E-text prepared by Al Haines
by
Professor of Philosophy in Columbia University
New York
New York
The MacMillan Company
London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd.
1915
Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing Co.—Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
As there cannot be said to be a beaten path in philosophy, and as"Introductions" to the subject differ widely from one another, it isproper that I should give an indication of the scope of the presentvolume.
It undertakes:—
1. To point out what the word "philosophy" is made to cover in ouruniversities and colleges at the present day, and to show why it isgiven this meaning.
2. To explain the nature of reflective or philosophical thinking, andto show how it differs from common thought and from science.
3. To give a general view of the main problems with which philosophershave felt called upon to deal.
4. To give an account of some of the more important types ofphilosophical doctrine which have arisen out of the consideration ofsuch problems.
5. To indicate the relation of philosophy to the so-calledphilosophical sciences, and to the other sciences.
6. To show, finally, that the study of philosophy is of value to usall, and to give some practical admonitions on spirit and method. Hadthese admonitions been impressed upon me at a time when I was inespecial need of guidance, I feel that they would have spared me nolittle anxiety and confusion of mind. For this reason, I recommendthem to the attention of the reader.
Such is the scope of my book. It aims to tell what philosophy is. Itis not its chief object to advocate a particular type of doctrine. Atthe same time, as it is impossible to treat of the problems ofphilosophy except from some point of view, it will be found that, inChapters III to XI, a doctrine is presented. It is the same as thatpresented much more in detail, and with a greater wealth of reference,in my "System of Metaphysics," which was published a short time ago.In the Notes in the back of this volume, the reader will findreferences to those parts of the larger work which treat of thesubjects more briefly discussed here. It will be helpful to theteacher to keep the larger work on hand, and to use more or less of thematerial there presented as his undergraduate classes discuss thechapters of this one. Other references are also given in the Notes,and it may be profitable to direct the attention of students to them.
The present book has been made as clear and simple as possible, that nounnecessary difficulties may be placed in the path of those who enterupon the thorny road of philosophical reflection. The subjects treatedare deep enough to demand the serious attention of any one; and theyare subjects of fascinating interest. That they are treated simply andclearly does not mean that they are treated superficially. Indeed,when a doctrine is presented in outline and in a brief and simplestatement, its meaning may be more readily apparent than when it istreated more exhaustively. For this reason, I especially recommend,even to those who are well acquainted with philosophy, the account ofthe external world contained in Chapter IV.
For the doctrine I advocate I am inclined to ask especial considerationon the ground that it is, on the whole, a justification of the attitudetaken by the