet among them are like tilings. This 

 as a practical certainty, and it seems to be also a logical certainty. 

 For if there were no differences, if all things were exactly alike, 

 there would be nothing to think about; and if there were no 

 likenesses, the infinite multiplicity of unlike things would baffle 

 ,all attempts to think. But I will not insist upon the logical 

 necessity. It is enough that in our plain common sense appre- 

 hension of things, they are given to us as many, and diverse, and 

 some of them alike. Taken together, these things are to us the 

 given reality, which we have to understand as best we can. 

 This given reality is the source and the basis of all our under- 

 standing; the standard and criterion of reality and truth. 

 Whatsoever cannot be traced back to this is without sure 

 guarantee, it may be mere fiction. Whatsoever is undoubtedly 

 included within or can be certainly deduced from this, is 

 .truth. 



7. Second view. Ourselves and our environment. — Having got 



