TO

FIR ST TEACHER S O F PHILO S O PHY

I
TH S B O O K IS A FFE C T I ONA TELY I A TED
DE D C

BY

I
TH E R S O N
 PRE FA CE

TH E c hief p p
u r in es o f this w o r k a re ( a ) t o p re sent the
st u dent with a meth od o f stu dying pr o blem s o f the type of
th o se discussed in phil o s ophy especially and in the s o ci a l
s ciences generally and ( b ) t o acquaint him with the fu nd a
,

mental m ovements a n d pr oblems o f phil o s o phy The imma

.

ture st udent usually leaves his early c ou rses with thefeeling

“
that he has gained little o f value and that everything is u p
in the air .
”
He has c ome fr o m th e study o f the exact
s ciences and mathematic s and t o tackle the p ro blems o f
,

phil o s o phy directly wh en there is no meth od in sight f o r

han dling them creates the feel ing that he is beating thin air .

The experi ence o f the average student is seld o m s u ch as t o

‘

render him sympathetic with th e great pr oblems o f p hil os o

—
phy he is t o o f ul lo f the c o ncret e a ff airs o f the w o rld t o
st o p t o t h e o ri z e and speculate ; and his past training in the
exact s ciences and mathematics renders him suspici o us o f
any pr o ced u re th at d oes no t app r o ximate the ex actness that
prevail s in the w orl d h e kn ows The pr o blems themselves
.

generally seem t o o far away and t o o indefinite C o ns e

.

qu ently bo th fr om t h e standp oint o f meth od and pr oblem

, ,

matters appear alien and students are driven away fr o m

,

the furth er st u dy o f phil o s o ph y L ater in experi ence indefi

.

nit ene ss may b e l o ok ed u p o n

, and righ tf u l ly s o p o ssibly as ,

a thing t o be desired .

W ith th es e tw o ideas u ppe rm o st th is t ext attempts t o

,

fu rnish a meth o d th e genetic o inductive no t o nly in the o ry

,
-

bu t in the act u al handling o f the subj ect matter o f the bo ok

7
8 P reface

itsel f ; and t o sh ow th a t t h e p robl e ms of p h il osop h y a re not

s o meth ing f a r re moved fr om t h e cr owd s ign oble stri fe

“ ’ ”
,

bu t t h at t h ey gr o w o u t o f t h e c o nditi o ns o f the act u all ife o f

th e pe op l e I t is no t a t all c l
. aimed th at th es e a re new ide a s ,

bu t it d o es seem that t h ey h ave no t been s u fficientl y em

h a siz ed in intr o d u ct o ry c o u rses a nd indeed in the l iter
p , , , a

t u re o f cert ain fix ed varieties o f phil

“ ”
o s o phy. I f t o o m u ch
emp h asis is placed o n t h ese ideas it is be c a u se of t h e l a ck of

it in many o ther w o rks .

I t is als o h o ped that th e l ink ing u p of ph il o s o p hy wi t h

th e aff airs o f l ife will aid in t h e directi o n o f rendering it a

m o re vita lfo rce in the a ff airs o f this w o rl d—in th e render
ing o f k n o wl edge o f p h il o s o p h y p ower in man s w o rl
’
d .

A c k n owledgments are du e t o a large gr o up o f men w h o se

lect u res I have been f o rt u nate en ou gh t o attend t o th o se p a
,

tient st u dents Wh o se w o rk s I h ave fre qu entl y cited a nd t o

,

my wife who h a s h el p ed at e very t u r n in t h e prep arati on of

th e man u sc ript .

H O L LY E S TIL CUN NIN G H A M .

The Uni versity o f O kl a h oma ,

S eptember 1 , 1 91 9 .
 C O N TE N TS
CH A PTER

M E TH OD O F TREA TM ENT
TH E P S Y C H OLOG I C A L BA C K G R OU N D OF P H I LO S
O PH Y

TH E P H YS I C A L BA C K G R OU N D OF P H I LO S O PH Y

TH E SO C IA L BA C K G R OU N D OF P H I LO S O PH Y

A G EN C IE S IN TH E A D VAN C E FROM C U S T OM TO
R EFLE C T I O N
TH E N A T URE O F P RI MI T I V E TH OUG H T
ORI G IN O F TH E P R OBLE M S O F P H I LO S O PH Y
TH E P R OBLE M S OF P H I LO S O PH Y

P LA T O NI C I D EA LI S M

P H I LO S O PH Y F ROM TH E D E CL IN E OF G REE K
SP E CULA T I O N To TH E R ENAI S S AN C E
PH I LO S O PH Y F R OM TH E R ENAI S S AN C E TO B ERK E
LEY

S UB JE C T I V E I D EA L I S M

O B JE C T I V E I D EAL I S M

EMPIRI C I S M
TH E D OC T R I NE O F EV OLU T I O N
E V OLU T I O N IN D I S C I PL INE S R E LA T E D
LO S O P H Y

XVII . E VO LU T I O N A ND TH E D I S C I PL INE S OF P H I LO S O PH Y

I ND EX
INTRO DUC TIO N TO PH ILO S O PH Y

C HA P TE R I

M E T H OD O F T REA T M EN T

1 . Introduct ory .
—Every nderta k ing mu st f ol
u lo w s ome

pl an o r meth o d if it w o uld be fruitful in results The d a ta

.

whi ch any science takes a s its o wn m u st be ha ndl ed in a c

,

c o r d a nc e wi th s o me we l lc o nceived plan in o rder that a ny

-

o ne w ho w o u ld f o ll o w the s cience mi ght bec o me po ssessed o f

the p oint o f view o f the a u th o r o f it I n fact the meth o d

.
,

which is empl o yed is o f t h e greates t im p o rt ance in d ete rmin

ing the value o f any intellectual pursuit I f o ne were asked
.

t o indicate in wh at field in tell ectu al eff o rt s have made the

mo st advance in recent yea rs o ne w o uld no t be f a r wr o ng
,

in assertin g that the m o st far reaching and influential steps

-

had been taken in the rea l m o f s cientific meth o d o r the ,

meth o d o f p ro cedure We may cite as e x amples the ra dical

.

chan g es c o nnected with the meth o ds o f present day e co no

mists in c o ntrast w ith the earlier thinker in this field w ho
w o rked o n a few s o called axi o matic principles fr o m which
-

be deduced his system ; o r the psych ol o gist w h o f o rmerly em

“ ”
pl o yed the arm chair meth o d o n the w o rkings o f his own
c o nsci o usness in c o ntrast with the m odern man o f this
,

s cience wh o se l a bo rat o ry rivals in c ompleteness that o f the

physicist o r chemis t The meth od o f ded u cti on , s o fru itful
.

11
12 A n I ntr odu c tion t o P hi l
o s op hy

in many w a y s ha s u nt ilrecentl
, , y been the meth od p a r ea:
,

cel l ence o f s cience . I t wa s t h o ugh t th a t this meth o d was the

meth o d o f m athematics and that since m a th em atics is p e
, ,

c ul ia rly certain and e x act t h e o

, t h er sciences in o rder t o ,

p o sses s th ese s a me attribu tes m u st als o fo ll o w this meth o d

, .

I n the p h ysica l s ciences es pe cially the ex p eriment a l

, ,

met h od ha s w on t h e day B riefly this meth o d c a n b

.
, e de

s cribe d a s w or king u nde r c o ntr ol led c o nditi o ns With the .

h ist o ric a la nd s o ci als ciences the case is s omewha t di ff erent

— th e c o nditi on s c a n no t wel lbe c ontr ol led This d o es no t .

mean t h at no c ontr olwh atever can be exercised f o r if this ,

were th e c a se no m ovements o f ref o rm c o ul d be p o ssible ; bu t

it d oe s me an th at in th e l atter the c o ntr olis m o re difficult
t o s ec u re . W e ma y say that the meth o d t o be pursued in
deal ing wit h s o cia l p ol ,
itical e c o n omic religi o us and phil o
, , ,

s op hi cal pr o bl ems is t h e gene tic meth o d I t may be de .

scribe d as th e treatment o f pr oblems fr o m t he standpo int

o f t h ei r o ri gin and devel o ment fr o m the p o int o f view o f
p ,

th eir genesis and hist o ry This meth o d whi ch is no t new

. ,

bu t wh ic h h as no t been applied c o nsistently t o a l lthe p r ob

lems o f interest ; h a s certain adv a nta ge s wh ich will now be
p o inted o u t
A d va nt a g es of th e Genet ic Meth od —
.

