Philosophy of Scientific Method

by John Stuart Mill. Edited With An Introduction By Ernest Nagel

• ISBN13: 9780486446547
• ISBN10: 0486446549
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-09-14
• Publisher: Dover Publications

Summary

This compact statement of Mill's doctrines highlights extracts fromA System of Logicthat clarify Mill's processes of reasoning. The following five-part treatment draws upon the philosopher's major works to consider names and propositions; reasoning; induction; operations subsidiary to induction; and the logic of the moral sciences.

Table of Contents

Editor's Introduction	xv
Note on the Text	xlix
Selected Bibliography	1	(2)
A SYSTEM OF LOGIC
Preface	3	(4)
Introduction
Is.logic the art and science of reasoning? [§2]	7	(1)
Logic is concerned with inferences, not with intuitive truths [§4, abridged]	8	(3)
Relation of logic to the other sciences [§5]	11	(2)
BOOK I: OF NAMES AND PROPOSITIONS
Of the Necessity of Commencing with an Analysis of Language
Theory of names, why a necessary part of logic	13	(2)
First step in the analysis of propositions	15	(1)
Of Names
Names are names of things, not of our ideas	16	(1)
Words which are not names, but parts of names	17	(3)
General and singular names	20	(2)
Concrete and abstract	22	(2)
Connotative and non-connotative [abridged]	24	(11)
Of the Things Denoted by Names
Necessity of an enumeration of namable things. The categories of Aristotle [abridged]	35	(1)
Feelings, or states of consciousness [§3]	35	(2)
Feelings must be distinguished from their physical antecedents. Perceptions, what [§4]	37	(3)
Volitions and actions, what [§5]	40	(1)
Substance and attribute [§6]	40	(2)
Body [§7]	42	(6)
Mind [§8]	48	(1)
Qualities [§9]	49	(3)
Relations [§10]	52	(3)
Resemblance [§11]	55	(3)
Quantity [§12]	58	(1)
All attributes of bodies are grounded on states of consciousness [§13]	59	(1)
So also all attributes of mind [§14]	60	(1)
Recapitulation [§15]	61	(3)
Of the Import of Propositions [CH. V]
Doctrine that a proposition is the expression of a relation between two ideas	64	(3)
--- that it consists in referring something to, or excluding something from, a class [§3, abridged]	67	(4)
What it really is [§4]	71	(2)
It asserts (or denies) a sequence, a co-existence, a simple existence, a causation [§5, abridged]	73	(3)
--- or a resemblance [§6, abridged]	76	(2)
Propositions of which the terms are abstract [§7]	78	(4)
Of Propositions Merely Verbal [Ch. VI]
All essential propositions are identical propositions [§2]	82	(4)
Individuals have no essences [§3]	86	(1)
Real propositions, how distinguished from verbal [§4]	87	(1)
Two modes of representing the import of a real proposition [§5]	88	(2)
Of the Nature of Classification and the Five Predicables [CH. VII]
Classification, how connected with naming	90	(1)
Kinds have a real existence in nature [§4, abridged]	91	(5)
Of Definition [CH. VIII]
A definition, what [abridged]	96	(1)
Every name can be defined whose meaning is susceptible of analysis	97	(3)
How distinguished from descriptions [§4, abridged]	100	(2)
What are called definitions of things are definitions of names with an implied assumption of the existence of things corresponding to them [§5, abridged]	102	(4)
Definitions, though of names only, must be grounded on knowledge of the corresponding things [§7, abridged]	106	(3)
BOOK II: OF REASONING
Of Inference, or Reasoning, In General
Retrospect of the preceding book [abridged]	109	(1)
Inferences improperly so called [abridged]	110	(1)
Of Ratiocination, or Syllogism
Analysis of the syllogism [abridged]	111	(1)
The dictum de omni not the foundation of reasoning, but a mere identical proposition	112	(4)
What is the really fundamental axiom of ratiocination	116	(2)
The other form of the axiom	118	(2)
Of the Functions and Logical Value of the Syllogism
Is the syllogism a petitio principii?	120	(1)
Insufficiency of the common theory	121	(2)
All inference is from particulars to particulars [abridged]	123	(4)
General propositions are a record of such inferences, and the rules of the syllogism are rules for the interpretation of the record	127	(3)
The syllogism not the type of reasoning, but a test of it [abridged]	130	(3)
The true type, what [abridged]	133	(1)
Relation between induction and deduction	134	(2)
Of Trains of Reasoning and Deductive Sciences
For what purpose trains of reasoning exist	136	(1)
A train of reasoning is a series of inductive inferences [abridged]	136	(2)
--- from particulars to particulars through marks of marks [abridged]	138	(2)
Why there are deductive sciences [abridged]	140	(2)
Why other sciences still remain experimental	142	(1)
