Observations on some of the physical, chemical, physiological and pathological phenomena of malarial fever / by Joseph Jones.

  • Jones, Joseph, 1833-1896.
Date:
1859
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on some of the physical, chemical, physiological and pathological phenomena of malarial fever / by Joseph Jones. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    existence and manifestation, of all other phenomena. These phe- nomena have been called1 general or simple, because they appear to be not only independent in their own existence of all other phenomena, but they form the foundation of the manifestation and conditions of the existence of all other phenomena. We have another class of phenomena which are confined to cer- tain forms of matter, and whose existence and manifestation depend upon definite circumstances and the pre-existence of the general phenomena. These phenomena are called complex or particular. Thus the law of gravity, which (so far as our means of observation extend) affects every molecule of matter throughout the universe, is an instance of a general phenomenon; whilst physiological phe- nomena, which are manifested by only a comparatively small num- ber of bodies, are instances of complex or particular phenomena. General phenomena are wholly independent of the particular or complicated; whilst the particular or complicated are dependent upon the general, and cannot exist without them. Thus, we cannot conceive of matter without weight, but we do conceive and know of the existence of matter in a state of perfect freedom from the manifestation of physiological phenomena. It is evident that if we wish to understand the complex phenomena, we must analyze the component phenomena, and examine first the most general, which form the foundations of the existence and manifestation of the restricted or complex. Man stands upon the summit of a pyramid, the foundation of which is the inorganic world, and the materials composing this pyramid consist: first, of plants in various stages of development, the simple extending downwards, the more complicated extending upwards, diminishing in numbers as they increase in complexity • and, secondly, of animals in various stages of development, increas- ing in complexity and diminishing in numbers as they extend upwards. To understand the physical and physiological constitu- tion of man, we must commence at the base of the pyramid and examine successively all the elements, with their properties forces and constitution—we must examine the relations of the individual elements to each other and to the universe. 1 That the true principles of the classification of the phenomena of the universe were recognized by the ancients, as well as by the moderns, is demonstrated by the fact that the historical development and classification of the sciences correspond with the logical classification. The principles of classification and the relations of the sciences have been discussed in a masterly manner by Auguste Comte in his Positive Philosophy.