2
. O i th e t w o met h
o d s o f reas o nin g u sually empl o yed t h e deductive and the in ,

d u c t ive t h e genetic meth o d is m o re in h arm o ny with the

,

spirit o f t h e latter I t has no general principles t o re a s o n

.

fr o m bu t it assists in t h e f o rm ul ati o n o f pri nciples s o that

the ded u cti ve meth o d may the n be empl oyed as a test o f the
-

n m nes s o f the principles r eached genetica l ly bist o ri

g e u e ,

c ally experimentally and ind u ctively

, ,
.

( )
a I t gi ve s s im p le r m a t er i a lt o wo r k wi th Wh en we .

l o ok abo u t u s t o day we find th a t o u r meth o ds o f act io n are

,

s o c o mpl e x th at we are l ikel y t o bec ome c o nfused and l o se

 M e thod o f Tr ea t me nt 13

ou r way O u r political life calls here o u r ec on omi c th ere

.
, ,

o u r reli i o u s y o nder O n every side we find c on flicting

g .

claims whi ch demand attenti o n .

I n the last few decades we h a ve s o changed ou r meth ods

of l ivin g that it is alm o st imp o ssible t o get o u tside o f the
demands o f the present t o investigate the principle which
run s thr o ugh allo u r acti o ns We have be c o me s o spe cial .

iz ed that it is with g reat difficulty that we can s ee th e claims

o f o u r o pp o nents is within the last century that m o st
I" .

o f the great inventi o ns which have chan ged o u r meth o ds o f

getting a living have been made Each o ne o f us is able no .

l onger t o carry o n a l lthe activities necessary t o the de

mands o f m o dern life and the result is that e ach must d o
,

s ome o ne thing well and leave the rest t o s o m e o ne else A .

s ch olar now is o ne w ho h as bec o me a s p ecialist in s ome o ne

line o f interest He is no t the man he o nce w as namely o ne
.
, ,

w ho knew everything We s o metimes w o nder ho w it c o uld be

.

p o ssible f o r a man t o be s o learned as were s o me o f the a n

cient s , but we must remember that there was no t s o much
t o be kn o wn in th o se d a ys A man might kn o w a l labo u t
.

physics chemistry medicine astr on o my and mathem atics

, , , , ,

but there was no t s o m u ch t o be kn o wn ab o ut each o f these

in the earlier days F o r example when the treatment o f
.
,

diseases centered abo ut bleeding the p atient and givin g him

much ho t water t o drink o ne s o o n c o uld be c ome a physician
, .

C o nsequently if we begin genetically we shall find o u r m a

,

t e ri a lg reatly simplified We sh all see the s ame principle at

.

w o rk thr o u gh o ut but it will be m ore easil

, y witnessed when
th e details are no t s o numer o u s .

( )
b The g enetic meth o d illustrates a gr e at principl e f or

the interpretati o n o f intellectual activity namely t ha t , ,

t heo rie s a re the c hi l

d o f the fl a ge in whic h they ha ve ou r

ished . It is Often th o ught th at certain th e o ries are t r u e

14 A n I nt r oduc tion to P hil
os op hy

u nivers a lly i a r egardl

, . . ess o f time p l
, ace o r c irc u mst ance ;
, ,

bu t t h e genetic met h o d sh o ws u s that th e o ri es principles , ,

t ruth s axi o ms et cetera a re merely me thod s o f meeting

, , ,

certai n p r o blems which ar o se in the expe rience o f the pe o ple

wh o p r o j e cted the the o ry o r principle This principle that
.

the o ries truths a nd axi o ms are the child o f the age in which
, ,

they have fl o urished will be empl o yed by us in o u r disc u ssi o ns

o f the vari o u s phil o s o phica lsystems which we shall c o nsider

fa rther o n We find it difficult o n any o th er p rinciple t o

.

a cc o u n t f o r vari o us practices which we kn o w t o o cc u r in

pri mitive s o ciety I t als o a s s1 5 t s us in inter preting c u st o ms
.

o f ancient pe o ples w h ic h t o u s ap ea r even imm o ral S uc h

, p .

the o rie s f o r e x ample a s natural ri ghts the Pt o lemaic

,
“
,
” “

astr o n omy th e c o ntract the o ry o f the state the divine

,
” “ ” “
,

right o f k ings h ave be en fru itfu l and indeed have met the
”

c onditi ons against whi c h t h ey were s et ; but they hav e served

t h eir day and p o sses s f o r u s an hist o ri c al interes t o nly .

( c ) T h e genetic met h o d m a k e s p o ssible a s t a t em en t o f

the p rincip l e of p rogr es s I t is by a treatm ent o f matters
.

in their hist ori cal devel op ment th at we dis c o ver the c o ndi
ti o ns th at ma k e th e devel op ment p o ssibl e Sh o uld we take.

things as they are with u s t od ay we sh o uld experi ence gre at

diffic u lty in making evident t h e p rinciples which are im p licit
in the cha o s o f life ; we sh o uld have no means o f dis c overi ng
the meth od by which pr o gress is mad e f o r we sh o uld kn o w
n o ne o f the di ffic u lties agains t whi ch past the o ries and pri n
c ip le s have been s e t The genetic meth od h o wever renders
.
, ,

les s difli cu l t t he task o f ac c ou nting f or p r og ress by sh o wing

j us t what fact o rs wer e p resent in the experience o f a ny
peri od which made necessary a rec onstructi o n o f the the o
ries o f that peri o d The meth o d makes it p o ssible t o indicate
.

the relati o n bet ween the physical envir o nment a nd t h e

th ou gh t o f th e p eri od ; the in fl u ence o f wars ; the si gnific an ce
 M e tho d o f Tr ea t me nt 15

o fthe mingling o f di ff erent ra ces ; the infl u ence o f newer

meth o ds of sec u ri ng f o o d and cl o thi ng ; and in sh o rt , ,

it pro vides f o r the intr o ducti o n o f all matters whi ch

a re infl u enti a l in shapin g the intellectual attitudes o f a p e o
ple Fr o m an exam inati o n o f these facts we disc over a prin
.

cip l e whi ch is valuable as a me a ns o f ref o rm a principle ,

which makes it p o ssible t o predict with reas o nable a ccuracy

the p o ssible o u tc o me o f any given se t o f c o nditi o ns Fr o m .

th e standp o int o f ref o rm we o bserv e that this can o ccur

,

o nl y when the pr o per c o nditi o ns underlyin g it are present .

I t m ak es evident th e fact that great ref o rms can n o t o ccur

in a ni ght that r ev oluti o ns are the result o f a c o ntin u o u s
,

gr o wth al o ng s o cial p o litical ec on omic religi o u s and in

, , , ,

t ellec t u a lli nes and a re no t as is s o metimes th o u ght by the

, ,

demagogue and even by the s o cial refo rm er the result o f

,
“ ”
,

sudden and s po radic o u tbreak al ong s o me particular line

o f interest .

( )
d The geneti c me t h o d a c qu a i n t s a s wi t h s u r viva ls .

S h o u ld we be gin o u r investigati o n o f pr oblems such as are

present with us t o day we sh ould shut o urselves o u t fr o m
-

o ne o f th e frui tful means o f inter retati o n o f facts Facts

p .

as th ey exis t with us h ave a hist o ry ; they did no t spring

full gro wn fr o m the head o f Ze u s but e ach o ne is steeped in
,

the dew o f t h e p as t Facts are neither t ru e no r false—they

.

j u st a r e ; and since t hi s is the case we sh o uld have no means

o f eva l uating them u nless we had rec o urse t o a meth o d
which gives light o n how th e facts came t o be a s t h ey are
and wh at th ey are A vestigialfact mi ght t o all in t ents and
.
,

pu rp o ses masquer a de as a valid valu able o r genu ine fact

, , ,

unless we possess means o f kn o wing that it is inde ed a s u r

viva l The hum an bo dy po ssesses a gr e a t numbe r o f o rg ans
.

whi ch a s far as we can dete rmine have ceased t o functi on

, ,

in t h e vit a lpr o cesses of th e o rganism Thes e are ves ti gi al .

