Stewartconsidershimselftobeaninductivephilosopherappealingfranklytoexperienceandreason;andwasinpracticeamanofthoroughlyliberalandgenerousfeelings。Hewasheartilyinfavourofprogressasheunderstoodit。Onlyhewillnotsacrificecommonsense;thatistosay,thebeliefswhichareinfactprevalentandcongenialtoexistinginstitutions。Commonsense,ofcourse,condemnsextremes:andiflogicseemstobepushingamantowardsscepticisminphilosophyorrevolutioninpractice,hecanalwaysprotestbytheconvenientdeviceofintuitions。
IhavegonesofarinordertoillustratethenatureofthesystemwhichtheUtilitarianstooktobetheantithesisoftheirown。ItmaybefinallyremarkedthatatpresentbothsideswereequallyignorantofcontemporarydevelopmentsofGermanthought。WhenStewartbecameawarethattherewassuchathingasKant’sphilosophy,hetriedtoreaditinaLatinversion。
Parr,Imayobserve,apparentlydidnotknowofthisversion,andgaveupthetaskofreadingGerman。Stewart’sexamplewasnotencouraging。Hehadabandonedthe’undertakingindespair’partlyfromthescholasticbarbarismofthestyle,partly’myutterinabilitytocomprehendtheauthor’smeaning。’
HerecognisessimilaritybetweenKantandReid,butthinksReid’ssimplestatementofthefactthatspacecannotbederivedfromthesensesmorephilosophicalthanKant’s’superstructureoftechnicalmystery。’57*
IhavedweltuponthesideinwhichStewart’sphilosophyapproximatestotheempiricalschool,becausetheUtilitarianswereapttomisconceivetheposition。TheytookStewarttobetheadequaterepresentativeofallwhoacceptedonebranchofaninevitabledilemma。Theacceptanceof’intuitions,’
thatis,wastheonlyalternativetothorough-goingacceptanceof’experience。’
Theysupposed,too,thatpersonsvaguelydescribedas’KantandtheGermans’
taughtsimplyamodificationofthe’intuitionist’view。IhavenoticedhowemphaticallyStewartclaimedtorelyuponexperienceandtobasehisphilosophyuponinductivepsychology,andwassofaradmittingthefirstprinciplesandthegeneralmethodsofhisopponents。TheScottishphilosophy,however,naturallypresenteditselfasanantagonisticforcetotheUtilitarians。
The’intuitions’representedtheultimategroundtaken,especiallyinreligiousandethicalquestions,bymenwhowishedtobeatonceliberalphilosophersandyettoavoidrevolutionaryextremes。’Intuitions’hadinanycaseanegativevalue,asprotestsagainstthesufficiencyoftheempiricalanalysis。Itmightbequitetrue,forexample,thatHume’sanalysisofcertainprimarymentalphenomena——ofourbeliefintheexternalworldoroftherelationofcauseandeffect——wasradicallyinsufficient。Hehadnotgivenanadequateexplanationofthefacts。Therecognitionoftheinsufficiencyofhisreasoningwashighlyimportantifonlyasastimulustoinquiry。ItwasawarningtohisandtoHartley’sfollowersthattheyhadnotthoroughlyunravelledtheperplexitybutonlycuttheknot。Butwhentheinsufficiencyoftheexplanationwasinterpretedasademonstrationthatallexplanationwasimpossible,andthe’intuition’anultimate’self-evident’truth,itbecamearefusaltoinquirejustwhereinquirywaswanted;apositivecommandtostopanalysisatanarbitrarypoint;andaroundassertionthattheadversarycouldnothelpbelievingpreciselythedoctrinewhichhealtogetherdeclinedtobelieve。
Naturallytheempiricistsrefusedtobowtoanauthoritywhichwassimplysaying,’Don’tinquirefurther,’withoutanygroundfortheprohibitionexceptthe’ipsedixitism’whichdeclaredthatinquirymustbefruitless。Stewart,infact,reallyillustratedtheequivocationbetweenthetwomeaningsof’commonsense。’Ifbythatnameheunderstood,asheprofessedtounderstand,ultimate’lawsofthought,’hispositionwasjustifiableassoonashecouldspecifythelawsandprovethattheywereultimate。Butsofarashevirtuallytookforgrantedthattheaveragebeliefsofintelligentpeopleweresuchlaws,andonthatgroundrefundtoexaminetheevidenceoftheirvalidity,hewasinconsistent,andhispositiononlyinvitedassault。Asafact,I
believethathis’intuitions’coveredmanymostdisputablepropositions;
andthatthemoreclearlytheywerestated,themoretheyfailedtojustifyhisinterpretations。Hewasnotreallyansweringthemostvitalandcriticalquestions,butimplicitlyreservingthem,andputtinganarbitrarystoptoinvestigationsdesirableonhisownprinciples。
