Work Classification Layer
Compare Works
Pick two or more works to set their attribute fingerprints, dimension-by-dimension passages, and shared school embodiments side by side. Especially useful for author-stage comparisons (Wittgenstein early vs late) and for setting a single tradition's foundational texts against each other.
The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences
Whewell's 1840 philosophical companion to the History — the doctrine of Fundamental Ideas and the consilience of inductions
Attribute Fingerprint
Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.
| Attribute | The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences (Mid-career (companion to the History)) |
|---|---|
| Time · Extent | Infinite |
| Time · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Time · Grain | Continuous |
| Time · Freedom | Deterministic |
| Time · Traversability | Linear |
| Time · Dimensionality | One |
| Time · Direction | Uni-directional |
| Space · Extent | Infinite |
| Space · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Space · Curvature | Flat |
| Space · Dimensionality | Three |
| Space · Locality | Local |
| Matter · Extent | Finite |
| Matter · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Matter · Conservation | Conserved |
| Matter · Dimensionality | Three |
| Matter · Locality | Local |
| Observer · Time Instance | Single |
| Observer · Space Instance | Single |
| Observer · Knowledge Extent | Mediate |
| Observer · Knowledge Retainment | Total |
| Observer · Physicality | Embodied |
| Observer · Agency | Active |
| Observer · Number | Plural |
| Observer · Metaphysical Agency | Limited |
| Observer · Moral Authority | Revelation |
| Observer · Theological Method | — |
| Energy · Extent | Finite |
| Energy · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Energy · Conservation | Conserved |
| Energy · Dispersibility | Irreversible |
| Information · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Information · Cosmic Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Personal Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Granularity | Continuous |
Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence
What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.
Time
The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences
1840 — Victorian Cambridge.
Space
The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences
Trinity College, Cambridge — Whewell's mastership context.
Matter
The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences
Two-volume systematic philosophy of science.
Observer
The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences
Whewell as philosopher of the inductive sciences.
Energy
The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences
Systematic-architectonic energies — building a philosophy founded on history.
Information
The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences
Two volumes of aphorisms and discussion.
Internal Tensions
Where each work's argument pulls against itself.
Mill's 'System of Logic' (1843) was written in part against Whewell's 'Philosophy'; the Mill–Whewell debate defined Victorian philosophy of science.