Article July 21, 1956 Issue

"PROOF BY INDUCTION"

HARRY E. DE LASAUX

"Christian Science must be accepted at this period by induction. We admit the whole, because a part is proved and that part illustrates and proves the entire Principle," writes Mary Baker Eddy on page 461 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." Bearing the significant marginal heading "Proof by induction," this statement is of vital importance in the correct application of divine law to human problems. When we understand something of the meaning of proof by induction, a bright, new outlook is ours. Our ability to demonstrate Christian Science with more positive skill unfolds.

"Proof by induction" relates to the inductive method of reasoning as used in logic. The endless labor of great thinkers and scholars has gone into the development of sound processes of reasoning. Logic, rising above brute instinct and human will, superstition and blind faith, has been crystallized into clear methods of thought. As a result the human race has been able to overcome many phases of erroneous thinking, bringing into human experience some measure of wisdom and practical good. Many noble men and women have done their part in this important work. Behind it all, the divine Mind, which is God, has supplied both the wisdom and the spiritual ideas to sustain their work.

Briefly defined, "induction" is the "act or process of reasoning from a part to a whole, from particulars to generals, or from the individual to the universal." This definition is well elucidated in the passage quoted earlier from Science and Health, which says that "we admit the whole, because a part is proved and that part illustrates and proves the entire Principle."

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