Page:The ethics of Aristotle.djvu/308





Or, according to the canon quoted above: A B C are Magnets. A B C attract iron.

But  tells me that the term Magnets is coextensive with the term A B C, therefore of all Magnets I may predicate that they attract iron. Induction is said by Aristotle to be ' but he says in the same place that for this reason we must conceive (') the term containing the particular Instances (as A B C above), as composed of all the Individuals. If Induction implied actual examination of all particular instances it would cease to be Reasoning at all and sink into repeated acts of Simple Apprehension: it is really the bridging over of a chasm, not the steps cut in the rock on either side to enable us to walk down into and again out of it, It is a branch of probable Reasoning, and its validity depends entirely upon the quality of the particular mind which performs it. Rapid Induction has always been a distinguishing mark of Genius: the  certainty produced by it is Subjective and not Objective. It may be useful to exhibit it Syllogistically, but the Syllogism which exhibits it is either nugatory, or contains a premise literally false. It will be found useful to compare on the subject of Induction as the term is used by Aristotle, Analytica Prior. 25, 26. Analytica Post. 1, 3, and Topics  and.  . The reference is made to the Post Analyt. and it is impossible to understand the account of ' without a perusal of the chapter; the additions to the definition referred to relate to the nature of the premisses from which ' draws its conclusions: they are to be “true, first principles, incapable of any syllogistic proof, better known than the conclusion, prior to it, and causes or it.” (See the appendix to this Book.)  . This is the test of correct logical division, that the membra dividentia shall be opposed, i.e. not included the one by the other.

