A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive (Vol. 1 of 2)Mill, John Stuart
Philosophy
A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive (Vol. 1 of 2)
Mill, John Stuart
Knowledge, Theory of; Logic; Science -- Methodology
§ 6. And here, to prevent the notion of differentia from being restricted
within too narrow limits, it is necessary to remark, that a species, even
as referred to the same genus, will not always have the same differentia,
but a different one, according to the principle and purpose which preside
over the particular classification. For example, a naturalist surveys the
various kinds of animals, and looks out for the classification of them
most in accordance with the order in which, for zoological purposes, he
thinks it desirable that our ideas should arrange themselves. With this
view he finds it advisable that one of his fundamental divisions should be
into warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals; or into animals which breathe
with lungs and those which breathe with gills; or into carnivorous, and
frugivorous or graminivorous; or into those which walk on the flat part
and those which walk on the extremity of the foot, a distinction on which
some of Cuvier’s families are founded. In doing this, the naturalist
creates so many new classes, which are by no means those to which the
individual animal is familiarly and spontaneously referred; nor should we
ever think of assigning to them so prominent a position in our arrangement
of the animal kingdom, unless for a preconceived purpose of scientific
convenience. And to the liberty of doing this there is no limit. In the
examples we have given, most of the classes are real Kinds, since each of
the peculiarities is an index to a multitude of properties, belonging to
the class which it characterizes: but even if the case were otherwise—if
the other properties of those classes could all be derived, by any process
known to us, from the one peculiarity on which the class is founded—even
then, if those derivative properties were of primary importance for the
purposes of the naturalist, he would be warranted in founding his primary
divisions on them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account