Item 173 - William Whewell to Richard Jones

4 pp.

Trinity College - WW is sorry RJ is tormented with his 'commissionship that is to be' [Tithe Commission?]. RJ's book, whether he intends it or not, 'will be taken as an exposition of reasons and arguments as well as maxims of action, and therefore it can hardly help being in some measure polemical - moreover it must contain your case in such a shape as to enable your adherents in town and country to see the arguments on your side and to defend you with something like consistency. Beyond this I suppose you need not be pugnacious; and therefore you have nothing to do with arguments drawn from theory...you need not attack bad theories; nor in fact any but very obvious objections'. WW is getting 'deeper and deeper' into his history and philosophy of the inductive sciences. WW wants to show RJ the latter: B.2 Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences - 'it must contain most of the metaphysical discussions which have been attended to of late, but it must also contain all my analysis of the nature of induction and the Rules of its exercise including Bacon's suggestions. B.3 Prospects of Inductive Science - The question of the possibility and method of applying inductive processes, as illustrated in the philosophy of B. 2 to other than material sciences; as philology, and, politics and morals'.