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METHOD OF COMPARISON
with truth. The notion that the word of God is beyond reason is itselt devoid of reason, for omniscience and reason are not contradictory terms. From this point of view, philosophy may be defined as the science in which
(i) facts are taken from mature, (ii) conclusions are checked by logic, and (iii) final confirmation is sought for in scripture,
i.e., the irrefutable word of an all-know
ing Teacher. And, certainly, where the three agree, the case is put beyond doubt and dispute.
Observation is the principal instrument of science which should be supplemented with experiment to get at the exact knowledge of causation of things, that is to say, of the great Law of Cause and Effect, Causes in nature are constituted by the properties and qualities of things, and effects are produced by physical processes and chemical action, e.g., the sweetness of the pudding is due to sugar, so, that whenever sugur is not put into the material of the pudding 10 sweetness is to be found in it. This is pure science, though in its most domesticated form; and it is thoroughly reliable, and the only thing that can be relied upon to produce immedi. ate, certain and unvarying results.
The Chief instruments of philosophy or metaphysics are i
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