OR, THE RIGHT USE OF REASON IN THE INQUIRY AFTER TRUTH. WITH A VARIETY OF RULES TO GUARD AGAINST ERROR BY ISAAC WATTS, D. D. A NEW EDITION, CORRECTED. LONDON: PRINTED FOR JOHN CUTHELL. ΤΟ SIR JOHN HARTOPP, Baronet, I SIR, T is fit the public fhould receive through your hands what was written originally for the afiftance of your younger ftudies, and was then prefent ed to you. It was by the repeated importunities of our learned friend Mr. John Eames, that I was perfuaded to revife thefe rudiments of logic, and when I had once fuffered myself to begin the work, I was drawn ftill onward far beyond my firft defign, even to the neglect, or too long delay of cther preffing and important demands that were upon me. It has been my endeavour to form every part of this treatife both for the inftruction of ftudents, to open their way into the fciences, and for the more extenfive and general fervice of mankind, that the gentleman and the Chriflian might find their account in the perufal as well as the fcholar. I have therefore collected and propofed the chief principles and rules of right judgment in matters of common and facred importance, and pointed out our moft frequent mistakes and prejudices in the concerns of life and religion, that we might better guard against the fprings of error, guilt and forrow, which furround ́ us in our state of mortality. You know, Sir, the great defign of this noble fcience is to refcue our reafoning powers from their unhappy flavery and darkness; and thus, with all due fubmiffion and deference, it offers an humble affiftance to divine revelation. Its chief business is to relieve the natural weakneffes of the mind by fome better efforts of nature; it is to diffuse a light over the understanding in our inquiries after truth, and not to furnish the tongue with debate and controverfy. True logic is not that noify thing that deals all in dispute and wrangling, to which former ages had debafed and confined it; yet its difciples muft acknowledge alfo, that they are taught to vindicate and defend the truth, as well as to fearch it out. True logic doth not require a long detail of hard words to amuse mankind, and to puff up the mind with empty founds, and a pride of false learning; yet some distinctions and terms of art are neceffary to range every idea in its proper clafs, and to keep our thoughts from confufion. The world is now grown fo wife as not to fuffer this valuable art to be engroffed by the fchools. In fo polite and knowing an age, every man of reafon will covet fome acquaintance with logic, fince it renders its daily fervice to wisdom and virtue, and to the affairs of common life, as well as to the fciences. I will not prefume, Sir, that this little book is improved fince its first composure in proportion to the improvements of your manly age. But when you fhall please to review it in your retired hours, perhaps you may refresh your own memory in fome of the early parts of learning: And if you find all the additional remarks and rules made fo familiar to you already by your own obfervation, that there is nothing new among them, it will be no unpleafing reflection that you have fo far anticipated the prefent zeal and labour of, LONDON, Aug. 24, 1724. SIR, Your moft Faithful, and Obedient Servant, I. WATTS. ог THE CONTENT S. THE INTRODUCTION, or general scheme, Page 1 The FIRST PART, namely, Of Perception and Ideas. Chap. I. Of the nature of ideas, p. 8 Chap. II. Of the objects of perception. Sect. 1. Of being in general, p. 9. Sect. 2. Of fubftances and their various kinds, p. 11. Sect. 3. Of modes and their various kinds; and first of effential and accidental modes, p. 16. Sect. 4. The farther divifions of mode, p. 20. Sect. 5. Of the ten categories. Of fubftance modified, p. 24. Sect. 6. Of not-being P. 25. Chap. III. Of the feveral forts of perception or ideas. Sect. 1. Of fenfible, spiritual, and abstracted ideas, p. 27. Sect. 2. Of fimple and complex, compound and collective ideas, p. 31. Sect. 3. Of universal and particular ideas, real and imaginary, p. 33. Sect. 4. The divifion of ideas with regard to their qualities, p. 37. Chap. IV. Of words, and their several divifions, together with the advantage and danger of them. Sec. 1. Of words in general and their ufe, p. 43 Sect. 2. Of negative and pofitive terms, p. 49. Sect. 3. Of fimple and complex terms, p. 51. Sect. 4. Of words common and proper, p. 53. Sect. 5. Of concrete and abstract terms, p. 54. Sect. 6. Of univocal and equivocal words, p. 55. Sect. 7 Various kinds 1 |
