God Arises
The Method of Argument
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of fact. All that we know by sense perception
is partial and patchy, meaningless when
regarded by itself. It is only when we come to
know more facts—many more than we can
directly perceive— that we begin to discover
among them the first signs or order, regularity
and system.
He makes his point with a very simple
example.
We may perceive a bird, after striking a
telephone wire, fall dead to the earth. We
perceive that some muscular effort is required
to raise a stone form the ground. We perceive
the moon passing across the sky. We perceive
that it is more tiring to walk uphill than
downhill. A thousand perceptions all
probably unrelated. Then an inference is
made—the law of gravitation. Immediately all
these perceived facts, together with this
inferred fact, fit together; and so we are able
to recognize order, regularity, system, among
them all. The perceived facts, regarded by
themselves, are irregular, unrelated, and
