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he wrote his Catechism of Positive Religion,' and endeavoured to restore faith and worship by constituting a subjective Deity and a subjective immortality. At the beginning of the scholastic system Scotus Erigena declared "there is not one study of philosophy or wisdom and another study of religion. . . . What is it to treat of philosophy but of true religion, in which is the ultimate and principal cause of all things?" In the same spirit a modern writer observes, "we have long experienced that knowledge is profitable; we are beginning to find out that it is moral; and shall at last discover it to be religious."* A fourth stage therefore should be added to those of Comte-one in which the religious sentiment is associated with the positive spirit of free inquiry, stimulating its investigations, and crowning their result.

*Progress of Intellect,' vol. ii. p. 179.

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CHAPTER V.

OBJECTS OF SOCIOLOGY.

THE preceding chapters present a summary of the principal chains of reasoning by which a belief may be arrived at that sociology is a possible science; but the question may be asked, what would be the use of it? and it is to that inquiry we now direct our attention. The general answer would be that from sociology as a science would spring a practical art of social life; that, instead of a vague notion of human perfectibility, we should have definite objects of desire, and perceive the right method by which they were to be obtained. The mere existence of another pure science would do much to raise the human mind; but sociology would immediately enter into the practical stage, as the moral faculties would not suffer the intellect to discover a great means of happiness without demanding its employment for their appropriate gratification. The practical use of science is to

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enable men to foretell effects, and within certain limits, and by appropriate means, to produce or modify them at will. Thus, to select an instance from ordinary life, a knowledge of chemical laws enables us to predict that the hydro-carbons will take fire when exposed to a certain heat in the presence of oxygen, either pure or as it exists in common air; we therefore collect and distribute hydro-carbons in convenient positions, coal and wood in our stoves, and gas in pipes with suitable taps to let it escape when required. Our next process is to supply the heat at the point at which we wish the combustion to take place, and we regulate that combustion by management of the draught. We can also make a practical use of results that we cannot modify, as when observation of astronomical motions assists us in navigation, and enables us to measure the accuracy of our clocks.

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The prevision which science affords may be absolute, and applicable without doubt to every case that can occur, or general,-true on an average and in the main. We are quite certain that on every part of the globe a stone if thrown up into the air will fall down again, and we can predict that this result will happen to every individual stone with which the experiment may be tried.

We are equally certain that out of a vast number of trials, if nine black balls and one white ball are shaken in a bag, and one is drawn out, that black will be drawn nine times as often as white; but we have no certainty as to the result of any particular trial. This imperfect sort of prevision is still of immense use, and forms the foundation of various kinds of insurance and other modes of distributing the average risk.

Leaving matters of chance, we may observe that the more causes an event has, the less it is susceptible of certain prevision, and the more liable it is to modification or control. For example, the mortality of soldiers is produced by a great variety of causes, whose average results we can calculate and predict in the mass. Thus, if 1000 troops are sent to New South Wales, the probability is that 15 will die in each year, while if the same number are sent to Bengal, the probability is that 57 will die in each year, and in Ceylon the mortality will probably rise to 75 in a year. * At any time, however, the mortality might be greatly diminished by particular regiments being less addicted to drunkenness, having better cookery or more suitable clothing, and conversely it might be greatly increased. Sending out a red-tape * Sir S. Ballingall. Milit. Surgery.'

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disciplinarian commander would increase the chances of death, while the establishment of a reading-room or a theatre, by promoting cheerfulness, and setting up an antagonistic force to dissipation, might have a most favourable effect.

Thus, without knowing such minute details as the characters of the officers, and previous divergence from an average standard of the habits of the men, we could not even guess whether a particular regiment sent to one of these localities would exceed or fall below the average military mortality of the place. When, however, we become acquainted with the whole group of causes of excessive mortality in a given place, we find that a good many of them are under our control, and we are able, after removing them, to predict with certainty an average improvement in longevity and health. We cannot be certain whether we shall save Jones or Smith, but that we shall save a large number out of the whole force does not admit of the slightest doubt.

The nature of moral and social sciences is explained with characteristic clearness by J. S. Mill. Thus, he observes,

"the science of

ethology" (character science)

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may be called the

exact science of human nature; for its truths are

*System of Logic,' 4th edit. vol. ii. p. 446.

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