Prof. Helmholtz and Prof. Jevons

Abstract

JEALOUS of any and every restriction to that full liberty of scientific thought which cannot be over-advocated, we have recently gone so far as to deny the necessary and universal validity of the old axioms or “self-evident principles,” not only in geometry, but in logic. Now I would submit that, if without some elementary or initial certainties all scientific thought is impossible, we must either retract these denials altogether, or so far limit them as to leave the logical certainties intact. But can we do the latter while geometrical axioms are in dispute? Towards answering this question, I propose to consider the hypothesis advanced by Prof. Helmholtz, to be found in NATURE, No. 103, October 19, and ably commented on by Prof. Jevons.