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Article ON THE STUDY OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. ← Page 4 of 6 →
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On The Study Of Natural Philosophy.
< ¦ Those- qualities , of bodies which are not capable of being heigh-. « tened and remitted , and which are found in all bodies where expe-« riments can be made , must be looked on as universal qualities of all ' bodies . Thus the extension of body is only perceived by our . senses , ' nor is perceived in all bodies : but , since it is found in all that we < have perception of , it may be affirmed of all . So we find that seveof the whole onl
' ral bodies are hard ; and argue , that the hardness y ' arises from the hardness of the parts : whence we infer that the par-. « ' rides , not only of those bodies which are . sensible , but of all others , ' ' are likewise hard . Lastly , if all the bodies about the earth gravitate * towards the earth , and this according to the quantity of matter * in each ; and the moon gravitates towards the earth also , according « to its quantity of matter ; and the sea again gravitates , towards * the moon ; and all the planets and comets gravitate towards each ' other ; it may be affirmed universally ,- that all bodies gravitate
' towards each otner in tlie creation . By the application of this rule it is , that the Newtonians maintain , extension , impenetrability , and gravity , to be the essential qualities of all bodies , perceptible and- imperceptible . There is certainly , however , a paralogism , a fallacious method of reasoning , made use of in the above rule : for to say those qualities which are to be found In all bodies subject to experiment , are to . be admitted as the universal
qualities of all bodies whatever ; or to argue that the property of the whole only arises from what is . separately the property , of each of its parts . ; is certainly very arbitrary and inconclusive . We see , daily , in bodies compounded by art , qualities tliajt are not inherent in their component-parts ; qualities that are evidently the effect of the _ combination of those parts , or the modification of the whole . How is it possible for us , therefore , to tell , with any degree of certainty , that the extension , hardness , or gravity , of perceptible bodies , _ are owing to the same qualities in those imperceptible ones of which they are
composed ? I know of but one way to make out , with any kind of p lausibility , the justice of such reasoning ; which is to play the sophist , and admit nothing to be body which , hath not the foresaid properties . This expedient would , indeed , remove all objections to such being the essential and charactevistical properties of bodies : but then it would not prevent the doubt arisingof the absolute existence of any such bodies in
, nature : because , by a solution of perceptible bodies into impalpable parts , or imperceptible ones , no such properties would remain . ' It is admitted , that qualities of bodies are only to be discovered by our senses , assisted by the various means of physical experiment ; but let us consider what , in reality , is to be deduced from this method of investigation . In the case of simple perception , an idea is excited
by means of the action . of some external object on the organ of sense : but , whether this idea be the representation of such an object as it exists in the nature of things , or whether it be not a representation of the mode of action of such object on such organ , or rather of the result of their reciprocal action and influence on each other : I say ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Study Of Natural Philosophy.
< ¦ Those- qualities , of bodies which are not capable of being heigh-. « tened and remitted , and which are found in all bodies where expe-« riments can be made , must be looked on as universal qualities of all ' bodies . Thus the extension of body is only perceived by our . senses , ' nor is perceived in all bodies : but , since it is found in all that we < have perception of , it may be affirmed of all . So we find that seveof the whole onl
' ral bodies are hard ; and argue , that the hardness y ' arises from the hardness of the parts : whence we infer that the par-. « ' rides , not only of those bodies which are . sensible , but of all others , ' ' are likewise hard . Lastly , if all the bodies about the earth gravitate * towards the earth , and this according to the quantity of matter * in each ; and the moon gravitates towards the earth also , according « to its quantity of matter ; and the sea again gravitates , towards * the moon ; and all the planets and comets gravitate towards each ' other ; it may be affirmed universally ,- that all bodies gravitate
' towards each otner in tlie creation . By the application of this rule it is , that the Newtonians maintain , extension , impenetrability , and gravity , to be the essential qualities of all bodies , perceptible and- imperceptible . There is certainly , however , a paralogism , a fallacious method of reasoning , made use of in the above rule : for to say those qualities which are to be found In all bodies subject to experiment , are to . be admitted as the universal
qualities of all bodies whatever ; or to argue that the property of the whole only arises from what is . separately the property , of each of its parts . ; is certainly very arbitrary and inconclusive . We see , daily , in bodies compounded by art , qualities tliajt are not inherent in their component-parts ; qualities that are evidently the effect of the _ combination of those parts , or the modification of the whole . How is it possible for us , therefore , to tell , with any degree of certainty , that the extension , hardness , or gravity , of perceptible bodies , _ are owing to the same qualities in those imperceptible ones of which they are
composed ? I know of but one way to make out , with any kind of p lausibility , the justice of such reasoning ; which is to play the sophist , and admit nothing to be body which , hath not the foresaid properties . This expedient would , indeed , remove all objections to such being the essential and charactevistical properties of bodies : but then it would not prevent the doubt arisingof the absolute existence of any such bodies in
, nature : because , by a solution of perceptible bodies into impalpable parts , or imperceptible ones , no such properties would remain . ' It is admitted , that qualities of bodies are only to be discovered by our senses , assisted by the various means of physical experiment ; but let us consider what , in reality , is to be deduced from this method of investigation . In the case of simple perception , an idea is excited
by means of the action . of some external object on the organ of sense : but , whether this idea be the representation of such an object as it exists in the nature of things , or whether it be not a representation of the mode of action of such object on such organ , or rather of the result of their reciprocal action and influence on each other : I say ,