LONDON:

SAPILL AND EDWARDS, PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET,

COVENT GARDEN.

CONTENT S.

CHAPTER I.

Introduction.

.

.

§ 1 Nature and scope of the treatise explained

2 Utility of such a treatise

3 Advantages of a scientific method of reasoning .

4 Purposes of a method of politics .

p. 1

3

4

8

CHAPTER II.

9

13

15

.

18

On the Province of Politics.

§ 1 Extent of the term politics .

2 Origin of political government

3 Man is alone a political animal

4 Peculiarities of man's nature, as compared with the other ani.

mals, which enable him to form a political government .

5 Limits of capacity for progressive improvement in animals—

domestication.

6 Human society consists of numerous communities, each of a

limited size.

7 Conditions of a nation

8 Manner in which a nation is perpetuated; meaning of a gene-

ration..

9 The subjects included in politics; distinction between political

and social science examined

36

38

39

41

CHAPTER III.

.

On the Division of Politics into Departments.

§ 1 Four departments of politics distinguished

2 Registration of political facts.

53

53
P. 54

58

59

60

60

$ 3 Positive or descriptive politics

4 Speculative politics

5 Political maxims

6 Nature and objects of the preceding classification

7 Review of political writings, with reference to the above four

classes ; first, period of antiquity

8 Second period—from the revival of letters to the end of the

17th century

9

Third eriod—from the beginning of the 18th century

10 Unconnected character of political writings ; want of a common

standard of reference, and of a common method of treat-

ment

65

69

73

CHAPTER IV.

On the Technical Language of Politics.

2

§ 1 Nature of technical terms in politics

Their formation from common words

78

3 The scientific meaning of a technical term ought to approxi-

mate to its popular meaning -

81

4 Its scientific meaning ought to be so defined as to admit of the

formation of true propositions

84

5 Technical terms ought to be used with an unvarying signi-

fication

90

6 Tendency of popular usage to untechnicalize technical terms

in politics

96

7 The connexion of politics with popular interests and feelings

operates in the same direction

97

8 Distinction between terminology and nomenclature in politics 97

9 Titles of offices do not form classes with common properties 101

10 Difficulty of rendering titles of offices, and other political

terms, from one language into another

102

General comparison of technical terms in politics and physics 107

U

CHAPTER V.

Upon the Methods of Observation in Politics.

S I

108

Nature of the facts which are the subjects of observation in

politics

Observation may be assisted or unassisted ; the latter alone

used in politics

2

108
p. 110

$ 3 Unassisted observation may be intentional or unintentional ;

these two sorts distinguished

4 Three departments of political observation distinguished-

I. Historical. Characteristics of history .

113

5 Narration essential to history ; definition of a narrative;

difference between narration and description

117

6 Analogy between political history and other sorts of

history; difference between historical and physical facts 120

7 II. Scientific department of political observation divided into

positive and speculative. Observation in positive politics 123

8 Observation in speculative politics

125

9 III. Observation in practical politics

126

10 Nature and progress of statistical observation

132

II Progress of historical observation and registration

138

12 Summary of the preceding results; comparison with obser-

vation in medicine

143

13 Causes of error in political observation compared with similar

causes in physics

145

14 Difficulty of observation in politics, produced by the obscurity

of human motives

148

.

CHAPTER VI.

On the Applicability of the Method of Experiment

to Politics.

§ 1 Many questions in politics requiring solution by a decisive

method

152

Experiments in physics are of two sorts-viz., experiments of

science and experiments of art; their difference explained 153

3 Purpose and limits of scientific experiment in physics

158

4 Scientific experiment is inapplicable to man.

160

5 Circumstances in human nature which compensate for the im-

possibility of applying the experimental method to man 165

6 The experimental method would be no security against false

facts in politics; torture-a species of experiment

168

7 Men in society voluntarily change their positions, and thus pro-

vide a substitute for experiment

170

8 Extraordinary national events serve the purpose of scientific

experiments

171

9 Practical experiments are of perpetual use in politics

173

.

.

p. 174

II

§ 10 Practical experiments in politics, compared with similar expe.

riments in other branches of practice

Practical experiments in politics often serve the purpose of
scientific experiments, and establish general truths

176
Politics is an experimental science, if practical experiments are

included; but politics is not an experimental science, if
scientific experiments are alone meant

178

13 Results of the chapter .

179

12

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CHAPTER VII.

Upon the Treatment of Political History.

181

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2

181

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185

186

188

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190

197

§ 1 Truth essential to history ; rules of historical evidence .

Nature of testimonies on which the cotemporary and subse-

quent historians rely.

:

3 Both classes of historians must rely on the evidence of original

witnesses

4 Hearsay evidence defined ; its defects .

5 Causes of the inferiority of hearsay to original evidence .

6 Hearsay evidence is excluded in courts of justice ; reasons of

the exclusion; inquiry how far these reasons apply to his-

torical evidence

7 Perpetuation of historical evidence in writing ; historical evi-

dence is not weakened by lapse of time, so long as an accu-

rate written record of it is preserved

8 Conditions for the perpetuation of written evidence; preserva-

tion of originals

9 Preservation by copies

Causes of unfaithful tradition of written evidence; careless

transcription and intentional falsification

Provided that the proper conditions are fulfilled, written his-

torical evidence

may

be rendered perpetual .

Historical evidence, in order to be credible, ought to be written

down contemporaneously with the events; infidelity of

oral tradition

13 Causes of departure from truth in history ; personal interest,

variety, love of the marvellous, party spirit, dislike of

.

201

204