Thusbeliefnotonlydependsupon,butactuallyisassociation。’Itisnoteasy,’hesays,’totreatofmemory,belief,andjudgmentseparately。’72AsJ。S。Millnaturallyasks,’Howisitpossibletotreatofbeliefwithoutincludinginitmemoryandjudgment?’Memoryisacaseofbelief,andjudgmentan’actofbelief。’73ToJamesMill,however,itappearsthatasthesedifferentfunctionsallinvolveassociation,theymayberesolvedintovaryingapplicationsofthatuniversalpower。Memoryinvolves’anideaofmypresentself’andan’ideaofmypastself,’andtorememberisto’runovertheinterveningstatesofconsciousnesscalledupbyassociation。’74Beliefinvolvesassociationateverystep。Thebeliefinexternalobjectsis,as’allmenadmit……’whollyresolvableintoassociation。’75’Thatacausemeansandcanmeannothingtothehumanmindbutconstantantecedence’andtherefore’inseparableassociation,’ashethinks’isnolongerapointindispute。’76Association,itistrue,mayproducewrongaswellasrightbeliefs;rightbeliefswhen’inconformitywiththeconnectionsofthings,’77andwrongbeliefswhennotinconformity。Inbothcasesthebeliefisproducedby’custom,’though,happily,therightcustomisbyfarthecommonest。The’strengthoftheassociationfollowsthefrequency。’Thecrowflieseastaswellaswest;
butthestonealwaysfallsdownwards。78HenceIforman’inseparableassociation’correspondingtoabeliefingravitation,buthavenoparticularbeliefaboutthedirectionofacrow’sflight。
Thisgivesthedoctrineof’indissolubleassociation’——thepivotofthewholescheme——thedoctrine,saysJ。S。Mill,which,’ifitcanbeproved,isthegreatestofallthetriumphsoftheAssociationPhilosophy。’79TheyoungerMillalwaysinsisteduponthevastimportanceoftheprinciple;buthehereadmitsadifficulty。Inalongnote80uponJamesMill’schapteron’Belief,’conspicuousforhisusualcandour,heconfessestheinadequacyofhisfather’sview。Thecommentindicatesthepointofdivergenceandyetshowscuriouslythegroundcommontoboth。JamesMill’stheorystatesfactsinsomesenseundeniable。Our’ideas’cohereandcombinetoformatissue:animageryorseriesofpictureswhichformthecontentandaresomehowthegroundofourbeliefs。Theprocessofformationclearlyinvolves’association。’Thescentoftheroseisassociatedwiththecolour:bothwiththevisibleformandsoforth。Butisthisprocessthesamethingasbelieving,orhavewetoexplainthebeliefbysomementalactivitydifferentfrom,howevercloselyconnectedwith,theimagination,orinhisphrasethe’ideation’?HereJ。S。Millfindsadifficulty。Thestatement,’Ibelievethatthunderwillfollowlightning,’issomethingmorethanthestatement,’thesightsuggestsorcallsupthesound。’Thementalpictureconsideredbyitselfmaybedescribedasafact,withoutconsideringwhatbelief,orwhetheranybelief,isimplied。J。S。Millthereforemakesadistinctionintendedtoclearuphisfather’sconfusion。Thereisadifference,hesays,betweenremembering’arealfact’andrememberinga’thought。’81HeillustratesthisbythedifferencebetweentheideaofLafayetteandtheideaofFalstaff。Lafayettewasreal,andhadbeenseenbytherememberer。
Falstaffisafigmentwho,havingneverexisted,canneverhavebeenseen。
YettheideaofFalstaffmaybequiteasvividastheideaofLafayette。
What,then,isthedifferencebetweenthetwostatesofmind?One,saysJ。S。Mill,isabeliefabout’realfacts’;theotherabout’thoughts。’
This,heobserves,correspondstoJamesMill’sdistinctionbetweena’sensation’
andan’idea,’82adifferencewhichhehadadmittedtobe’primordial。’
Then,saysJ。S。Mill,wemayaswelladmitthatthereisan’element’
intheremembranceofarealfactnotimpliedintheremembranceofathoughtandnotdependentonanydifferenceinthe’ideas’themselves。It,too,maybetakenas’primordial,’orincapableoffurtheranalysis。ThisdoctrinebecomesimportantinsomeofMill’slogicalspeculations,83andisconnectedwithhiswholetheoryofbeliefinanexternalworld。
IthasanuncomfortablelikenesstoReid’s’common-sense’view,andeventothehated’intuitionism’;andMilldeservesthemorecreditforhiscandour。
