[English Literature, Considered as an Interpreter of English History by Henry Coppee]@TWC D-Link bookEnglish Literature, Considered as an Interpreter of English History CHAPTER XVI 10/15
in three things, the end, the order of demonstrating, and the grounds of inquiry." Here he discusses induction; opposes the syllogism; shows the value and the faults of the senses--as they fail us, or deceive us--and presents in his _idola_ the various modes and forms of deception.
These _idola_, which he calls the deepest fallacies of the human mind, are divided into four classes: Idola Tribus, Idola Specus, Idola Fori, Idola Theatri.
The first are the errors belonging to the whole human race, or _tribe_; the second--_of the den_--are the peculiarities of individuals; the third--_of the market-place_--are social and conventional errors; and the fourth--_those of the theatre_--include Partisanship, Fashion, and Authority. III.
Phenomena of the Universe, or Natural and Experimental History, on which to found Philosophy, (_Sylva Sylvarum_.) "Our natural history is not designed," he says, "so much to please by vanity, or benefit by gainful experiments, as to afford light to the discovery of causes, and hold out the breasts of philosophy." This includes his patient search for facts--nature _free_, as in the history of plants, minerals, animals, etc .-- nature _put to the torture_, as in the productions of art and human industry. IV.
Ladder of the Understanding, (_Scala Intellectus_.) "Not illustrations of rules and precepts, but perfect models, which will exemplify the second part of this work, and represent to the eye the whole progress of the mind, and the continued structure and order of invention, in the most chosen subjects, after the same manner as globes and machines facilitate the more abstruse and subtle demonstrations in mathematics." V.Precursors or anticipations of the second philosophy, (_Prodromi sive anticipationes philosophiae secundae_.) "These will consist of such things as we have invented, experienced, or added by the same common use of the understanding that others employ"-- a sort of scaffolding, only of use till the rest are finished--a set of suggestive helps to the attainment of this second philosophy, which is the goal and completion of his system. VI.
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