Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1884-01-10
SCIENCE.
The World of Mind and the World
of Matter.
Fields From Which Human knOWi.
edge is Garnered.

Nature, as it exists, may be separated
mind and the world of matter. These are
the two great fields from which human
knowledge must be gasnered; each in its
subdivisions presents separate classes of
sciences.
The world of matter embraces the
natural sciences and the great correlative
science of mathematics.
The world of mind is the origin of the
speculative or spiritual sciences History
and social science belong to this division,
since we interpret history by the mind in
it.
We are gifted with power to recognize
facts in both divisions. These two worlds
are of equal reality to u.s. The facts of
mind are as real and substantial as the
facts of nature. Our language is material
in origin; all words express matter. There
is an analogy between the world Of matter
and of mind. In the expression lin the
mind' is conveyed the idea of into, but as
there is no limit to the mind, it is not
strictly proper, yet showing that the most
abstract thoughts must be expressed by
material words.
We shall confine our subject Of science
in this and following articles to consider
alton OF the natural sciences. In matter
we perceive two simple elements, which
form the basis for the subdivision of the
material sciences-the element of form and
the element of force. Everything is seen
under some form, and everything has force,
or power of resistance.
Before passing to, a classification OF the
sciences we will define some of the terms
which must necessarily be understood, IN
order to gain clear idea of the subject
under consideration.
The word science is derived from the
Latin scientia, knowledge, and here the
question presents itself-Is science knOwl-
edge?
knowledge is perception of truth or
facts. and we know that science is not
alone perception, but that it also en-
braces knowledge of the relationship of
these facts, as governed by a certain law,
or laws.
We look at an object, and the picture is
fixed or mirrored in our minds-we have
an object which we can study and think
about. The ancients believed that every
object threw off an image Of itself, and
from this we derive our word idea"
A series of pictures or ideas constitutes
knowledge, and knowledge of the rela-
tionships which unite these ideas or facts
gives us science.
A child may know his alphabet. This
is knowledge; but there is no science until
he can show the relationship between the
letters and thus form words.
There are two kinds of knowledge, sim
pie and complex.
For example, if we know that gypsum
applied to clover lands makes luxuriant
crop, we are possessed of the knowledge of
simple fact; butwhen it is stated that
"thesquare erected upon the hypothenuse OF
right angled triangle is equal to the sum
of the squares erected on the other two
sides,' we recognize at once cOmplexity
in the knowledge.
The first may be termed empirical, the
second rational knowledge. AS soon as
man fully apprehends the relations be-
tween ideas then his knowledge rises to
science.
Science must include knowledge, but
knowledge does not include science. Every
science has two sides-facts, or phenomena,
and forces or truths, as laws.
Science is really the relation between
ideas, and may be simple or complex. We
have simple relation in the fact that two
atoms of hydrogen unite with one atom of
oxygen to form water. but when we exam
inc the relationship of the atoms in gyp-
sum we see it is complex. In the latter
case the mind goes Immediately to work to
try and solve the comllexity, or in other
words, to bridge or form ways in which
these complex relations may be resolved.
In this way different theories are formed,
so we see theory is not science. Dalton
produced the theory of multiple proper
tiOn or atomic theory.
There is also distinction between
science and hypothesis; the latter is a
pure assumption, as for example, the nebu-
lar hypothesis of our solar system.
Reviewing the above definitions we have,
First, facts, or simple truths. which are
not created, but discovered, becoming
knowledge when known.
Second, science, in which the facts are
linked together, showing the law or rela-
tionship which unites them.
Third, theory, in which the knowledge
of the relationship between the facts, and
some of the facts that are missing, but are
supplied by the imagination.
Fourth, hypothesis, in which the facts
and relationship are missing, but are as
sumed.
A mistake is sometimes made by con-
founding coincidence and science, or rela-
tion of cause and effect. A person may see
an occurrence and then credit it to the
smarvelous. We have constant examples of
this; as for instance, the belief that Friday
is anunlucky day.
Some person, noticing that certain Fri