"The history of human development shows that there are three modes by which we conceive phenomena... The first of these supposes that the order and succession observed in phenomena, is due to the influence of outlying agencies—powers which are super natural, above the objects, not belonging to them. ...The attitude of mind which is based on the first of these assumptions is that which is common to all primitive theories. It characterizes what Auguste Comte names the Theological Stage in human development. On this assumption, all phenomena not of the simplest and most familiar kind are referred to the agency of invisible powers, spirits, deities, or demons. ...As this idea of will originates in the analogies of human volitions influencing human actions, the same capriciousness and variability which characterize human actions are supposed to characterize external phenomena."
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Aristotle: a Chapter from the History of Science
Aristotle: a Chapter from the History of Science, including Analyses of Aristotle's Scientific Writings was written by George Henry Lewes and published in 1864.
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