Experimental sciences may become deductive by the progress of experiment [abridged]	143	(1)
Of Demonstration and Necessary Truths
The theorems of geometry are necessary truths only in the sense of necessarily following from hypotheses [abridged]	144	(4)
Some of the first principles of geometry are axioms, and these are not hypothetical [§3, abridged]	148	(2)
--- but are experimental truths [§4]	150	(2)
An objection answered [§5, abridged]	152	(4)
Dr. Whewell's opinions on axioms examined [§6, abridged]	156	(5)
The Same Subject Continued
All deductive sciences are inductive [abridged]	161	(1)
The propositions of the science of number are not verbal, but generalizations from experience	162	(5)
In what sense hypothetical	167	(1)
Definition of demonstrative evidence [§5, abridged]	168	(2)
BOOK III: OF INDUCTION
Preliminary Observations on Induction in General
Importance of an inductive logic [abridged]	170	(1)
The logic of science is also that of business and life [abridged]	171	(2)
Of Inductions Improperly So Called
Inductions distinguished from verbal transformations [abridged]	173	(2)
--- and from descriptions [§3, abridged]	175	(2)
Examination of Dr. Whewell's theory of induction [§4, abridged]	177	(4)
Of the Ground of Induction
Axiom of the uniformity of the course of nature [abridged]	181	(3)
The question of inductive logic stated [§3]	184	(2)
Of Laws of Nature
The general regularity in nature is a tissue of partial regularities called laws [abridged]	186	(3)
Scientific induction must be grounded on previous spontaneous inductions [abridged]	189	(1)
Are there any inductions fitted to be a test of all others? [abridged]	190	(1)
Of the Law of Universal Causation
The universal law of successive phenomena is the Law of Causation	191	(3)
--- that is, the law that every consequent has an invariable antecedent [abridged]	194	(1)
The cause of a phenomenon is the assemblage of its conditions [abridged]	195	(3)
The cause is not the invariable antecedent, but the unconditional invariable antecedent [§6, abridged]	198	(3)
Idea of a permanent cause, or original natural agent [§8, abridged]	201	(3)
Of the Composition of Causes
Two modes of the conjunct action of causes, the mechanical and the chemical [abridged]	204	(3)
The composition of causes the general rule; the other case exceptional [abridged]	207	(1)
Of Observation and Experiment
The first step of inductive inquiry is a mental analysis of complex phenomena into their elements [abridged]	208	(2)
The next is an actual separation of those elements	210	(1)
Of the Four Methods of Experimental Inquiry
Method of agreement	211	(3)
Method of difference	214	(2)
Mutual relation of these two methods	216	(3)
Joint method of agreement and difference	219	(2)
Method of residues	221	(2)
Method of concomitant variations	223	(6)
Limitations of this last method	229	(4)
Miscellaneous Examples of the Four Methods
Dr. Whewell's objections to the four methods [§6]	233	(5)
Of Plurality of Causes and of the Intermixture of Effects
One effect may have several causes	238	(2)
--- which is the source of a characteristic imperfection of the method of agreement [abridged]	240	(3)
Concurrence of causes which do not compound their effect [§4, abridged]	243	(2)
Difficulties of the investigation when causes compound their effects [§5, abridged]	245	(4)
Three modes of investigating the laws of complex effects [§6]	249	(1)
The method of simple observation inapplicable [§7, abridged]	250	(1)
The purely experimental method inapplicable [§8, abridged]	251	(1)
Of the Deductive Method
First stage: ascertainment of the laws of the separate causes by direct induction [abridged]	252	(2)
Second stage: ratiocination from the simple laws of the complex cases [abridged]	254	(1)
Third stage: verification by specific experience [abridged]	255	(2)
Of the Limits to the Explanation of Laws of Nature, and of Hypotheses [CH. XIV]
Can all the sequences in nature be resolvable into one law? [abridged]	257	(1)
Ultimate laws cannot be less numerous than the distinguishable feelings of our nature [abridged]	258	(1)
In what sense ultimate facts can be explained	259	(2)
The proper use of scientific hypotheses [abridged]	261	(3)
Their indispensableness	264	(3)
The two degrees of legitimacy in hypotheses [abridged]	267	(2)
Of Empirical Laws [CH. XVI]
Definition of an empirical law [abridged]	269	(1)
Derivative laws commonly depend on collocations	270	(1)
The collocations of the permanent causes are not reducible to any law	271	(1)
Hence empirical laws cannot be relied on beyond the limits of actual experience	272	(2)
Of Chance and Its Elimination [CH. XVII]
The proof of empirical laws depends on the theory of chance [abridged]	274	(1)
