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subjective. He is naturally given to attaching importance to feelings; and so he comes to think that feeling is the reasoning, that as one of the most eminent of these writers says "Das Gefuhl ist der letzte Ankerguind aller Gerrissheit uberhaupt." Note the vagueness of that! But there is nothing more definitely in the whole vast treatise.
Another argument which fortifies the delusion that right reasoning is a question of feeling is this : "The physicists and naturalists, it is urged have met with marvellous success in their inquiries; and yet they have paid mighty little attention to any theories of reasoning whatever. They have in fact, mainly been entirely ignorant of logic." Well what then? It might, with far more truth, be said the champion billiard players have in the main been entirely ignorant of
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analytical mechanics. Does that prove that the game of billiards does not depend upon the principles of dynamics? It proves, if you please, that for the attainment of mastery in any art the chief requirement is training and not theory. It id largely true of the art of reasoning of which logic is the theory. But itis less true here than in most arts; because you do not reason unless you compare your inferences with your norms. Now the acceptance of these norms is a theory of right reasoning. So that it is impossible to reason without having a theory of logic, however vague it maybe. For this reason the logical norms used to be called a man's logiea uterus. Physicists and naturalists have really paid very earnest and incessant attention to the question of what the best methods of inquiry are, although they have perhaps not studied it as systematically as they might have done. But let ir be granted as
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once that provided inquirers devote their whole lives and energy in simpleness of heart to the ascertainment of truth, it will be ascertained at length. We may go further and say that whatever be mens' prejudices and passions and utter indifference to the truth, yet the truth will prevail at last. Indeed away back in the geologic ages from the moment when the first [?oner] appeared upon the globe, the ultimate disclosure of all the truths of science was predestined. It was predestined because the causes were present that would produce intellect, would kill predjudice and indifference, and would establish a and rational theory of reasoning. The truth is bound to be attained some time in any case; but the effect of sound conceptions of logic will be that it will be attained more speedily. An mistake in reasoning caused Tycho Brake to assign a value of Ptolemy. The consequence was that Newton who first thought of identifying the attraction of the earth
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on the moon with gravitation as early as Kolse was led to think that the real amount did not agree with his theory and laid the theory aside; so that his Principia were not published until 1684. Now modern physics took its impulse from that work and other modern science from physical so that it is presumable that the development of all our science has been delayed by just that number of years. Think, then, how many more persons will die of consumption than would have died if Tycho Brache's logic had been better!
