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Cover of Collected Works of John Stuart Mill

Edited by John M. Robson

Published: 1981
DOI: 10.4324/9780415480581
Set ISBN: 9780415480581

Set Contents

An Examination of Sir William Hamilton’s Philosophy and of The Principal Philosophical Questions Discussed in his Writings

Edited by
J. M. Robson

By
John Stuart Mill

an examination of sir william hamilton’s philosophy is in several respects exceptional among Mill’s works. Although he devoted several major essays (such as “Bentham” and “Coleridge”), and one book (Auguste Comte and Positivism —originally a pair of essays) to individuals, only here did he subject an author’s texts to a searching and detailed analysis, sustained by an admitted polemical intent. Only part of the work is devoted to an exposition of Mill’s own views, and a few passages at most could be said to provide the kind of synthesis so typical of his other major writings. The kinds of revisions revealed by collation of the editions are also unusual in two related respects: a much higher proportion than in his other works is devoted to answering critics; and far more of the changes are in the form of added footnotes than is usual for him. Another difference is that the response to the book was immediate and strong: it elicited more reviews and critical replies in a short period of time than his Principles of Political Economy, System of Logic, and even On Liberty. Published in 1865, the first edition (of 1000 copies) sold out so quickly that a second edition was prepared within a couple of months, and a third edition, which was published two years after the first, would have appeared sooner had Mill not wished to answer his critics fully and at leisure. A fourth edition, the last in his lifetime, appeared in 1872 only five years after the third, and the work continued in demand for about twenty years.

Volume Contents

Front Matter
Introduction By Alan Ryan
Textual Introduction By John M. Robson
Preface to the Third Edition
I

Introductory Remarks
II

The Relativity of Human Knowledge
III

The Doctrine of the Relativity of Human Knowledge, as Held by Sir William Hamilton
IV

In What Respect Sir William Hamilton Really Differs from the Philosophers of the Absolute
V

What is Rejected as Knowledge by Sir William Hamilton, Brought Back Under the Name of Belief
VI

The Philosophy of the Conditioned
VII

The Philosophy of the Conditioned, as Applied by Mr. Mansel to the Limits of Religious Thought
VIII

Of Consciousness, as Understood by Sir William Hamilton
IX

Of the Interpretation of Consciousness
X

Sir William Hamilton’s View of the Different Theories Respecting the Belief in an External World
XI

The Psychological Theory of the Belief in an External World
XII

The Psychological Theory of the Belief in Matter, How Far Applicable to Mind
XIII

The Psychological Theory of the Primary Qualities of Matter
XIV

How Sir William Hamilton and Mr. Mansel Dispose of the Law of Inseparable Association
XV

Sir William Hamilton’s Doctrine of Unconscious Mental Modifications
XVI

Sir William Hamilton’s Theory of Causation
XVII

The Doctrine of Concepts, or General Notions
XVIII

Of Judgment
XIX

Of Reasoning
XX

On Sir William Hamilton’s Conception of Logic as a Science. Is Logic the Science of the Laws, or Forms, of Thought?
XXI

The Fundamental Laws of Thought According to Sir William Hamilton
XXII

Of Sir William Hamilton’s Supposed Improvements in Formal Logic
XXIII

Of Some Minor Peculiarities of Doctrine in Sir William Hamilton’s View of Formal Logic
XXIV

Of Some Natural Prejudices Countenanced by Sir William Hamilton, and Some Fallacies Which He Considers Insoluble
XXV

Sir William Hamilton’s Theory of Pleasure and Pain
XXVI

On the Freedom of the Will
XXVII

Sir William Hamilton’s Opinions on the Study of Mathematics
XXVIII

Concluding Remarks
Back Matter