16 A n I nt roduc tion to P hil
os op hy

o rgans w hic h h ave served their p u r p o ses in th e ec on omy of

the o rganis m in s o me rem o te p ast but which are now o f no
,

discernible va l u e in the p r o ces ses whi c h are ess ential t o t he

wel fa re Of the individ u al J u s t s o it is with certain facts

.

s o me are s u rvivals and we have no o ther meth o d o f kn owing

,

this than by a st u dy o f how t h ings c ame t o be wh at t h ey a re .

Wh en we o nce k n o w t h at a c u st om is a s u rvival be it a ma t ,

ter o f m o ral ity o r Of s cience o r o f phil o s ophy o r what no t ,

we are abl e t o be h ave intel ligently in the presence o f the

fact ; we are abl e t o eva l ua t e it ; and the bu sines s o f eva l uat

ing facts is th e h ighest a ch ievemen t o f th e species ; it is this

w hi c h di ff erentiates ma n fr o m th e o ther ani mals The r e .

sul t s o f m o re elabo rate intellect u aleff o rt s such a s t h e o ries

, ,

h yp o th eses standp oints meth o ds o f interpretati on are als o

, , ,

m atters o f hist o ry . These fre quentl y s u rvive in an age

wh ic h is u ns u ited f o r t h em j u st as cl o t h ng in cert ain s ec
i
ti o ns is o u t o f styl e T h e c h ange fro m the ol
. d t o t h e new
h as not been s o radic albu t t h a t the o lder t h e o ry answers
cert ain dem a nds and f o r thi s reas o n it remains o ver bey o nd
its f ul lu sef u l nes s and in genera lserves as a c h ec k t o fu rt h er
pr o gress .

The genetic met h o d is val u abl e j u st h e r e in th at it ma k es

kn own th ose s u rvivals in fa ct and in the o ry I t assists u s in .

i vm d e c o nsidera t i o n t o and f ll ap reciati o n of the

g g u , u p ,

merits o f t h e system in qu esti on .

I t m a k es u s t olerant ; we are l ess pr o ne t o th r ow as ide a

meth o d o f th o u gh t as u seless o r w o rthl ess l ess likely t o dis
,

miss a system o f m o ra l ity as f o ol i s h o r abs u rd les s li k el

, y to
di smiss a reli gi o u s system a s fa l se if we k n ow the c o nditi o ns
,

and circ u mstances s u r ro u nding its o ri gin and devel o pment .

When we kn o w thes e c o nditi o ns it is pr obabl e that we shall

feel that the system o f religi o n o r of m o rality o r o f phil
, , os

op hy whic h was b o rn o f t h e m is t h e onl y syste m in t h e

 M e tho d o f Tr ea t men t 17

pr es ence o f t h e circu mstan ces whi ch w o ul d do j u stice t o

them ; o r at least we sh a ll s ee that the syste m is pla u sible
a n d is c o nsistent wit h th e circ u mst ances whi ch it attem t ed
p
t o mee t
.
 C HA P TER I I

TH E PS Y C H OLOG I C A L B A C K GROU N D O F P H I LO S O P H Y

1 . The Meaning Pl a ce of Psy ch ol

a nd ogy Wh en we .
-

speak o f p sych o l o gy a s a ba ckgr ou nd o f phil o s o phy we d o

no t mean t o empl o y the te rm as it is o rdinaril y u sed in the
text bo oks o n that subj ect Psych ol o gists generally are
.

deal ing with the ind ivid u a l c o nsci o usness and thi s is the
psych o l o gist s own T h e traditi o nal meth o d o f that s cience
’
.

is intr o spe cti on and this tends t o n a rr o w t h e view o f the

,

sc o pe o f psych o l o gy Thi s meth o d is le as t e ff e c ti ve in a

.

realm o f beh a vi o r whic h is o f greates t im po rtance f o r the

u nderstanding o f many o f t he pr o blems o f po litics e c o nom ,

ics s o ci ol o gy religi o n and phil o s o phy That re alm is o u r

, , , .

em o ti o nal and instinctive beh a vi o r I ntr o s p ecti o n yields r e

.

s ul t s in the field o f the c o gnitiv e pr o cess es which are espe

c ia ll amenable t des c ripti on analysis and classificati on
y o , , ,

bu t man is m o re t han a th inking being ; h e is a feeling being

as well Man thinks o nly when he must d o s o I f he is able
. .

t o meet the demands o f the situati o n o n any o ther le ve lo f

‘

c ond u ct th an t h e c ognitive th in k ing Will no t ta k e place

,
.

Writers o n the vari o u s phi l o s o phic a l dis ciplines have gen

er a l l rec o gni z ed the value o f psyc h o l o gy a s a f o undati o n
y
f o r their e ff o rts but beca u se o f a narr o w c o ncepti o n o f th e
, ,

s c op e o f ps ych ol o gy they h a ve been c o mpelled t o assume a

,

set o f psych ol o gic al principles and fr o m these they ded u ce

,

their system F or example the o lde r p olitic al e co n o my

.
,

w o rk ed o n the fals e as s um pti on th at ma n is a reas on abl

“
e
18
 The P sy chol
ogica lB a ckgr ou nd o f P hil
os o h
p y 19

being w ho a l ways s ee k s his own go od Fr om this assump

”
.

ti o n was ded u c ed the pri ncipl e that free c ompe titi o n in the
o pen w o rld markets w o uld sec u re go o ds at th e l o west p o ssi

ble c o st B u t such the o rists failed t o t a ke int o acc o unt a n

.

o ther a s pect o f man s mak e u p

— ’
namely the feelin g o r emo
, ,

t iona lside They o verl o oked the fact that man is m o ved t o
.

act o n o ther levels and bases than the intellectual ; th at he

is o pe n t o su ggesti o n a fact w hic h is daily dem o nstra t ed in
,

the p rinciples o f advertising .

Psycho l o gy a s we mean t o use it in thi s c o nnecti o n d o es

, ,

n o t d eal with a strictly individual human mind f o r such ,

mind is an abstracti o n and has no si gni fic ance f o r o u r pur

po ses B u t in keeping with o u r statements in the first chap
.

ter the m i nd itself is a pr od uct o f the a ges I t is the result

, .

o f the play o f innumerable s o cial and envir o nmental fac t o rs .

I n this sense we may speak o f mind as s o cial c o nsci o usnes s

and o f the self as a s o cial self The mind a s we sha l
. lV i ew ,

it is po ssessed o f certain tendencies t o acti o n which deter

, ,

mine the m o re el abo rate and c omplex f orms o f behavi o r .

These tendencies we call the instinc ts which are the f o un

tains fr o m which m o re elabo rate ty p es o f acti o n fl o w I t is .

t o be u nderst o o d that the instincts themselves h av e a his

“ ”
t o ry and are no t ultimate givens in the sense that they
,

were planted in man o nce f o r all at s o m e early pe ri od o f his

existence They may be describe d as race habits meth od s
.
,

o f meetin g cert ain crises in t he battle that m a n had t o wage

a gainst the c ompe tit o rs in the w o rld and against the w o rld
,

itself
Th e Origin O f th e I nst in ct s —A s t o the o ri gin o f th e
.

