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CONFLUENCE OF OPPOSITES
35
SECOND LECTURE.
METHOD OF COMPARISON. It was stated in the preceding lecture that the me. thod of comparison of different doctrines and beliefs: should be exclusively rational. It shall be our task to. day to define the method of comparison with greater definiteness and to lay down the means for arriving at accurate knowledge of things. The first thing to do is to get rid of the mental bias which in 99 cases out of every 100 is sure to be lurking behind the loudest protestations of impartiality, We are so constituted that there is an overwhelming sub-conscious predisposition in us in favour of the faith in which we are born that unconsciously forces the most critical of us to reject, and that on the fiimsiest of grounds, any and every hostile or seemingly hostile theory and fact. And even where extreme tolerance is the guiding characteristic of the enquiring mind, the burden of proof of every point contrary to the cherished notion is sure to be thrown on the opponent, and that only too often in defiance of reason and good sense. It does not require any great familiarity with canons of logic to predict that no really satisfactory results are to be achieved while this frame of mind predominates over the spirit of enquiry. It is certainly not the proper disposition or atti. tode for a really enquiring mind,--for a mind that is really anxious to discover the truth for itself. Belief ink
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