PART II.

THE PRINCIPLES OF REASONING.

We have now made some progress. We have gone through the first part of our book. We have considered the nature of reasoning-the subjects to which it is applied-its usefulness, and the dispositions and knowledge necessary to enable us to reason well.

We have ascertained that reasoning is that operation of the mind, whereby we infer one proposition from another proposition. It is obvious that there must be some connexion or relation between these two propositions. There must be a relation between the proposition containing the proof and the proposition which is to be proved. These relations are the foundation of all our reasonings. They are the principles on which we reason. There must be

a relation between any doctrine, and the reasons we assign for believing that doctrine. There must be a relation between any act, and the reason we assign for performing that act. If we say,

Fire will burn,

Water will drown;

here are two independent propositions. They have no connexion with each other. We can infer nothing from them. If we say, Fire will burn, and therefore water will drown, we see at once that the reasoning is absurd. Both the facts are true, but there is no foundation for the word "therefore." One fact is not the cause of the other. But if we say, Fire will burn, and therefore do not approach it too nearly; water will drown, and therefore do not bathe in deep water, unless you can swim; here the reasoning is obvious. Here is a relation or connexion between the proposition and the inference.

The power or faculty by which the mind perceives these relations is called common-sense. We cannot explain

how it is, but so it is.* These relations are so numerous that we cannot attempt to describe them all. But we will specify a few and discuss them in the following order :

1. The relation of Subject and Attribute.

2. The relation of a Whole and its Parts. 3. The relation of Genus and Species.

4. The relation of Cause and Effect-Physical causes. 5. The relation of Cause and Effect-Moral causes. 6. The relation of Cause and Effect-Conditional causes. 7. The relation of Cause and Effect-Final causes.

SECTION I.

THE RELATION OF A SUBJECT AND ITS ATTRIBUTES.

By attribute we mean generally a quality or circumstance which is ascribed to some person or thing; and the subject is THAT to which the attribute is ascribed. To explain :

You understand Grammar. You know that a substantive is the name of any person, place or thing; and that an adjective is a word added to a substantive, to denote its quality. Well; for substantive and adjective, say subject and attribute, and you will understand pretty clearly the topics of the present section. But the word attribute has a more extensive meaning than the word adjective. Every adjective denotes an attribute; but sometimes an attribute is expressed by a verb, a particle, or by several words put together. Often, too, an adjective united to a substantive will become a subject. When you say simply, "A righteous man," the word "man" denotes the subject, and "righteousness" is the attribute. But when you say, "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast," the words "righteous" and "man" united denote the subject, and "regardeth the life

"The cogency of no direct and simple process of reasoning can be the subject of proof. The only question is, Does the reasoning when clearly expressed produce conviction? Or in other words, Do the facts when presented clearly to the mind determine it to believe that which is expressed in what is called the conclusion? If they do, we have reached an ultimate fact, or law, or principle of our mental constitution, beyond which it is impossible to go."-Bailey, p. 17. See also p. 37.

of his beast" is the attribute of the righteous man. Whatever you talk about is a subject, and what you say about it is an attribute. In many propositions, the subject of the attribute is often the subject of the proposition, and the attribute is the predicate. But this will depend on the grammatical construction of the sentence. For example, in the following sentence, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night," the word "blessed" denotes the attribute, and all the rest of the sentence is the subject.

Some attributes are called specific. They belong to the subject, and to no other subject. These are attributes chiefly that distinguish one class or species from others. Thus man is called a rational animal. Rationality is the specific attribute that distinguishes him from other animals. The specific attribute is called by logicians, a specific difference.

Other attributes are called common. They are essential to the subject, but they belong also to other subjects. Thus, it is an attribute of gold to be yellow. If a metal is not yellow, it is not gold. But other things are yellow besides gold. The colour yellow is an attribute common to many subjects. These common attributes are called properties.

Other attributes are accidental. Whatever attribute can be removed from the subject without destroying the subject, is considered to be accidental. A hat may be white, or black, or made of beaver, silk, or straw; these are accidental attributes, for they all might be changed, and yet the subject remain a hat. These attributes are called accidents.

one.

This relation of subject and attribute is a very extensive Almost everything we see, or hear, or know, is a subject, and has some kind of attributes. The usual way in which we define or describe anything, is by an enumeration of its attributes. We shall here adduce a few propositions expressing this relation, and then we shall show how this relation is employed in reasoning.

Attributes of inanimate objects—a tree :

"I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: the leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it."-Dan. iv. 10—12. Attributes of animals—the eagle:

"Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off. Her young ones also suck up blood; and where the slain are, there is she."-Job xxxix. 27-30.

Attributes of a country-the land of Canaan:

For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and figtrees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.”—Deut. viii. 7—9.

Personal attributes-St. Paul:

"I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day."—Acts

xxii. 3.

Attributes of moral virtues-divine wisdom:

"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy."--James iii. 17.

Attributes of a book-Logic for the Million :

"This is certainly the most useful and most amusing book on the art of logic we ever met with. All the examples are drawn from familiar writings. 'Punch' is quoted more than once for logical examples, as well as 'Gilbart's Treatise on Banking,' and works on political economy and general literature much in vogue. The examples of reasoning by fables, by allegories, by description, and by various other modes, as well as the examples of fallacies

and false reasoning, are all well chosen, and generally illustrate some truth or some important fact, or are very amusing, while they explain the art of logic. Generally, too, the author is as correct as he is entertaining. We hope that Logic for the Million' will be read by the million: it will advance their knowledge and improve their taste, their style of writing, and their skill in reasoning."-The Economist.

You will now observe how the relation of subject and attribute is applied in reasoning.

1. From the presence of the subject, we infer the presence of the attribute.

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"A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards."—Prov. xxix. 11.

Hence, we should infer that if this man be a fool, he will utter all his mind. And if he be a wise man, he will be cautious in his conversation. From the presence of the subject, we should infer the presence of the attribute.

Arguments of this kind are often expressed in a conditional form. Thus, we may say-If this be a magnet, it will attract iron. If this be an oyster, it is good for food. If he be a wise son, he will obey his father's instruction. If he be an honest man, he will pay his debts when he has the power, even though his creditors may have given him a legal release. If he be a good father, he will attend to the education of his children. "Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?"-John xi. 37.

So, if a man has wealth, we may infer that he has the luxuries, enjoyments, and influence attendant on wealth. If he has wisdom, we may infer that he will profit by instruction. "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser." If a man is a rogue, we may infer that it is not advisable to lend him any money, for "the wicked borroweth, and payeth not again.”

2. From the presence of the specific attribute, or of all the common attributes, we infer the presence of the subject.

"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A