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^ log ical theory concerning their causes , or to any analogical explanations founded on the caprices of metaphorical language . If , on some occasions he assumes the existence of Intrral spirits , as the medium of comsoul and bod
munication between y , it must be remembered , that this was then the universal belief of the learned ; and that it was at a much later period not less confidently avowed by llocke . lior ought it to be overlooked ( L mention it to the credit of both authors ) ,
that in such instances the fact is commonly so stated , as to render it easy for the reader to detach it from the theory . As to the scholastic questions concerning the nature and essence of m \ m \}—whether it be extended or unextended ? whether it have any
relation to space or to time ? or whether ( as was contended by others ) it exist in every ubi , but in no place ?—Bacon has uniformly passed them over with silent contempt ; and has probabl y contributed not less effectually to bring them into general discredit , by this indirect intimation of his own
opinion , than if he had descended to the ungrateful task of exposing their absurdity . * While Bacon , however , so cautiously avoids these unprofitable
dis-Notwithstanding the extravagance of Spinoza ' s own philosophical creed , be is one of the very few among Bacon ' s successors , who secjn to have been fully aware of the justness , importance , and originality of the method pointed out in the- JVovirm Organon for the study of the mind . ' < Ad haec inteliigenda , non est opus naturam
mentis cognoscere , sed sufficit , mentis me perceptionurn historiolam concinnare roodoillo quo Verulamius docet , '' Spin . Epistm 42 . In order to comprehend the whole went of this remark , it is necessary to
know tha £ , according- to the . Cartesian Phraaeology , which is here adopted by Spinoza , the word perception is a general jerm , equally applicable to all the intellectual operations . The words of Descartes himself are these : " Omnes modi
^ gitandi , quos in nobis experimur , ad « u ° 8 gmerales refWri pOssunt : quorum ^ us est , peiceptio , sive operatio iptelectns ; alius verb , volitio , sive operatio * w » us . J \ am sentire , vmagtnart , et ™ W * iligere , sunt tantunt diversi modi ^ tywvufc ; ut e j- CUpere > aversari , affir-JT ^* negare , dubitare , sunt diversi modi ****? P * inc . Phil . Y > * TS . \ . §* 2 .
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cussions about tbe nature of mind # he decidedly states his conviction , that the faculties of man differ not merely in degree , but in kind , from the instincts of the brutes . " I do not , therefore , " he observes in one
occasion , ' * approve of that confused and promiscuous method in which philosophers are accustomed to treat of pneumatology ; as if the human soul ranked above those of brutes , merely like the sun above the stars ,, or like gold above other metals . "
Among the various topics started by Bacon for the consideration of future logicians , he did not overlook ( what may be justly regarded , in a practical view , as the most interesting of all logical problems ) the question concerning the mutual influence of
thought and of language on each , other . " Men believe ^ " says he , " that their reaason governs their words ; but , it often happens , that words have power enough to redact upon reason . " This aphoribm may be considered as the text of by far the most valuable
part of Locke ' s iissay , —that which relates to the imperfections and abuse of words ; but it was not till within the last twenty years , that its depth and importance were perceived in all their extent . I need scarcely say , that I'allude to the excellent Memoirs of
M . Prevost and of M . Degerando , on * ' Signs considered in their connection with the Intellectual Operations . " The anticipations formed by Bacon , of that branch of modern logic which relates to Universal Grammar , do no less honour to his sagacity . "
Grammar , " he observes , " is of two kinds , the one literary , the other philosophical . The former has for its object to trace the analogies N running through the structure of a particular tongue , so as to facilitate its acquisition to a
foreigner , or to enable him to speak it with correctness and purity . The latter directs the attention , not to the analogies which words bear to words , but to the analogies which words bear %
to things f \ or , as he afterwards explains nimself more clearly , *• to language considered as the sensible portraiture or image of the mental processes . " In farther illustration of
these ^ hints , he takes notice of the lights which the different genius of ' — " ¦ ¦—¦ — i "» f JDe Aug * Scient . Lib . vi , cap , 1 „
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Estimate of the Philosophical Character o / X , ord Bacon * 503
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1816, page 503, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2456/page/3/
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