2 . .

instincts we have no t time t o inquire at any length th o u gh ,

several the o ries have been advanced O ne is the the o ry o f.

la sed in tel
p lige nc e which bri efly is that c o nsci o u sness w as

present at the be ginnin g o f o rganic life and that the first

20 A n I nt r o du c tion t o P hil
o s op hy

movements o f the rga nism wer e cons ci ous ; bu t when

o

t h e move ments be ca me fi x ed c ons ci ou sness l

, apsed and th e
f o rms o f be h avi o r were inh erited by l a t er genera t io ns A n .

o ther the o ry is t h at o f Herbert S pencer w ho h ol ds t h at

,

c o ns ci o u snes s appe ared afte r a cti o ns at s ome m o m ent o f

stres s in th e nerv o us system F o r ou r p u rp o ses we m a y s ay
.

that instin cts represent variati o ns which have pr oved su c

c es s f u lin mee ting the demands which nature made f o r sur

viva l These variati o ns h ave been handed d o wn a l

. o ng wit h

many o thers such as eyes ears and hands a n d a l

, , lrepresent
,

mean s o f meeting the demands o f t h e envir onm ent A l lthe .

instincts a re no t o f equa lst r ength and they vary even in,

di ff erent individuals ; but the h igher types O f behavi o r s u ch

as o u r m o st rec o ndite intellectuale ff o rt s a re f ou nded u l ti
m ately o n these simple m o des o f a cti on
—
.

3. Cl a ss ca on of t e
ifi t i h I nst i nct s The student who h as
g i ven s o me attenti o n t o the study o f instincts a s they are

treated by vari o us psych o l o gists will hav e n o ticed that the

lis t varies fr o m auth o r t o auth o r This is s ometimes due t o
.

the di ff erent p o ints o f view fr o m which the subj ect is a t

t acked and s o metimes fr o m th e purp o ses o f the auth o r W e
, .

shall gro up the instincts under t w o great h eadings namely , ,

th o s e that h ave t o d o with the getting o f f o o d and th o se ,

that h ave t o deal w ith the repr o d u cti o n o f th e species Cer .

tain o f the instincts might p r o fitably be c o nside r ed u nder

either heading f or example the insti n ct o f pugnacity The
, , .

instinct t o fight is ar o used when an o ther o f the spe cies a t

tempts t o bl o ck the s atisfacti o n o f hunger which is c onnected
with the f o o d p ro cesses o r the s ame tendency may be s t imu
,

lated when an o ther encr o aches u p o n the s ex interests o f a ny

membe r o f the spe cies The instinct o f curi o sity als o m ay
.

be c o nsidered as fallin g under b o th headings The he adin g s .

th emselves are selected as c omp rehending all the instincts

 The P s y cho l
ogica lB a ckgr ou nd o f P hilo s o h
p y 21

f or at least t wo re a s o ns : ( a ) foo d a nd se x are two el emental

neces sities f o r any su r vival whatever ; ( b ) in th e c o ncrete
experien ces o f primi tive tri bes and fr o m ou r k n owled ge o f
early man a nd fr om the study o f survivals in th e vari o us
,

aspe cts o f e x perience such as in r eligi o n art literatu re and

, , , ,

s cience we find the a ctivities o f life the cerem o nials the

, , ,

myths m agic e t ce ter a centerin g ar o und these t w o pri me

, , ,

necessities The s ec o nd o f these reas o ns wil

. l be el abo ra t ed
as we p ro cee d but we shall o ff er no a rgu ments f o r o r
, ,

against the first o ne furt her than t o s ay that in the absence

o f these t w o necessities there w o uld b e n o o cc as i o n f o r the

study o f p hilo s o phy o r o f anythi ng else

Th e Pr incip a l Instinct s of Man —W e h ave no w t o
.

4 .

enumerate the chi ef instincts o f man and t o sh ow ho w they

functi o n in h is s o cial and physical envir o nment I t is u m .

d e r s t o o d th at the instincts disc u ssed in this c o nnecti o n fall

under th e t w o g eneral headings menti o ned ab ove s ome u nder ,

o ne , s o me pr obably under bo th .

I t is hi ghl y p r obable that all the instinc t s are derived

f r o m the t w o p rimary needs and that in the l
-

,
ast an alysis
these t w o spri ngs are the feeders o f al lo u r elabo rate and
c o m p lex m o des o f acti o n that they are the m o t o rs which
,

k eep the o r g anism at w o rk B u t we shallspeak o f instincts

.

m o re in k eeping with p res ent psych o l o gicalu s a g e r ather

than t o enter int o c o ntr oversi es o ver th e matter .

( )
a O f the general instinct o f the r epr o ducti o n o f the
species we may n o te the f oll o wing divisi ons
( )
1 T im P a r en t a l I ns t in c t — This is s o metimes called
th e ma terna linstinct be cause it is m o re pr o n o unced in the
female o f t h e spe cies I t is the instinct which d rives
.

the m o th er t o pr o tect and care f o r her y o ung and is c om

mo n no t o nly in the h u man family but in the l ow er a nirria l
w o rld as well I t is o ne o f the m o s t p o werful o f the in
.
22 A n I n t r o duc tion t o P hilo s op hy

st inct s c an readi l
a s o ne y s ee who has beheld the moth er in
,

th e pre sence o f danger sa crifice herself f o r her y o u ng Even .

a m o ng the apes the m o ther carries her y o ung f o r many

m o nt h s seld o m p ermitting a sep arati o n even f o r a sh o rt

,

time O ften t h e em o ti o nal aspects o f the instinct are ex

.

tended thr o ugh ass o ciati o n t o the obj ects whi ch are inti
m ately a ss o ciated with the ch ild Cl o thes and t o ys elicit .

the s ame type o f resp o nse that the o rigin al o bj ect the child , ,

did This transfer t o o the r o bj ects is highly imp o rtant and

.

will be c o nsidered in due time Here we may s a y that e x .

tensi o n o f the em o ti o nal l ife t o o ther obj ects is at the bo t

t o m o f what we k n o w as m o ra lindignati o n whic h is the r o o t
o f pub lic l aw

—
.

( )
2 T h e I ns t inc t o f S elf d i s l
p ya
-

E This instinct is p e

c ul ia r l c o nnected with sex l i fe n o t o nly in m a n but in the

y , ,

l o wer anim als I t is pri marily s o cial in its n a ture as in

.
,

deed are a l linstinct s c o nnected with s ex A m o ng the l ower .

animals t h e ins ti nc t is be st in evidence d u ring th e m ating

sea s on A m o ng y o ung c hildren it is n o ticed in such expres
.

“ ”
si o ns a s S ee wh at I c an d o when s o me display o f physi
, ,

c al ability is m ad e I n the peri o d o f ad ol

. es cenc e it t ak es the
f o rm o f elabo rat e d r ess v anity in girls peculia rities in
, ,

s p eech bravad o in bo ys and numer o us o ther inte resting

, ,

va r i a ti o n s whic h every o ne k n o ws .

O n the o ther h and we h ave t h e instinct o f subj ecti o n t h e ,

c o rrelate o f display whic h is pres ent als o in the l

,
o wer f o rms

o f o rgani sm The little d o g crawls in the presence o f t he

.

big o ne as th o u gh a p o l o gizing f o r being alive ; the y o ung

child exp resses itself al o ng these lines in t he side glances it
casts a t visit o rs and strangers ; the ad oles cent in the p res ,

e n c e o f p arents and o lder pe o ple ; and primi tive and ev e n

civil i zed pe o ple in the presence o f s u pe ri o rs

, We shalll ater .

see the c onnecti on o f t his instinct wit h religi o n and s o cial

 The P sy cho l
o gic a lB a c k gr o u nd f
o P hilo s o h
p y 23

( )
3 The
Pu gna ciou s I ns ti nc t —Thi s is
not o nl y con
ne c t e d with sex but is al
, s o rela t ed t o the fo o d gettin g p r o
cesses The stimulus which calls it int o play is the thwart
.

in g o r o bs tructing o f the free activity which is c alled o u t by

any o ther instinct I n the animal w o rld the g r ea t est excite
.

ment is p r o v oked when the s ex impulse is thwart ed and it is ,

a matter o f c o mmo n Observati o n that it i s st imulated when

f o o d is t aken fro m a hungry animal These elemental t en .

den cies t o attack an o pp o nent when an o th er tendency t o act

is thwarted bec o me highly elabo rated in m o re advanced s o
c i a land ec o n o mic life but the r o o t o f all these elabo rati o ns
,

is t o be f o und in t his p r im o rdial disp o siti o n .

