38
PARTISAN REVIEW
with the use of one
spe~ialized
technique of inquiry. And I am fami–
liar with no naturalist, whether "positivist" or not, who recomrm:nds
the application of the differential equations of modern physics for
solving moral problems. Nor does a scientific naturalism stand or fall
with the assumption that all warrantable propositions are expressible
in quantitative terms. In history, in psychology, in biology, even in
physics, propositions are entertained and asserted which involve only
"qualitative" distinctions, without being thereby one bit less subject
to the authority of scientific canons. On the contrary, though precision
is a scientific ideal-an ideal which in some domains is most ade–
quately realized when quantitative measurements are introduced–
vague propositions may be accepted when precise ones are not attain–
able; and in any case, vague propositions will in general be at least
the starting points for further inquiry. Vagueness, a certain amount
of indefiniteness in the content of propositions, does not therefore
constitute a theoretical obstacle to the use of scientific method. More–
over, no one familiar with the actual content and procedures of the
sciences will be inclined to deny that for many propositions which
are tentatively accepted the available evidence is incomplete and pre–
carious, and that the inclusion of propositions into the body of certified
doctrine requires the use of judgment and intellectual im,agination
whose exercise is not reducible to definite rules.
These observations are elementary, though not irrelevant to the
co;nsideration of Mr. Wheelwright's article; for if they are sound,
they impugn the pertinence of nearly everything that he has to say.
Naturalists do not deny that men have vital aspirations, luminous
visions, or profound moving moments of living; they do deny that
any of the products of such experiences are, taken by themselves, cases
of
knowledge.
The fundamental contention of modern naturalists is
that warranted beliefs, whether vague or precise, whether about
nature or man, must
be
capable of standing up under the scrutiny of
public examination. Such a scrutiny consists in the use of scientific
method: in deducing the consequences entailed by one's assumptions,
and in controlling the validity of those assumptions in the light of a
critical use of sensory data.
There is room for commenting on but two of the specific points
Mr. Wheelwright raises. Consider first his dictum that "spiritual
qualities such as tonal beauty, nobility, and holiness cannot be either
affirmed or denied of a situation on the basis of purely experimental
