AN ENUMERATION OF THE SCIENCES 17

unknown mind each such Idealist must regard that mind

he so conceives of as a concrete reality and the object of

thought.

Everything which can be an object of study has multi-

tudinous relations, of most varied orders, to other objects

and to the mind which studies it A sphere of crystal, as

being a single object, solid, transparent, spherical, of a

definite weight, of a certain chemical composition, of a certain

temperature, capable of projection in various directions and

at definite velocities, as a manufactured object, made in a

certain locality, for a definite purpose, etc., etc., obviously

possesses numerous relations, and cannot be fully understood

save from many points of view and by the aid of abstract

ideas of very different orders.

How difficult, then, must be the task of classifying the

sciences according to the degrees of abstraction made use

of by them, seeing that every one of them is, in fact, highly

abstract. It is true that an effort might be made to classify

them on other lines, as, for example, from an historical

point of view. This, however, would obviously be most

unsatisfactory were we to try and arrange them in the order

wherein the objects they treat of become known in the

history of the individual mind ; and hardly less unsatis-

factory would be an endeavour to arrange according to the

date of their origin as sciences. Could Astrology and

Alchemy be deemed incipient stages of Astronomy and

Chemistry? The mere fact that such a question can be

asked is enough to lead, us to abandon the task of attempt-

ing an historical classification.

For our part, we shall not try to construct any classifica-

tion of the sciences at all, but will content ourselves with the

humble task of their brief enumeration, endeavouring, at

the same time, to indicate some of their logical relations one

to another.

unknown mind each such Idealist must regard that mind

he so conceives of as a concrete reality and the object of

thought.

Everything which can be an object of study has multi-

tudinous relations, of most varied orders, to other objects

and to the mind which studies it A sphere of crystal, as

being a single object, solid, transparent, spherical, of a

definite weight, of a certain chemical composition, of a certain

temperature, capable of projection in various directions and

at definite velocities, as a manufactured object, made in a

certain locality, for a definite purpose, etc., etc., obviously

possesses numerous relations, and cannot be fully understood

save from many points of view and by the aid of abstract

ideas of very different orders.

How difficult, then, must be the task of classifying the

sciences according to the degrees of abstraction made use

of by them, seeing that every one of them is, in fact, highly

abstract. It is true that an effort might be made to classify

them on other lines, as, for example, from an historical

point of view. This, however, would obviously be most

unsatisfactory were we to try and arrange them in the order

wherein the objects they treat of become known in the

history of the individual mind ; and hardly less unsatis-

factory would be an endeavour to arrange according to the

date of their origin as sciences. Could Astrology and

Alchemy be deemed incipient stages of Astronomy and

Chemistry? The mere fact that such a question can be

asked is enough to lead, us to abandon the task of attempt-

ing an historical classification.

For our part, we shall not try to construct any classifica-

tion of the sciences at all, but will content ourselves with the

humble task of their brief enumeration, endeavouring, at

the same time, to indicate some of their logical relations one

to another.