I t has been p o inted o u t that pe o ples o f regi o ns in which

t h e f o o d supply is abu ndant p o ssess a we a k ened pugnaci o us
instinct .

( )
b The instincts w h ich gr o up t h emselves ab o ut the f o od

getting pr o cess and whi ch a re pr obably derived fr o m this

prime necessity will be enumerated at this po int and wil lbe ,

further c o nsidered in an o ther c o nnecti o n .

( I ) Th e G r ega r i o u s I ns tinc t T his

. as is p ractica
, lly
the case with a l lthe o ther instincts is f ou nd in the life and
,

activities o f the l ower animals The instinct is pr ob a bly

.

derived fr o m t h e necessity o f C o Op er a t io n in sec u ring an

ample f o o d supply I t is certain that this instinct is o f first
.

imp o rtance in the building o f s o ci a l instituti ons and is fun ,

d a m ent a lin family life A nthr o p o l o gists disagree as t o the

.

particular f o rm primitive human s o ciety t o o k whether h o rde ,

o r gr o u o f bl o o d relatives but they agre as t the s cial

p , e o o

o r gre g ari o us nature o f man I t is this indi g en o u s tendency

.

which is at the b o tt o m o f the gr o wth o f cities and the pr o b

lems th at gr o w o u t o f them We c an readily see ho w th o se
.

animals which by chance r o amed in gr o ups were a ble t o sur

vive agains t their less fo rtunate c o m p etit o rs w ho struggled
sin gly The latter perished while the fo rmer p assed o n their
.
2 4: A n I nt r o d u c tio n t o P hil
os o h
p y

tendency t o the fu t u re generati o ns A fter a l o ng time t h e

.

tendency became a race habit an instinct whi ch in many , , ,

c a ses w o uld a ct u ally w o rk t o the disadvantage o f th e

,

spe cies f o r many m o re migh t c o ngregate in one place t h an

,

c o uld be supplied with f o o d .

( )
2 T h e I n s t in c t o f A c q u is i t i o n g r o ws o u t o f the f o o d
g etting pr o cess Th o se species which devel o pe d these ten
.

d encie s s u rvived while o thers pe ri shed in the stru ggle fo r e x

is t en c e The instinct is expressed in children who c o llect a nd
.

guard carefully all s o rts o f od ds and ends In e x a ggerat ed .

o r perverted f o rm it is seen in men w h o c ol l ect gr eat f o r

tunes far be y o nd their f o o d o r shelte r nee ds .

T l o ped fr o m t h e
( )
3 he I ns t in c t o f C o n s t ru c t i on is deve
primal necessity fo o d Man s fi rs t t o o ls were c o nst ructed
, .
’

in res p o nse t o the f o o d n eed ; his snares h is bo ws and a r ,

r o ws hi s spe ars and l

, ances a re exp ressi o ns o f the need t o
,

eat His implements Of warf a re are f o r the supreme p u r

.

p o se o f depriving an enemy t ribe o f its means o f living and

o f its w o men I t was A rist o t l
. e who s a id that man is a s o ci al
animal bu t it wel , ,lma y be added ma n is a c ons t ru c ti ve ani
,

m al A gl . ance at th e l arge vessels rail ro ads et ceter a o f

, , ,

m o dern civilizati o n wil lc o nvince one t h at the c o nstructive

instinct is a l lp o werful in the devel
-

o pment o f s o ciety While .

in many ways th e primitive desire f o r f o od seems l os t in th e

m aze o f details a little t h o u ght will revea lth a t a fte r a l
,
l
these w o nderful elabo rati o ns are f o r t h e p u rp o ses o f render
ing les s diffic u lt the gr atificati o n o f th e h u nger demands .

( )
4 T h e I n s t inc t o f C u r i o si t y is the tendency t o ap

pr o ac h and examine an obj ect wh ich e x cites the o rganism .

The u nfa miliar the non habit u al is u su ally the stimulus

,
-

,
.

I t is o f imp o r tance in such activities as the trying o u t o f

new fo o ds new meth o ds o f capture new pl
,
a ns o f m eetin g
,

oble ms , a nd , fin a l l r i ving f o rce in a l l ou r int el l

p r y is a d ,
ec
 The P s y chol
ogic a lB a ckgr o un d o f P hilo s o h
p y 25

tual achi evements I t is the r a dex o f scien ce O f c o u rse it

. .

is quite di fficult t o c o nnect the e ff o rts o f science in every

cas e with the prime needs of life but as James says a l l , , ,

th eo ries must s o o ner o r later cash in in te rms o f th e pra o

“ ”

tic al nee ds o f l
ife .

There are m any o ther innate tendencies t o acti o n w hich

we shall no t discuss here but whi ch may be empl o yed a s o c
casi o n demands a s we advance S uch f o r ex ample a re fe a r .
, , ,

play imi tati o n j eal o usy et cetera A l

, , lthese h o wever a r e
, .
, ,

m o des o f the great neces sities f o r su r vival F o r example .

,

the m o st generally accepted the o ry o f play that o f Gr o o s , ,

is that it is a preparati o n f o r the m o re str enu o us duties

and a ctivities o f life Tarde and B aldwin h a ve seen fit t o
.

make i mitati o n the c hief instinct and t o gr o up a l lactivity ,

abo ut it Jeal o usy 1 s pr i ma r ily c o nnected with s ex a nd il

. _

lustrates the p o wer o f o ne o f o u r primalneeds repr o du cti o n ,

o f the species .

How the Instinct s Funct ion i n Ma n s Envir onment

’
5 .

Thus far we h ave sp o ken o f the instincts as if they o ccur in

their pure unmixed f o rm S uch h o wever is rarely t h e cas e
, .
, , .

A n anal o g o us case is seen in the ps ych o l o gic a ltreatment o f

the phen o me na o f sens ati o n There it wi l lbe remem be red
.
, ,

the qualities o f sensati o n are c onsidered the end o rgans ,

whic h receive th e s timulus the attribute s o f the el , emental

fact o f c o nsci ousness and many o ther details rega rd ed a s
,

necess a ry t o a c omplete u nderstanding o f the s u bj ect are

diligently presented A fter all th is h as be en d o ne the s tu
.

dent i s i nf o rm ed o f the fact that t h ere are no suc h things as .

pu re sensati o ns but they are s u pp o sed el

, ements o u t o f whic h
hi gher individu a l c onsci o us pr o cesses are m ade and th a t ,

th ey are means f o r the interpret a ti o n o f the facts O f c o gu i

tive c o nsci o usness We m ay s ay th a t sensati ons o ccupy
.

s o mewh at th e s ame place in the c ognitive p r o cesses th at t he

26 A n I n t r o d u c tion t o P hilos op hy

instincts do in the hi ghe r mental and s o cial life o f th e spe

cies A s we never expe rience a p ure sensati o n a pure qual
.
,

ity but always a quality bel o nging t o s o mething ; s o it is

,

tha t we seld o m if eve r witness the Ope rati o n O f a pure in

s t inc t o r experienc e a pure em o ti o n the latter being t he c o n
,

s ci ou s co nc omitant o f the f o rmer especially when the in ,

s t in c t fails in its functi o ning O u r instinctive and em o t i o nal

.

life bec o me o rganized ab o ut Obj ects in the same ma n ner i n

which sens ati o ns be c ome o r g anized int o Obj ects in pe rcep
ti on F o r example the tender em o ti o n s o n o ticeable in the
.
,

at titude o f the m o ther t o wards h er child d o es no t exis t a t

la rge bu t it is o rganized wit h o ther em o ti o ns abo ut an O b
,

“
j e c t n amely the child
, , N either d o es j eal o usy exist o n
. gen
”
eralpri nciples but it always h a s reference t o an obj ect
, ,

u sually a member o f the o pp o site s ex I n the absence o f .

o bj ects abo ut w hic h o u r l ife is o rganized we sh o uld behave ,

in a c h a o tic irregu lar and wh olly irres po nsible m an ner

, , .

