Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind

by James Mill

The following are examples of what are called the Disjunctive.

“The ship was well manned; else it would have been lost.”

“Unless the ship had been well manned, it would have been lost.”

In these two examples, the conditioning predications are, “The ship was well manned;” “The ship had been well manned:” the conditioned is, “it would have been lost,” in both instances.

The dependence here, between the conditioning and conditioned, is that of physical consequence. The ship’s not being lost, was the consequence of its being well manned. The contrivance for marking this dependence is akin to that which we have traced in the former instance.

In the first of the two examples, the conditioning 218 predication stands first. How do I mark that the next is conditioned, and conditioned as a physical consequent? I interpose the word else. This is part of an obsolete verb, signifying, to dismiss, to turn out, to take away.[66] And the sentence is thus resolved: “The ship was well manned,” take away that (take away the cause, the effect is taken away also) “she would have been lost.”

[⁶⁶] Else is the genitive of an obsolete adjective, in Gothic alis, corresponding to Lat. alius; and is analogous with Lat. alias.—F.

Other conjunctions of the disjunctive kind, as they are called, would here have answered the same purpose with else. “The ship was well manned, otherwise, she would have been lost.” Otherwise here is precisely of the same import as else. “The ship was well manned;” that being dismissed, that being other than it was; “it would have been lost.”

“The ship was well manned, or it would have been lost.” Or, in German oder, is other. The resolution of this sentence, therefore, is the same as the former.

In the second of the two examples, “Unless the ship had been well manned, it would have been lost,” the contrivance is the same, with a mere change of position. Unless, is a word of the same import, rather the same word, as else. Unless is PREFIXED to the conditioning predication, whereas else is SUFFIXED; and that is the difference.[67] The word except, which signifies take 219 away, may be substituted for unless. A peculiar application of if (give) may here also be exemplified. If with the negative, (if not,) has a similar signification with unless, except; “If the ship had not been well manned, &c.”