A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive

Mill's Logic, first published in 1843, became an instant cult book, and firmly established Mill as the leader of the empirical school of logic. A System of Logic is the first major installment of his comprehensive restatement of an empiricist and utilitarian position. It begins the attack on "intuitionism" which Mill carried on throughout his life, and makes plain his belief that social planning and political action should rely primarily on scientific knowledge, not on authority, custom, revelation, or prescription.

In this two-volume work of 1843, John Stuart Mill (1806-73) establishes the principles of inductive reasoning and experimental method that inform his later works of political and social philosophy. Volume 2 includes Book VI, 'On the Logic of the Moral Sciences', an important early treatment of social science.