F ol lo wing Shand and o thers we m ay c allthis o rganizati o n

o f o u r mental and s o cia llife a bo ut th ings the s en time nts in , ,

the absence Of whi c h o u r em o ti o nallife w o uld lac k c o nsist

ency c oherence a n d o rder ; and o u r c o nduct whi ch is based
,

o n these springs O f a cti o n w o u ld be c o rresp o ndin gly ch a o tic

,

and dis o rd erl y .

Man lives and m o ves and h as hi s being in a w o rld o f ob

“ ”
j e ct s and these
,
o bj ects a re no t merely given n ot j u s t ,

there t o be reacted t o no t ne u tral thin g s ; bu t th ey are

“ ”
,

bu il t u p deve l o pe d in the c o urs e o f ex p erience

, O bj ec t s .
,

in o ther wor d s ha ve a his to r y ,

Em o ti o na li zed Obj ects
. ,

th a t is evaluated o bj ects o r th o se t owa rd s which an a tti

,

t u de is taken are O f t wo general kinds : first th o se o f a p

, ,

pr o val ; sec o nd t h o s e o f dis appr oval We speak o f a p

,
.

pr o v al and dis appr o v al in the widest sense o f these term s a s

“ ” “ ” “ ” “ ”
signifying a yes o r no attit u de f o r o r against , ,
 The P s y ch ol
o i ca lB a c kgr o u nd o f P hil
g o so h
p y 27

“
s atisfact o ry o r unsatis fact o ry as meeting the needs o f ,

the o rg anism o r failing t o d o s o I t is o u t o f ap p r o val and

.

disappr o val in this wider sens e that ri ght and wr o ng truth ,

and falseh oo d bea u tiful and u gly go o d and evil arise Thes e
, , , .

are muc h m o re elabo rate and demand a much hi ghe r grade

of intelli gence than elemental appr o val and dis appr oval
which are alm o st instinctive ; and it is the t as k o f a th o r
o u h o in
g g g g enetic p sych o phil o s o phy t o
-

sh o w the sta g es
o f gr o wt h in attitudes ab o ut o bj ects fr o m the m o st elemen

tal t o the c o mplex f o rms which make up the subj ect mat
ter o f l o gic ethics ms the ti c s l aw g overn ment s cience a nd
, , , , ,

religi o n .

I n an o th er c o nnecti o n we h ave sh o wnthe influence o f cer

tain type s o f agencies in the building o f m o re c omple x m o des
o f acti o n in the building o f valuable Obj ects and ins t it u
,

ti o ns Here we menti o n war as a mean s o f renderi ng v al u

.

able certa i n obj ects o f making sharpe r cert ain ideals o f

, ,

defining m o re p recisely c ertai n aims and purp o ses o f ren ,

dering l o o sely o rga nized gr o ups int o stable and pe rm anent

f o rm s o f o rg a nizati o n o f devel o ping g r o up s olidarity and
, , ,

finally o f building up that sentiment abo ut a territ o ri al

,

expanse and the instituti o n s which it supp o rts which m a kes

it p o ssible f o r men t o give their lives f o r its defense and
s m a int ena nc e W e s ee als o gr o upe d abo ut the child a set o f
.

acti o ns which we den o minate acts o f self s acrifice To f o rm -

an estimate o f the value o f the sentiments abo ut the child .

we have bu t t o l o o k at th e many regulati o ns o f s o ciet

y n ot ,

o nly in civili z ed gr o ups but in s ava g e as well f o r its p r o te o

, ,

ti o n and f o r t he care in pr o viding that the rac e shall be

c o ntinued T o insure a c o ntinu an ce o f the race the ins t it u
.

ti o n o f marria g e has prevailed in all times and am o ng pra o

tic a lly all pe o ple s .

This insti t u ti o n h a s been gu a rded by th e m o st s ol e mn

28 A n I nt r o du c tion t o P hil
os o h
p y

s o cials ancti o ns a s is witnessed by the f a ct th at m arriages

h ave us u ally be en ass o ciated with religi o us activities Cere .

mo nials O f marri a ge in o u r o w n s o ciety a r e usually pe r

f o rm ed by the r epresentatives o f religi o n bu t with the ,

gr owth o f p oliticalp o wer and with the breakd o wn o f the

s u premacy o f t he ch u rch the civil auth o rities s o metimes
,

p erf o rm the rites ; but th e p o int is tru e nevertheless that , ,

t he str o ngest s o ci al legal and reli gi ou s sancti o ns su p p o rt

, ,

the instituti o n Of marri a ge .

6 . El
a bor a t i ons of t he I nst inct s in th e Lif e of S oci ety .

W e h ave c o nsider s ome o f t he w o rkings o f the instincts

to
in s o ciety o r h o w they be c o m e centered and gr o upe d ab out
,

o bj ect s o r , stated o the rwise how Obj ects bec ome valuable
, ,

o r what they are .

i o n t o w h at h as be en s aid abo ut the se x

( )
a I n add ti
instinct and its elab o rati o ns we m u st a d d tha t it no t only
,

is the f o und a ti o n o f family life bu t it a l s o figu re s in all

,

h u manita ri an m o vements and is t h e s o urce o f m o ral indigna

ti o n W e h a ve bu t t o thin k o f the l o ve o f th e m o ther f o r
.

h er child as tr a ns ferred t o o ther obj ects first p o ssibly t o , ,

th o se th a t are intimately ass o ciated w ith the chil d such a s ,

its t o ys t h en t o o ther children and t o o th er pe o ple a nd at

, ,

a still later peri o d t o abs tra ct ideals such a s j ustice f o r all ,

m ankind t o gain an idea o f the numer o us m o vements that

,

take their o rigin in this instinctive tendency P o o r l a ws .

,

h o spitals better w o rkin g c o nditi o ns the a boliti o n o f sl a v

, ,

ery child labo r laws a r e s o me o f the res u lts which f o llo w

, ,

in p art fr o m the m o ther ins tinct .

( )
b S elf—D is p yla f
a nd S el S u b e c t ion
j i n S
-
o ci a l Life .

Wh at a gr o up d oe s and h o w it is o r g anized f o r d o ing it a re

always reflected in th eir speculative life be th at religi ou s , ,

s cientific o r phil o s o phical This is fundamental f o r under

, .

st a n ding th e rel ati on between the in stin cts and th e c omp l ex

 The P sy chol
ogica lB a ck r o un d
g f
o P hilo s o h
p y 29

beh avi o r f o unded o n them Self display f o r example m ay

.
, ,

lead t o any exaggerati o n o f certain valuable obj ects These .

o ver evaluated o bj ects d o minate the thinking o f the indi

-

vidual o r the gr o up which o wns the m Thi s means th a t the .

“

”
w o rld is j a u ndiced t o the j aundiced eye s o that a l ls p ecu
,

lative e ff o rts o f such an individual o r gr o up are always

cl o uded by the rulin g interest .

Self display is s o cial that is it is f o r a no t her and the

-

, , ,

o ther is usually o n e o f the o pp o site sex I t bec o mes m o re .

elabo rate in the c o urse o f time s o th at cities states and

, , ,

nati o ns manifest it I t is chiefly in this m o re elabo rate f o rm

.

that it a ff ects the be havi o r o f the individual f o r he thi nk s

and a c t s in term s o f the s o cial life abo ut him I nstit u ti o ns .

are thus cre ated ideal s are es tablished and o rga nizati o ns
, ,

e ff ect ed which embo dy the instincts o f display a nd which , ,

when establi shed f o rm a p o rti o n o f the s o cialenvir o nment

,

which is man s medium o f speculati o n

’
.

Subj ecti on the c o unterpart o f self display f u ncti ons

,
-

in situati o ns in whi ch man feels th at he has exh a u sted his

res o urces in 0 0 pin g with the difficulties which pre s ent them
selves t o him O ne in the presence o f the c hief m u st h umble
.

himself as d o es the little d o g in the presence o f the big one .

