PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION Since the publication of the first edition of this book in 1919, the various topics contained in it have been also considered by me in The Concept of Nature (Camb. Univ. Press, 1920) and in The Principle of Relativity (Camb. Univ. Press, 1922). I hope in the immediate future to embody the standpoint of these volumes in a more complete metaphysical study. A few notes have been appended to this edition to elucidate obscurities, and a few slips in the text have been corrected. A.N.W. TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE August, 1924 CONTENTS PART I THE TRADITIONS OF SCIENCE CHAPTER I. MEANING ARTS. 1. Traditional Scientific Concepts 2. Philosophic Relativity 3. Perception CHAPTER II. THE FOUNDATIONS OF DYNAMICAL PHYSICS 4. Newton's Laws of Motion 5. The Ether 6. Maxwell's Equations Appendix I : Newton's Laws of Motion Appendix II: Clerk Maxwell's Equations of the Electromagnetic Field CHAPTER III. SCIENTIFIC RELATIVITY 7. Consentient Sets 8. Kinematic Relations 9. Motion through the Ether 10. Formulae for Relative Motion Appendix: Mathematical Formulae CHAPTER IV. CONGRUENCE 11. Simultaneity 12. Congruence and Recognition PART II THE DATA OF SCIENCE CHAPTER V. THE NATURAL ELEMENTS 13. The Diversification of Nature 14. Events 15. Objects CHAPTER VI. EVENTS 16. Apprehension of Events 17. The Constants of Externality 18. Extension 19. Absolute Position 20. The Community of Nature 21. Characters of Events CHAPTER VII. OBJECTS 22. Types of Objects 23. Sense-Objects 24. Perceptual Objects 25. Scientific Objects 26. Duality of Nature PART III THE METHOD OF EXTENSIVE ABSTRACTION CHAPTER VIII. PRINCIPLES OF THE METHOD OF EXTENSIVE ABSTRACTION 27. The Relation of Extension, Fundamental Properties 28. Intersection, Separation and Dissection 29. The Junction of Events 30. Abstractive Classes 31. Primes and Antiprimes 32. Abstractive Elements CHAPTER IX. DURATIONS, MOMENTS AND TIME-SYSTEMS 33. Antiprimes, Durations and Moments 34. Parallelism and Time-Systems 35. Levels, Rects, and Puncts 36. Parallelism and Order CHAPTER X. FINITE ABSTRACTIVE ELEMENTS 37. Absolute Primes and Event-Particles 38. Routes 39. Solids 40. Volumes CHAPTER XI. POINTS AND STRAIGHT LINES 41. Stations 42. Point-Tracks and Points 43. Parallelism 44. Matrices 45. Null-Tracks 46. Straight Lines CHAPTER XII. NORMALITY AND CONGRUENCE 47. Normality 48. Congruence CHAPTER XIII. MOTION 49. Analytic Geometry 50. The Principle of Kinematic Symmetry 51. Transitivity of Congruence 52. The Three Types of Kinematics PART IV THE THEORY OF OBJECTS CHAPTER XIV. THE LOCATION OF OBJECTS 53. Location 54. Uniform Objects 55. Components of Objects CHAPTER XV. MATERIAL OBJECTS 56. Material Objects 57. Stationary Events 58. Motion of Objects 59. Extensive Magnitude CHAPTER XVI. CAUSAL COMPONENTS 60. Apparent and Causal Components 61. Transition from Appearance to Cause