Note 15 — ÉTUDE SUR STUART MILL

We must first observe, that there is a principe implied in the very statement of what Induction is; an assumption with regard to the course of nature and the order of universe: namely, that there are such things in nature as parallel cases; that what happens once, will, under a sufficient degree of similarity of circumstances, happen again, and not only again, but as often as the same circumstances recur. This, I say, is an assumption, involved in every case of induction. And, if we consult the actual course of nature, we find that the assumption is warranted. The universe, we find, is so constitued, that whatever is true in any one case, is true at all cases of a certain description; the only difficulty is, to find what description.