S u bj ecti o n thus bec o mes o ne o f the c hief s o urces o f classes ,

castes o rders whi ch in turn bec o me reflected in specul a

, ,

tive eff o rts S o cial classes f o r example are pr oj ected int o

.
, ,

the life and activities o f the g ods s o that a chief god sur
r o unded by subo rdinates fo rms the ide a l o f the spirit w o rld .

The similarity between the s o cial o r g anizati o n that pre

vailed in the middle a ges in which every o ne bel o nged t o
“ ”

s o me o ne else and the o r g ani z ati o n o f th e ch u rch in the same

peri o d has o ften be en p ointed o u t S o me o f the m o st diffi
.

cult questi ons o f the early church fathers were centered

ab o ut the relati ons that sh o u ld o btain between the Father
30 A n I n t r od u c tion t o P hil
os op hy

and the S o n th at is the co o rdinati o n and s u bordi nati on o f

, ,
-

p o wer and functi o n j us t as the gre a t g o vernmental pr ob

,

lems have hi nged o n the relati o n betwee n the vari o us d e

p a r t m e nt s o f the g o vernment , and th e r elati o ns betwee n

the st ate and the pe o ple o r the rul

, ers and the subj ects .

( )
c T h e I ns t i n c t o f P u
gn a c i ty in S o c i a lL i f e .A s was
indicated a few p a ge s back this instinct is n o t generally ex
,

p resse d in the s ame manner as in p rimitive times The.

bo dily c o mba t has given place t o o ther f orms as laws and

cust o ms have devel o p ed but at times the pri ma eval t endency
,

gains the as cendency and the wh o le w o rld o rganizes o n the

principle o f the claw and fang“ ”
. The wh o le h ist o ry
o f t he r a c e has time and a g ain been written a s a series o f
‘

wars in whic h it is o ften di fficult t o sh o w j ust what w a s

“
gained by either side I f we a sk as did little P eterkin N ow
.
,

tell u s all ab o ut the war and what they ki l

, led e a ch o ther
f or ”
we o ften get no o ther answer th an B u t twas a “ ’
, ,

fam o us vict o ry .
”
A s g o o d an answer as we can find gener
ally is that wars are due t o the p u gn aci o us instinct o f s ome
ruler plus the desire f o r p o wer and self display -

The s o ci al e ff ects o f the instinct o f pugnacity are

mar k ed A m ong th o s e ra ces in which the pugnaci o us instinct
.

is deficient we find a patient pe o ple who d o no t h a ve a taste

f o r war and w h o despise the military virtues . The lack o f
pr o g res s o n the p art o f China f o r example is d u e l
, , argely
t o a defective pugn aci o us instinct but am o ng th o se pe o ples
,

in wh om the spirit o f the w arri o r is str o ng we n o te t he

greatest pr o gress al o n g all lines I n s o cieties fo rmed by
.

th o s e pe o p les w h o are deficient in th e p u gnaci o us instinct

there is little gr o up s olid arity A m o ng them als o a reli
.
, ,

gi o n o f peace and quietnes s finds a c o ngenial h o me B u d .

“
dhis m fl o urishes am o ng them in spirit and in tru th ; while ”

am o n g the m o re pugnaci o us pe o ples the religi o n o f Chris

 The P sy cho l
ogi ca lB a ckgr o u nd o f P hilo s o h
p y 31

t i a nit y is accepted in the o ry o nly A r a ther sharp distin o .

ti o n is acc o rdin gly dr a wn between the religi o us and the

, ,
“ ”

“ ” “ ” “ ”
m o ral and be tween religi o n and business
,
O ne o f .

the gre atest pr o blems that Christianity has h a d t o face is

that in c o nnecti o n with the pu gnaci o us instinct I n medi a .

val times the m o nk went his way unarm ed dressed in the ,

r obe s o f hi s c alling whil e o n the o ther hand the arm o red

,

kni ght representing the callin g o f war chased his fav o rite
“

”
phant o m Chri stianity te a ches u s t o tu r n the left cheek
.

if the ri ght is struck but the instinct o f pu gn acity dictates

,

an o ther m o du s op er a ndi The pr o blem o f harm o nizing

.

these t w o diverse meth o ds o f acti o n is o ne o f the great pr o b

lems that c o nfr o nts o u r religi o n .

C o llective pu gnacity o perates in what we kn o w as m o ral

indignati o n The c o mmunity is o utra ged by cert a in act s
.
“ ”

o f vi o le n ce and o u r c o urts o f la w are the means by whi ch

,

we inflict punishment o n the o ff ender The state is the .

plaintiff in crimes against its peace and di gnity ”

and ,

whi le punishment is the o retica l ly f o r the purp o se o f r e f o r

“
mati o n it still partakes o f p rimitive retributi o n
, The a d .

ministrati o n o f criminal l aw is the o r ganiz ed and re gulated

exp ressi o n o f the an ger o f s o ciety m o dified and s o ftened in ,

vari o us de grees by the desire that punishment may ref o rm

”
the wr o ng d o er and deter o thers fr o m similar acti o ns
-
.

A m o ng pe o ples w ho p o ssess a hi ghly devel o ped pu gn a

ci o ns instinc t we find the g reatest pr o gress in the a rts ,

sciences s o cial a nd p o litical o rg anizati o n c ommerce and

, ,

ind u stry The instinct takes the milder f o rm o f ri val ry

.

which is the m o tive f o rce o f the gre at p o rti o n o f the seri o us

lab o rs o f mank ind W e strive t o exce lth o se in the s ame
.

“
line o f o ccup ati o n as o urselves and he w ho empl o ys a pace
,

setter is w o rkin g unc o nsci o usly perhaps o n a race l o n g

” -

tendency o f h u man n ature Every teacher kn ows the a d .

32 A n I n t r odu c tion to P hil
o s op hy

vantages t o t h e c l ass o f h aving o ne o r t w o brigh t st u dents

w h o set the p ace f o r the rest The great men o f s cience such
.

a s N ewt o n and Galile o the leaders o f lite rature the geniuses

, ,

o f p h il o s o phy the masters o f art and music are t he p ace set

, ,

ters o f the race and the s o cial imp o rtance o f these leaders
,

can no t be o ver estimated C o m p etiti o n th e fundamental

-

.
,

premise o f the o lder ec o n o my is based up o n the pugnaci o us

,

” —
instinct .
“
C o mpetiti o n is the life o f trade thi s we h ea r
again and again I t is o ne o f the m o dified fo rm s o f getting
.
“

”
even which is displayed all the way fr o m the c o rner gr o
,

cery t o intern ati o nal trade “

. B l o o d reven g e ”
is no w ex
pressed in c o m p etiti o n skilful a dvertising in the duties o f
, ,

“ ”
the traveli ng man and in the d o zens o f activities c o n
,

ne c t ed with the m o vements o f business The o l

. d expressi o n ,

“
Everythin g is fair in l o ve and war ”
is the c o mm o n man s
,
’

generalizati o n o f tw o great tendencies essentialt o the sur

I t represents the chimney c o rner phil o s
“ ”
viva lo f the race .

o h f th o se w h o dimly perceive the m o tive f o rce o f these

p y o

tendencies and their imp o rtance in the higher and m o re el ab

o r a t el o rganized types of reacti on in the presence of
y
stim ul .i
( )
d T h e G r ega r i ou s I ns t in c t W
. e h ave sp o ken o f the

gregari o us instinct as pr o bably derived fr o m mutual aid in

the quest f o r f o o d and defense against the attack o f ene
mies W e now w ant t o indicate th e o perati o n o f this in
.

s t in c t in the life o f s o ciety . The rapid gr owth o f cities in

the last o ne hundred years I s no t wh olly due t o ec o n o mic
fa ct o rs as has been urged by s o me becaus e in c o untries
, ,

which are hi ghly fav o rable t o a g ri cultural and p ast o ral life
t h e tendency t o c o ngre g ate in cities is in evidence China .

presents o ne o f the best examples o f th e gregari o us instinct

a s o pe rating rather than ec o n o mic fact o rs L ikewis e half .

the p o pulati o n o f A u str a l i a is f o und in t owns and cities

 The ogic a lB a ckgr ou nd of P hil
P sy chol osop hy 33

along the c o ast alth ou gh the c ou nt ry is primarily a n agri

,

cultural and past o ral o ne The p roblems which arise as a

.

result o f urban life are t oo wel l kn o wn t o n eed menti o n .

