Sir John Herschel
Julia Margaret Cameron

A PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE

ON

THE STUDY

OF

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY

BY

JOHN FREDERICK WILLIAM HERSCHEL, Esq. A.M.

LATE FELLOW OF ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, &C.


PHILADELPHIA: CAREY AND LEA

1831.
279 pages.

This electronic edition prepared by Dr. David C. Bossard
from original documents in the library holdings of Dartmouth College.

April, 2006.

Copyright © 2006 by David C. Bossard.


Before all other things, man is distinguished by his pursuit and investigation of TRUTH. And hence, when free from needful business and cares, we delight to see, to hear, and to communicate, and consider a knowledge of many admirable and abstruse things necessary to the good conduct and bappinees of our lives: whence it is clear that whatsoever is TRUE, simple, and direct, the same is most congenial to our nature as men. Closely allied with this earnest longing to see and know the truth, is a kind of dignified and princely sentiment which forbids a mind, naturally well constituted, to submit its faculties to any but those who announce it in precept or in doctrine, or to yield obedience to any orders but such as are at once just, lawful, and founded on utility. From this source spring greatness of mind and contempt of worldly advantages and troubles.
Cicero, De Officiis, Lib. 1. §13.

CONTENTS.

PART I.

OF THE GENERAL NATURE AND ADVANTAGES OF THE STUDY OF THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES.

I. Of Man regarded as a Creature of Instinct, of Reason, and Speculation -- General Influence of Scientific Pursuits on the Mind  1   001  002  003  004  005  006  007  008  009  010  011  012
[007] Truth can never be opposed to truth, and error is only to be effectually confounded by searching deep and tracing it to its source.

[009] The ridicule attached to "Swing-Swangs" in Hooke's time did not prevent him from reviving the proposal of the pendulum as a standard of measure.

II. Of abstract Science as a Preparation for the Study of Physics. -- A profound Acquaintance with it not indispensable for a clear Understanding of Physical Laws. -- How a Conviction of their Truth may be obtained without it. -- Instances. -- Further Division of the Subject  13  013  014  015  016  017  018  019  020  021  022  023  024  025

III. Of the Nature and Objects, immediate and collateral, of Physical Science, as regarded in itself, and in its Application to the practical Purposes of Life, and its Influence on the Well-being and Progress of Society  26   026  027  028  029  030  031  032  033  034  035  036  037  038  039  040  041  042  043  044  045  046  047  048  049  050  051  052  053  054  055  056

Successful and unsuccessful attempts at impossible or seemingly impossible tasks are described.

PART II.

OF THE PRINCIPLES ON WHICH PHYSICAL SCIENCE RELIES FOR
ITS SUCCESSFUL PROSECUTION, AND THE RULES BY WHICH A SYSTEMATIC EXAMINATION OF NATURE SHOULD BE CONDUCTED, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS OF THEIR INFLUENCE AS EXEMPLIFIED IN THE HISTORY OF ITS PROGRESS.


I. Of Experience as the Source of our Knowledge. -- Of the Dismissal of Prejudices. -- Of the Evidence of our Senses  57  057  058  059  060  061  062  063


II. Of the Analysis ofPhenomena  64  064  065  066  067  068  069  070  071  072  073  074  075  076  077

III. Of the State of Physical Science in General, previous to the Age of Galileo and Bacon  78  078  079  080  081  082  083  084  085  086  087

IV. Of the Observation of Facts and the Collection of Instances.  88  088  089  090  091  092  093  094  095  096  097  098  099  100

V. Of the Classification of Natural Objects and Phenomena, and of Nomenclature  101  101  102  103  104  105  106

VI. Of the First Stage of Induction. -- The Discovery of Proximate Causes, and Laws of the lowest Degree of Generality, and their Verification  107  107  108  109  110  111  112  113  114  115  116  117  118  119  120  121  122  123  124  125  126  127  128  129  130  131  132  133  134  135  136  137  138  139  140  141

VII. Of the higher Degrees of Inductive Generalization, and of the Formation and Verification of Theories  142  142  143  144  145  146  147  148  149  150  151  152  153  154  155  156  157  158  159  160  161  162  163  164  165

PART III.

OF THE SUBDIVISION OF PHYSICS INTO DISTINCT BRANCHES, AND THEIR MUTUAL RELATIONS.

I. Of the Phenomena of Force, and of the Constitution of Natural Bodies  166  166  167  168  169  170  171  172  173  174  175  176  177  178  179  180  181  182  183  184

II. Of the Communication of Motion through Bodies. -- Of Sound and light  185   185  186  187  188  189  190  191  192  193  194  195  196  197

III. Of Cosrnical Phenomena  198   198  199  200  201  202  203  204  205  206  207  208  209  210  211  212  213  214  215  216
[211] Discussion of Geology

IV.  Of the Examination of the material Constituents of the World  217   217  218  219  220  221  222  223  224  225  226  227  228  229  230  231

V. Of the Imponderable Forms of Matter  232   232  233  234  235  236  237  238  239  240  241  242  243  244  245  246  247  248  249  250  251  252  253  254  255  256  257  258  259

VI. Of the Causes of the actual rapid Advance of the Physical Sciences compared with their Progress at an earlier  260   260  261  262  263  264  265  266  267  268  269  270

INDEX 271  271  272  273  274  275  276  277  278  279