TheScottishphilosophywas,however,acceptedinEngland,andmadeaconsiderableimpressioninFrance,asaffordingatenablebarrieragainstscepticism。Itwas,asIhavesaid,inphilosophywhatWhiggismwasinpolitics。
LikepoliticalWhiggismitincludedalargeelementofenlightenedandliberalrationalism;butlikeWhiggismitcoveredanaversiontothorough-goinglogic。
TheEnglishpoliticianwassuspiciousofabstractprinciples,butcouldcoverhisacceptanceoftraditionandruleofthumbbygeneralphrasesaboutlibertyandtoleration。TheWhiginphilosophyequallyacceptedthetraditionalcreed,sufficientlypurifiedfromcruderelements,andshelteredhisdoctrinebyspeakingof’intuitionsandlawsofthought。’Inbothpositionstherewasreally,Itakeit,agreatdealofsoundpracticalwisdom;buttheyalsoimpliedamarkedreluctancetopushinquirytoofar,andatacitagreementtobecontentwithwhattheUtilitariansdenouncedas’vaguegeneralities’——
phrases,thatis,whichmightbeusedeithertoconcealanunderlyingscepticism,orreallytostopshortinthepathwhichledtoscepticism。
Inphilosophyasinpolitics,theUtilitariansboastedofbeingthorough-goingRadicals,andhatedcompromises,whichtothemappearedtobesimplyobstructive。
Ineednotelaborateapointwhichwillmeetusagain。IfIwerewritingahistoryofthoughtingeneralIshouldhavetonoticeotherwriters,thoughtherewerenoneofmuchdistinction,whofollowedtheteachingofStewartorofhisopponentsoftheHartleyandDarwinschool。Itwouldbenecessaryalsotoinsistuponthegrowinginterestinthephysicalsciences,whichwerebeginningnotonlytomakeenormousadvances,buttoattractpopularattention。Formypurpose,however,itisIthinksufficienttomentionthesewriters,eachofwhomhadaveryspecialrelationtotheUtilitarians。I
turn,therefore,toBentham。
NOTES:
1。Publishedoriginallyin1778;reprintedineditionof{EPSILONPIEPSILON
ALPHA}{PITAUEPSILONRHOOMICRONEPSILONNUTAUALPHA}orDiversionsofPurley,byRichardTaylor1829,towhichIrefer。ThefirstpartoftheDiversionsofPurleyappearedin1786;andthesecondpartwithaneweditionofthefirstin1798。
2。DiversionsofPurley1829,i,12,131。
3。Ibid。,ii,362。Locke’swork,saysProf。MaxMü;llerinhisScienceofThought,p。295,’is,asLangeinhisHistoryofMaterialismrightlyperceived,acritiqueoflanguagewhich,togetherwithKant’sCritiqueofthePureReason,formsthestartingpointofmodernphilosophy。’SeeLange’sMaterialism,1873i,271。
4。Ibid。,i,49。
5。DiversionsofPurley,i,36,42。
6。Ibid。,i,373。
7。Ibid。,i,374。
8。DiversionsofPurley,ii,18。Cf。Mill’sstatementinAnalysis,i,304,that’abstracttermsareconcretetermswiththeconnotationdropped。’
9。Ibid。ii,9,etc。
10。Ibid。ii,399。
11。Stephens,ii,497。
12。LifeofMackintosh,ii,235-57。
13。BegunfortheEncyclopediaMetropolitanain1818;andpublishedin1835-37。DugaldStewart’schiefcriticismisinhisEssaysWorks,v,149-188。
JohnFearnpublishedhisAnti-Tookein1820。
14。NinevolumesofDugaldStewart’sworks,editedbySirW。Hamilton,appearedfrom1854to1856;atenth,includingalifeofStewartbyJ。Veitch,appearedin1858,andaneleventh,withanindextothewhole,in1860。ThechiefbooksaretheElementsofthePhilosophyoftheHumanMindinvols。
ii,iiiandiv,originallyin1792,1814,1827;PhilosophicalEssaysinvol。v,originally1810;PhilosophyoftheActiveandMoralPowersofManyvolsviandvii,originallyin1828;DissertationontheProgressofPhilosophyinvol。i;originallyinEncyclopediaBritannica,in1815and1821。ThelecturesonPoliticalEconomyfirstappearedintheWorks,vols。viiiandix。
15。Works,vi。’Preface’。
16。WorksLifeofReid,x,304-8。
17。Reid’sWorksHamilton,p。302。
18。Reid’sWorksHamilton,p。88。
19。Ibid。206。
20。Ibid。267。
21。Stewart’sremarksonhislifeofReid。Reid’sWorks,p。12,etc。
22。TheWorldasWillandIdeaHaldane&;Kemp,ii,186。Reid’s”Inquiry’
headds,istentimesbetterworthreadingthanallthephilosophytogetherwhichhasbeenwrittensinceKant。
23。’Weareinspiredwiththesensation,asweareinspiredwiththecorrespondingperception,bymeansunknown。’——Reid’sWorks,188。’This,’saysStewart,’isaplainstatementoffact。’——Stewart’sWorks,ii,111-12。
24。SeeRosmini’sOriginofIdeasEnglishTranslationi,p。91,where,thoughsympathisingwithReid’saim,headmitsa’greatblunder。’
25。Stewart’sWorks,v。24-53。Hamiltonsaysinanotep。41thatJeffreycandidlyconfessedStewart’sreplytobesatisfactory。
26。Ibid。,ii。46。