EPISTEMOLOGY but at the same time, with this characteristic that it obtains it indirectly, not directly (US 199) Reason does not actually perceive anything: it is a faculty for proceeding from things that are perceived to things that are not The exercise of reason is to assert one thing on the grounds of some other thing Newman identifies two different operations of the intellect that are exercised when we reason: inference (from premisses) and assent (to a conclusion) It is important to keep in mind that these two are quite distinct from each other We often assent to a proposition when we have forgotten the reasons for assent; on the other hand assent may be given without argument, or on the basis of bad arguments Arguments may be better or worse, but assent either exists or not It is true that some arguments are so compelling that assent immediately follows inference But even in the cases of mathematical proof there is a distinction between the two intellectual operations A mathematician who has just hit upon a complex proof would not assent to its conclusion without going over his work and seeking corroboration from others Assent, as has been said, may be given without adequate evidence or argument This often leads to error; but is it always wrong? Locke maintained that it was: he gave, as a mark of the love of truth, the not entertaining any proposition with greater assurance than the proofs it is built on will warrant ‘Whoever goes beyond this measure of assent, it is plain receives not truth in the love of it, loves not truth for truth-sake, but for some other by-end’ (Essay concerning Human Understanding, iv xvi) Locke maintained that there can be no demonstrable truth in concrete matters, and therefore assent to a concrete proposition must be conditional and fall short of certitude Absolute assent has no legitimate exercise except as ratifying acts of intuition or demonstration Newman disagrees There are no such things as degrees of assent, he maintains, though there is room for opinion without the assent that is necessary for knowledge Every day, as it comes, brings with it opportunities for us to enlarge our circle of assents We read the newspapers; we look through debates in Parliament, pleadings in the law courts, leading articles, letters of correspondents, reviews of books, criticisms in the fine arts, and we either form no opinion at all upon the subjects discussed, as lying out of our line, or at most we have only an opinion about 147