History of Scientific Ideas. Being the First Part of the Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences Volume 1 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1858 Excerpt: ...the succession of them being terminated, from that point of time the motion would be uniform. And since the rate of the motion in each interval of time is determined by the instantaneous force which last acted and by the preceding motion, the rate of the motion in each interval of time is determined by all the preceding instantaneous forces. Hence, when the series of instantaneous forces stops, the rate at which the motion goes on permanently, from that point of time, is determined by the antecedent series of such forces, which series may be considered as an aggregate cause; and hence it appears, that the permanent effect is determined by the aggregate cause; and in this sense the effect is subsequent to the cause. Thus we obtain, in this case, a Bolution of the difficulty which is placed before us. The instantaneous effect or change is simultaneous with the instantaneous force or cause by which it is produced. But if we consider a series of such instantaneous forces as a single aggregate cause, and the final condition as a permanent effect of this cause, the effect is subsequent to the cause. In this case, the cause is immediately succeeded by the effect. The cause acts in time: the effect goeson in time. The times occupied by the cause and by the effect succeed each other, the one ending at the point of time at which the other begins. But the time which the cause occupies is really ivJjpwCI-& composed of a series of instant of uniform motion interposed between instantaneous forces; and during the time that this series of causes is going on, to make up the aggregate cause, a series of effects is going on to make up the final effect. There is a progressive cause and a progressive effect which go on together, and occupy the same finite time; and this si...