Meanwhileitseemsclearthatthecriticismimpliesanimportantconfusion。Thelineofdistinctionisdrawninthewrongplace,Sofarasthesimple’imagination’isconcerned,theremaybenoquestionofbeliefordisbelief。ThepictureofFalstafforofLafayette,ahorseoracentaur,arisesequally,andisputtogether,letussuppose,bysimpleassociation。ButassoonasIthinkabouteitherIbelieveordisbelieve,andequallywhetherIjudgetheobjecttobeathoughtortobea’realfact,’whetherIsaythatIcouldhaveseenLafayette,orthatIcouldnothaveseenFalstaff。Itisnotaquestionbetweenrealityorunreality,butbetweentwoclassesofreality。Adreamisarealdream,justasamanisarealman。Thequestionissimplywhereorhowitexists,notwhetheritexists。Thepictureis,inonecase,puttogetherbymymind;intheother,duetoastimulusfromwithout;butitexistsinbothcases;andbeliefisequallypresentwhetherIputitinoneclassofrealityortheother:asweformajudgmentequallywhenwepronounceamantobelying,andwhenwepronouncehimtobespeakingthetruth。J。S。MillseemstosupposethatassociationcanexplaintheimaginationofacentauroraFalstaff,butcannotexplainthebeliefinahorseorLafayette。Theimaginationor’ideation,’heshouldhavesaid,accountsinbothcasesforthemerecontentsofthethought;butinneithercasecanitbyitselfexplainthejudgmentasto’reality。’Thatistosay,JamesMillmayhavedescribedaccuratelyapartoftheprocessbywhichthementalpictureisconstructed,buthasomittedtoexplaintheactionoftheminditself。
Belief,wemayagree,isa’primordial’orultimatefaculty;butwemustnotinterpretitasbeliefina’realfact’asdistinguishedfrombeliefin’athought’:thatisasecondaryandincidentaldistinction。
Thisconfusion,asIhavesaid,apparentlypreventsJ。S。Millfromseeinghowdeeplyhisveryfrankadmissionscutintotheverystructureofhisfather’ssystem。Hehas,asIhavesaid,remarkeduponthesingularabsenceofanyreferenceto’belief,’’abstraction,’andsoforth;buthescarcelyobserveshowmuchisimpliedbytheomission。Hiscriticismshouldhavegonefurther。JamesMillhasnotonlyomittedafacultywhichenablesustodistinguishbetween’thoughts’and’things,’imagesoffancyandpicturesofreality,butalsothefacultywhichisequallypresentwheneverweproperlythinkinsteadofsimplyseeingimagespassively;andequallywhetherwereferanimagetofactorfancy。His’analysisofthemind’seemstogetridoftheminditself。
Theomissionbecomesimportantatthenextstep。’Underthemodesttitleofanexplanationofthemeaningofseveralnames,’sayshisson,JamesMilldiscusses’someofthedeepestandmostintricatequestionsinallmetaphysics。’Atreatiseonchemistrymightalmostaswellbe’describedasanexplanationofthenames,air,water,potass,sulphuricacid,andsoforth。’84Whydoesthechaptercomeinthisplaceandinthispeculiarform?ProbablybecauseJamesMillwaspartlyconsciousoftheinadequacyofhispreviouschapters。
Theproblemswhichhehasbeenconsideringcouldnotbeadequatelytreatedbyregardingideasas’things’boundtogetherbyassociation。What,afterall,isaproposition?Whatismeantby’true’or’false,’asdistinguishedfromrealandunreal?Ifanassociationactuallyisatruth,whatisthedifferencebetweenrightandwrongassociations?Botharefacts,andtheverywords’right’and’wrong,’thatis,trueandfalse,applynottofactsbuttopropositions。85thejudgmentistestedinsomewaybycorrespondencetothe’orderofNature,’orofoursensationsandideas。
Whatpreciselyismeantbythisorder?Sofaraswehavegone,itseemsasifideasmightbecombinedinanyorderwhatever,andthemostvariousbeliefsgeneratedindifferentminds。Perhaps,however,theprincipleofassociationitselfmayrevealsomethingastothepossiblemodesofcoalescence。
Millmakescontiguityanultimategroundofassociation;andcontiguityimpliesthatthingshavecertainrelationsexpressibleintermsofspaceandtimeandsoforth。Theseprimitiverelationsnowcomeupforconsideration,andshouldenableustosaymorepreciselywhatkindoforderispossible。
Infact,Millnowendeavourstoanalysethemeaningsofsuchwordsasrelationingeneral,time,space,number,likeness,personalidentityandothers。
Theeffectofhisanalysisisthattheprinciples,whatevertheymaybe,whichmightbesupposedtounderlieassociationappeartobeproductsofassociation。Hebeginsbyaskingwhatisthemeaningof’relativeterms。’
