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Untitled Article
child's temper amiable , that temper becomes violent or sullen without cause . He inquires into the state of his health , his intercourse with his play-fellows his treatment in the nursery , &c ., and if all his research is in vain , he concludes that some symptoms of disease will soon appear , or some hidden influence be made manifest . The last supposition to which he would resort is , that his child's state will be for ever unaccountable , and ought not to be deemed surprising , as no cause may exist for the appearances he deplores . We here quote our author with pleasure .
** It has been already remarked , that when we throw a piece of paper iuto the fire , we do it under the expectation that the paper will be consumed . In like manner , when I write a letter to a friend , I do it under the impression that his intellectual qualities will continue the same as I have hitherto found them ; and that the associations established in his mind , between certain words and certain ideas , will be the same as heretofore . I take for granted that the black marks in my letter will continue to introduce into his mind the
thoughts which I design to convey , just as I take for granted that lead will sink in water , or snow melt in the sun : and in addressing my arguments to iiis understanding , I proceed on the assumption of its retaining all its usual power * . This holds in respect not only to individuals , but to mankind at large . The predictions of the astronomer , to which I have already alluded , proceed on the assumption , not only that the heavenly bodies will continue to be governed by the same laws , but that mankind , in after ages hwiU retain tlie same faculties as they now possess . With d to the
" regar operations of tlie understanding the fact will be at once admitted . If there is any difficultyin . ' the matter it must attach to the question whether the same uniformity of causation is assuined in th" 6 case of affections ^ passions , and volitions , fiut we shall discern rio dMfcrerice in this respect amongst all these classes of mental phenomena . With % e ^ ard to all we unavoidably- proceed on the same assumption . r-tyhetol . &oDiixface to my friend the accomplishment of some wish long cherished in his hearjt , 1 confidently anticipate the joy which my communication will excite jVeX - actjy , on the same principle which leads me to expect that the stone which I throw into the air will fall to the ground . When I enter a booksellers shop to purchase a book , I as fully calculate on his parting with the volume for the customary price , as I presume on the combustion of paper wnen thrown into the fire . If I attempt to persuade a fellow-creature to refrain from ^ meditated criine ^ my advice proceeds on the sam e assumption , that similar moral effects will follow the moral causes with which they have been hitherto found conjoined . I point out , perhaps , the consequences of the action in rousing the indignation of mankind , and leading them to inflict punishment on . the perpetrator ; or I endeavour to shew the remorse by which it will be pursued in his own breast . And if he were to ask me how I could tell that these effects
would folioW i I should answer , that they had been found to do so in similar cases . Should he proceed still further in his inquiries , should he request to know how I could tell that the same effects would again attend the same causes , I could merely answer , that the assumption of this uniformity of sequence was a necessary condition of thought , which neither he nor myseK could ayoid ; and that his own questions afforded an instance of it , since they proceeded upon the expectation , not only that his words would reach my ears , as in times past , but that certain ideas and volitions woul ^} be excited in my mind as heretofore , the result of WhiclTwbufd V 6 an answer to his inquiries ; - - " It may be objected , however , that our confidence in these cases is not so great as it is in regard to physical events ; that there is always more or less of uncertainty in our anticipations ; that my correspondent may not be able to read my letter , sine ^ Y ^ may hav e lost his memory ; that my other friend may have changed his views , and may feel F no joy at the accomplishment oi
Untitled Article
632 Essays on the Pursuit of Truth . r
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1829, page 632, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2576/page/32/
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