Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind
John Stuart Mill · en
In the second of the two examples, "_Unless_ the ship had been well
manned, it would have been lost," the contrivance is the same, with
a mere change of position. _Unless_, is a word of the same import,
rather the same word, as _else_. _Unless_ is PREFIXED to the
_conditioning_ predication, whereas _else_ is SUFFIXED; and that is
the difference.[67] The word _except_, which signifies _take_ {219}
_away_, may be substituted for _unless_. A peculiar application of
_if_ (_give_) may here also be exemplified. _If_ with the negative,
(_if not_,) has a similar signification with unless, except; "_If_
the ship had not been well manned, &c."
[Findlater's footnote 67: _Unless_ is simply _on less_,
corresponding to Fr. _à moins_, and is equivalent to _if
not_.--_F._]
Let us now pass to another case.
"_Although_ the ship was well manned, it was lost." The two
predications may change places, without change of meaning. "The ship
was lost, _although_ it was well manned."
What (as above) was to be marked by _else_, _unless_, _if not_,
_except_, and so on, was the connexion between a cause and its usual
effect; that is, the manning of a ship, and the safety of the ship.
What is to be marked in this case is the want of connexion between a
cause and its usual effect. It is done by similar means.
_Although_ is part of an obsolete verb, _to allow_, _to grant_.[68]
The two predications are: "The ship was well manned," "The ship was
lost." I want to mark between my two predications not only a
connexion, that of the antecedence and consequence of the predicated
events, but the existence of a consequent differing from that by
which the antecedent is usually followed. _Although_, prefixed to
the predication of the antecedent event, gives notice of another
predication, that of the consequent, and of a consequent differing
from that by which the antecedent might have been {220} followed:
_Grant_ such an antecedent, such and not such was the consequent.
[Findlater's footnote 68: _Although_ is a compound pronominal adverb
resembling Lat. _tamen_, and means "(the case being) quite thus
(yet)."--_F._]
The same connection is marked by other conjunctions. "The ship was
well manned, _nevertheless_ it was lost." _Nevertheless_, means _not
less for that_.[69] "_Notwithstanding_ the ship was well manned, it
was lost." _Notwithstanding_, is, _not being able to prevent_,
_maugre_, _in spite of_. The resolution of the above sentences is
obvious. "The ship was well manned, _yet_ it was lost." _Yet_ is the
verb _get_, and has here the force of _although_, _grant_. "The ship
was well manned, _yet_ (or got, that being got, had, granted) it was
lost."[70] "The ship was well manned, _still_, it was lost." _Still_
is part of an obsolete verb, _to put_, _to fix_, _to establish_.
"The ship was well manned, _still_ (that put, that supposed) it was
lost."[71]