Theirpeculiarityisthatthey’alwaysexistinpairs,’suchas’fatherandson,’’highandlow,’’rightandleft。’’Ifitisasked,Whydowegivenamesinpairs?thegeneralanswerimmediatelysuggestsitself。Itisbecausethethingsnamedpresentthemselvesinpairs,thatis,arejoinedbyassociation。’86J。S。MillthinksthatnopartoftheAnalysisismorevaluablethanthe’simpleexplanation’whichfollows,thereisno’mysticalbondcalledarelation’betweentwothings,but’averysimplepeculiarityintheconcretefact’markedbythenames。In’ordinarynamesofobjects,thefactconnotedbyanameconcernsoneobjectonly’;inthecaseofrelativenames,’thefactconnotedconcernstwoobjects,andcannotbeunderstoodwithoutthinkingofthemboth。’A’factconcerninganobject’
isacuriouslyawkwardexpression;butonepointisclear。Ifthetwoobjectsconcernedarethesame,whetherconsideredapartortogether,the’relation’
mustbesomethingmorethanthefacts,andthereforerequirestobespecified。
Iftheyare,infact,onething,orpartsofacontinuousprocess,wemustaskhowtheycometobedistinguished,andwhatgroundthereisforspeakingofassociation。JamesMill,byconsideringtheproblemasamerequestionof’names,’seemstointimatethattherelationisamerefigment。Infact,asJ。S。Millperceives,the’explanations’becomenugatory。Theysimplyrepeatthethingtobeexplained。Hebeginswith’resemblance。’Tofeeltwothingstobealikeis,hesays,thesamethingastohavethetwofeelings。
Hemeanstosay,apparently,thatwhentherearetwo’ideas’thereisnotalsoathirdideaof’likeness。’ThatwouldbewhatBenthamcalleda’fictitiousentity。’Butthiscannot’explain’thelikenessoftheideas。’Theirbeingalike,’ashissoninterprets,’isnothingbuttheirbeingfelttobealikewhichdoesnothelpus。’87So’antecedenceandconsequence’
are’explained’bysayingthatoneoftwofeelingscallsuptheother;
or,asthesonagainremarks,antecedenceisexplainedbyantecedence,andsuccessionbysuccession。Antecedenceandconsequence,likelikenessandunlikeness,musttherefore,accordingtoJ。S,Mill,be’postulatedasuniversalconditionsofNature,inherentinall,ourfeelingswhetherofexternalorinternalconsciousness。’88Inotherwords,apparently,timeisanultimateformofthought。Timeandspace,generally,asJamesMillthinks,arethe’abstractnames’respectivelyofsuccessiveandsimultaneousorder,whichbecome’indissolublyassociatedwiththeideaofeveryobject。’89Space,ofcourse,issaidtobeaproductoftouchandmuscularsensations,andtheproblemastohowthesevaryingsensationsandthesealonegiverisetoapparentlynecessaryandinvariablebeliefsisnottakenintoconsideration。
MillisheredealingwiththequestionswhichKantattemptedtoanswerbyshowinghowthemindimposesitsformsuponsense-givenmaterials,formsthemintoconcepts,andcombinestheconceptsintojudgmentsandreasoning,Millevadesthemysteriousandtranscendentalatthecostofomittingreasonaltogether。Herepresentstheresultofacceptingonehornofadilemma,whichpressesuponphilosophiesofloftierpretensions。Thosewhoaccepttheotherhornspeakofa’fact’asthoughitwereatruth,andargueasthoughtheworldcouldbespunoutofpurelogic,oratissuebemadeofrelationswithoutanythingstoberelated。Mill,withscarcelyaglanceatsuchdoctrines,triessystematicallytospeakofatruthasifitwereafact。Theworldforhimismadeupofideasstickingtogether;andnothingelseexists。Therelationisthefact;beliefistheassociation;consciousnessandreflection,consideredapart,arenothingbutthesensations,ideas,clusters,andtrains。Theattempttobasealltruthuponexperience,tobringphilosophyintoharmonywithsciencewas,asIhold,perfectlyright。
Only,upontheseassumptionsitcouldnotbecarriedout。Millhadthemeritwhichisimpliedevenbyanunsuccessfulattempttoholdbyfact。
Heraisesanumberofinterestingquestions;andIthinkthatitismoreremarkablethatsomanyofhisobservationshavestillaninterestforpsychologiststhanthatsomuchisobviouslywrong。Mill,itmaybesaid,tookanessayuponassociationforatreatiseuponpsychologyingeneral。
Hewas’writingwhatmightbeoneimportantchapterinsuchatreatise,andsupposesthathehaswrittenthewhole,andcandeduce’philosophy’
fromit,if,indeed,anyphilosophycanbesaidtoremain。Meanwhile,I
mayobserve,thatbypushinghisprinciplestoextremes,evenhis’association’
doctrineisendangered。HisAnalysisseemstodestroyeventheelementswhichareneededtogivethesimplestlawsofassociation。Itisratherdifficulttosaywhatismeantbythe’contiguity,’’sequence,’and’resemblance,’
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