There are to things that this book is not. First, it is not an historical introduction to philosophy. I have dealt only in a few cases with the history of the problems under consideration, but have generally given only brief notes and a few references to guide the student should he desire to devote some time to looking up historical matters. Secondly, it is not a handbook of philosophy. It does not give pro and con all the various doctrines held by the great philosophical writers of the past and the leading writers of the present. It does not give an exhausitive bibliography under the different headings, but mentions as a rule only those books with whose titles the beginner should get acquainted and in which he will find the best introduction to a further and profounder treatment of the problem in hand. But what is the book? It is a attempt to state and explain the chief problems of philosophy as problems actually existing to-day, and to give such solution of these as the author is able to give. In fact, its chief value seems to me to lie in the selection and in the order of the problems with which it deals. The instructor who uses the book for his classes may easily select those chapters which he wishes to omit and those which he desires to emphasize. I strongly urge the beginner and the general reader to omit fot the first reading the following chapter: V, VII, X, XII, XIII, XX, XXX, XXXI, XXXIII, XLV, XLVI, XLVII, LVII and LVIII. By so doing the book will gain in interest and the main argument will not be seriously disturbed. I am quite aware that the book has many faults, but my excuse for publishing it now is, first, the belief that it is an approach toward what an introduction to philosophy should be, and, secondly, the desire to learn through it how to write a better introduction some time in the future, especially in case a second edition is called for. Doubtless, the reader will find inconsistencies; but inconsistency between the solutions of different problems does not seem to me a fatal fault, for I believe that we philosophers should profit by following the example of natural science and devoting ourselves chiefly to separate problems and their solution, even if we have to set aside for the time being the making of a system. Hence I have tried to present a series of problems and their solutions rather than a completed philosophical system. In this presentation there is, of course, a system, or general doctrine, in the background, and a word should be said about it. If I have understood Prof. Münsterberg aright in the first chapter of his "Psychology and Life." I agree with every statement that he there makes. My terminology is different, but my general views are the same. I should call the main doctrine of my book a rationalistic idealism. By idealism I mean the doctrine that denies the existence of a transcendent world, and that, therefore, limits all problems to the world of experience. By rationalism I mean that our attempt to interpret the world must presuppose premises or a priori truths about the world. Against naturalism I maintain that man's ideals can rightly lay claim to the same validity as does his science; and in behalf of naturalism I attempt to justify the atomic mechanical interpretation of nature and indirectly of mind. The book presupposes on the part of the reader a general knowledge of natural science, psychology, and formal logic. Next a word about its use for classes. It is not intended to be exactly a text-book. Rather it is to furnish the student with a problem and with enough information about the problem for him to take an active part in a discussion in class. The instructor will doubtless disagree with much that I have said, and will wish to impart to his students his own views and his objections to mine. My expectation is that he will do so, and that the book will be merely a help to prepare the student for this. In short, the ideal introductory course in systematic philosophy seems to me to be not a lecture course nor a series of recitations.
There are to things that this book is not. First, it is not an historical introduction to philosophy. I have dealt only in a few cases with the history of the problems under consideration, but have generally given only brief notes and a few references to guide the student should he desire to devote some time to looking up historical matters. Secondly, it is not a handbook of philosophy. It does not give pro and con all the various doctrines held by the great philosophical writers of the past and the leading writers of the present. It does not give an exhausitive bibliography under the different headings, but mentions as a rule only those books with whose titles the beginner should get acquainted Vand in which he will find the best introduction to a further and profounder treatment of the problem in hand. The book presupposes on the part of the reader a general knowledge of natural science, psychology, and formal logic.
Hindu (1813)
Philosophers (2348)
Aesthetics (320)
Comparative (72)
Dictionary (12)
Ethics (52)
Language (353)
Logic (85)
Mimamsa (62)
Nyaya (140)
Psychology (536)
Samkhya (60)
Shaivism (67)
Shankaracharya (236)
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Visual Search
Manage Wishlist