ABSTRACT

The unity of the homogeneous appears to be the simplest mode. The term unity as Immanuel Kant noted, is somewhat ambiguous. It is used in a numerical sense and in the sense of a whole or system. A mathematical point may be taken as a unity when it is thought of by itself. When a combination of qualities is apprehended as belonging to the unity of an object, the apprehension belongs to a particular conscious centre; and the qualities cannot properly be said to exist except in the sense that they occur in certain connections. The essential point to be noticed in an organic unity is that we have here a system which cannot be explained in a purely mechanical or chemical fashion. The modes of unity that have so far been noticed require, for their fuller treatment, the study of the special sciences, especially mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology.