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2.

engineers and statesmen are simply means, no ends in themselves.

It is also clear that the fulfillment of this main purpose on one hand absolutely necessitates some kind of social cooperation, and on the other hand makes a better co-operation and a more thorough social unity possible. Science is the only activity that is truly international, and for that reason alone its evolution should be the leading thread of any universal history.

Science is essentially a cumulative process. Its domain is the only one in which every bit of experience can be and actually is turned into account. One may argue the points as to whether men are better now than they were twenty-four centuries ago or as to whether their art or literature is greater, but it is an indisputable fact that they know more, and also that they are more conscious of their common purpose and more able to tame the forces of nature to this purpose. It is almost impossible to prove conclusively the progress of human society if the study of its intellectual development is neglected.

The object of the History of Science, as we understand it, is to establish the genesis and the development of scientific facts and ideas, taking into account all intellectual exchanges and all influences brought into play by the very process of civilization. It must be kept in mind that it is not enough to study the evolution of each science taken separately; it is necessary to consider them all together, inasmuch as their development is the result of their continuous co-operation. Auguste Comte saw this very clearly as early as 1826. He was also the first to

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---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-04-04 13:07:37