Chance defined and characterized [abridged]	275	(4)
Of the Calculation of Chances [CH. XVIII]
Foundation of the doctrine of chances, as taught by mathematics	279	(2)
The doctrine tenable [abridged]	281	(1)
On what foundation it really rests [abridged]	281	(4)
Its ultimate dependence on causation [abridged]	285	(2)
Of the Evidence of the Law of Universal Causation [CH. XXI]
The law of causality does not rest on an instinct [abridged]	287	(2)
--- but on an induction by simple enumeration [abridged]	289	(1)
In what cases such induction is allowable [abridged]	290	(2)
BOOK IV: OF OPERATIONS SUBSIDIARY TO INDUCTION
Of Abstraction, or the Formation of Conceptions [CH. II]
The comparison which is a preliminary to induction implies general conceptions	292	(2)
--- but these need not be pre-existent	294	(3)
A general conception, originally the result of a comparison, becomes itself the type of comparison	297	(3)
Of Classification, as Subsidiary to Induction [CH. XVII]
Theory of natural groups [§2, abridged]	300	(3)
Kinds are natural groups [§4, abridged]	303	(4)
BOOK V: ON THE LOGIC OF THE MORAL SCIENCES [BK. VI]
Introductory Remarks
The backward state of the moral sciences can only be remedied by applying to them the methods of physical science, duly extended and generalized	307	(2)
That There is, or May Be, a Science of Human Nature [CH. III]
There may be sciences which are not exact sciences [abridged]	309	(3)
To what scientific type the science of human nature corresponds [abridged]	312	(2)
Of the Laws of Mind [CH. IV]
What is meant by laws of mind [abridged]	314	(1)
Is there a science of psychology? [abridged]	314	(2)
The principal investigations of psychology characterized [abridged]	316	(1)
Of Ethology, or the Science of the Formation of Character [CH. V]
The empirical laws of human nature [abridged]	317	(1)
--- are merely approximate generalizations. The universal laws are those of the formation of character [abridged]	318	(2)
The laws of the formation of character cannot be ascertained by observation and experiment [abridged]	320	(1)
--- but must be studied deductively	321	(1)
The principles of ethology are the axiomata media of mental science [abridged]	322	(1)
Ethology characterized [abridged]	323	(1)
Of the Chemical or Experimental Method in the Social Science [CH. VII]
Characters of the mode of thinking which deduces political doctrines from specific experience [abridged]	324	(2)
Of the Geometrical, or Abstract, Method [CH. VIII]
Characters of this mode of thinking	326	(2)
The interest-philosophy of the Bentham school [§3, abridged]	328	(4)
Of the Physical, or Concrete Deductive, Method [CH. IX]
The direct and inverse deductive methods [abridged]	332	(2)
Difficulties of the direct deductive method in the social science [abridged]	334	(2)
To what extent the different branches of sociological speculation can be studied apart. Political economy characterized [abridged]	336	(2)
The empirical laws of the social science [§5]	338	(2)
The verification of the social science [§6, abridged]	340	(2)
Of the Inverse Deductive, or Historical, Method [CH. X]
Distinction between the general science of society and special sociological inquiries	342	(1)
What is meant by a state of society?	342	(2)
The progressiveness of man and society [abridged]	344	(2)
The laws of the succession of states of society can only be ascertained by the inverse deductive method [abridged]	346	(1)
Social statics, or the science of the co-existences of social phenomena [abridged]	347	(1)
Social dynamics, or the science of the successions of social phenomena	348	(1)
Outlines of the historical method	349	(3)
Of the Logic of Practice, or Art; Including Morality and Policy [CH. XII]
Morality not a science but an art	352	(1)
Relation between rules of art and the theorems of the corresponding science [abridged]	353	(1)
Art cannot be deductive [§4, abridged]	353	(1)
Every art consists of truths of science, arranged in the order suitable for some practical use [§5, abridged]	354	(1)
Teleology, or the doctrine of ends [§6]	354	(2)
Necessity of an ultimate standard, or first principle of teleology [§7]	356	(5)
FROM AN EXAMINATION OF SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON'S PHILOSOPHY
Of the Interpretation of Consciousness	361	(3)
The Psychological Theory of the Belief in an External World	364	(29)
Appendix to the Preceding Chapter	377	(16)
The Doctrine of Concepts, or General Notions	393	(4)
Of Reasoning	397	(10)
On the Definition of Political Economy and on the Method of Investigation Proper to It	407	(34)
Complete Table of Contents of a System of Logic, Eighth Edition	441	(18)
Index	459