No one denies that as a matter of fact,
and as far as his experience extends, these laws do appear to be
inexorable. I have never heard of any one professing, during the
present generation, to describe a natural phenomenon, with the
avowed belief that it was not a product of natural law; yet we
constantly hear the scientific view criticised on the ground that
events MAY occur without being subject to natural law. The word
"may," in this connection, is one to which we can attach no
meaning expressive of a sensuous relation.
The analogous conflict between the scientific use of language and
the use made by some philosophers is found in connection with the
idea of causation. Fundamentally the word cause is used in
scientific language in the same sense as in the language of common
life. When we discuss with our neighbors the cause of a fit of
illness, of a fire, or of cold weather, not the slightest
ambiguity attaches to the use of the word, because whatever
meaning may be given to it is founded only on an accurate analysis
of the ideas involved in it from daily use. No philosopher objects
to the common meaning of the word, yet we frequently find men of
eminence in the intellectual world who will not tolerate the
scientific man in using the word in this way.
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