The race ha s always untilrecently lived in cl o se c o nnecti o n

with the s o il a n d we have no t as yet fully reflected o u r newer
,

meth ods o f livin g int o a c o nsci o u s phil o s o phy I n pr i mi .

tive s oc ieties we find th o se in the s ame gr o up who are o f

bl o od kin o f the s am e t o tem tribe o r clan o ccupying a
, , , ,

d efinite ter r it o ry The idea o f class clan o r kin is refl cted

.
,
e ,

in m o dern s o ciety in certain class distincti o ns as the capi ,

tal is t and t h e labo r classes the p r o fessi o ns and the v o ca

,

ti o ns et cetera That is t o s a y after the gregari o us in

, .
,

s t in c t h a s br o u gh t t o gether any n u mbe r o f individuals they ,

“ ”
tend t o divide int o classes o f m o re o r less like minded in -

d ivid u a l s— a fact whi ch acc o u nts f o r vari ou s

“
qu arters in
the large cities f o r reli gi o u s sects l
, o dges and t o s ome
, ,

extent p o litica lpa rties

, .

( )
e T h e A c qu i s i t i ve I ns t in c t derived
,
as w a s suggested ,

fr o m the fo od getting activities o ccupies a pr o minent place

-

in the elabo rati o ns o f ind u stry Manufacture and f o rei gn

.

trade gr o w u p and with them the p r oblems o f lab o r and

capital empl o yer and empl o yee freed o m o f the se as and
, , ,

the numer o us questi o ns relatin g t o pr o perty A great bulk .

o f the laws o f a state refers t o the ri ghts o f pr o perty m o r e , ,

‘

indeed than t o the pers on P o ssibly o ne o f the greatest

, .

pr oblems g r owing o u t o f the instinct o f acquisiti o n rein ,

fo rced by the greg a ri o u s instinct is that created by the in ,

tr o du c t io n o f the fact o ry system whic h led t o the massing

o f large numbe rs o f pe o ple in the t o wns and cities Redis .

t r ibu t io n o f p o pulati o n takes place the city be c o mes the ,

c enter o f advancement and the generat o r o f s o cial and p oliti “

cal ideals ; the c o untry because o f lack o f interc o urse be

, ,

c omes backward and o ften reacti o nary The t own o f the .

34 A n I n t r o du c tion t o P hil
os op hy

middle ages h elped as much as a ny o ther fact o r in the brea k

d o w n o f fe u dal s o ciety O utside the t o wns the industri a l
.

classes were servile and a stigma attached t o lab o r ; but in

side the t o wn s labo r was h o n o red due t o the fluid interc o urse
betwee n the i nh abitants T o wn life d evel o ped a ment ality o f
.

it s o w n far m o re p l a stic than that which p revailed in the

c o untry Ra ces inter married the mind became alert kin
"
.
-

, ,

and clas s ties were br o ken and the gr o up w as establ

,
ished o n
a diff erent fo u ndati o n I n fact it was in this type o f a c t iv
.

ity that the individual was b o rn f o r be c o ming wealthy he , ,

no l o nge r needed the c o ntinuals u pp o rt o f t h e u nseen p o wers

and th e supp o rt o f his immedia t e gr o up but relied o n his ,

o w n skill and f o resigh t

“

The divisi o n o f l a bo r br o u gh t abo ut as a resul t o f a l a rge

number o f pe o ple in the s ame place is reflected in their m o ral
life in a sharp divisi o n be tween the sec ul a r and the religi o us ,

between m o rality and religi o n a n d finall y between m o rality

, ,

a nd business I t tends t o d evel

. o
p a di ff eren t type o f c ate

g o r ie s o f value a ,newer kind o f virtues and a di ff ere nt

,

meth od o f interpreting th e facts o f experience be ca us e t h e

facts themselves have ch anged .

“
T h ere is furthermo re reas o n t o bel
, , ieve that the f o rma
ti o n o f lar ge dens e c om p lex b o dies o f po pul ati o n is fav o r
, ,

able t o the gr o wth o f a belief in the rights o f man as man

and t o th e s pread o f ideas o f human equality that is o f , ,

h abits o f th o u ght that underlie individualism and d emo c

racy ”
. The enla r ged c o nsumpti o n o f go o ds res u lting fr o m
mass brings ab o ut s o cialchanges Crimes against pr o perty
.

decrease and vice inc r eases ; ethics be c o mes an ethics o f

tem pe rance ; religi o n fo rs akes the view o f h uman dep ravity
and ideas o f human p u nishm ent die ou t ; the go d o f fear be
c omes the go d o f l o ve a nd prais e gains a t the expens e o f
,

prayer ; the wealth y tend t o segregate int o a distinct s o ci a l

 The o gica lB a ckgroun d of P hil
P sy chol os op hy 35

class which c o nverts p o rti o ns o f its means int o p olitical

p o wer privile ges and exempti o ns ; and an arist o cracy r e
, ,

su l t s apart fr o m r o yal grace o r fr o m the g ra ce o f G od .

S u ch an a rist o cracy bas ed o n wealth is o f g re at s ignifi

cance fr o m a p o litical po int o f view I t o verthr o ws the
.

primitive equality o f citizens based up o n their equal ability

t o bear arms in defense o f their ideals o r f o r the winning ,

o f terri t o ry o r o ther advantages rend ering the p o o r mem

,

be rs o f s o ciety clients and retainers o f the rich ; it is the first

step in the devel o pment o f knighth o o d f o r the ability t o ,

o w n a h o rs e and t o fi ght o n h o rs eback rather than o n f oo t

h a s be en the f o undati o n o f knighth o o d the w o rld o ver .

O u t o f it g rew the Greek hipp ei s the Ro man Equestrian

“
,

”
O rder the Gaulish equ i t es and the medi aeval knighth o o d
, , .

The wealthy class can a cc o rdin gly dev o te thems elves t o

, ,

w ar a n d po litics whil e the p o o r labo r with their h ands .

Suc h facts acc o unt f o r the p olitical phil os ophy whi ch pre
vails in m o narchi es arist o cracies and o li g archies
, , The .

masters themselves be in g the o nly class which p os sesses the

necessary leisure f o r reflective thinking since the p o o r are ,

kept cl o s e t o the a ctivities essential t o bare existence pr o j ect ,

their o wn interests aims and purp o ses int o an ideal st ate

, , ,

and enthusiastically s et as a go al the real iz ati o n o f thei r

o wn pu r o ses
p .

Many o ther res u lts fl o w from t he gratificati o n o f the in

s t inc t o f acquisiti o n but we can no t c o nsider them a l
, lhere .

O ne is the idea that labo r is no t respectable S ince wealth .

c arries with it freed o m fr om t o il it s o o n be c o mes an appar

,

ent bad ge o f wealth t o g et o n with o u t the perf o rm a nce o f

any labo r Carried t o extremes the wealthy class bec o mes
.
,

the leisure cl as s and stillfart her the idle rich cl

, , as s wh o se
o nly be nefit t o the g r o up if it m ay be at a l
, lcal led a benefit ,

is t o fu rni s h emplo yment t o certain pers o ns f o r p ers on a l

36 A n I nt r odu c tion t o P hil
o s op hy .

services . B y imitati o n t he less wealthy f o ll o w the m o re

wealthy all d own the grad ed line with results that may be
,

disastr o us since the virtues o f thrift ec o n o my and pr o duc

, ,

tive labo r a re f o rgo tten o r thr own aside A sec o nd result is .

that the gratificati o n o f th e acquisitive instinct may take

p rec edence o ver all o ther activities s o that human v alues
,

are measured in term s o f pr o pe rty A stri king example o f

.

thi s appeared in Ro man s o ciety during the cl o sin g years o f

t h e re public M o mmsen s ays in this c o nnecti o n : To be
.
“

p o o r was no t merely the s o rest dis g race and the w o rs t crime ,

bu t the o nly disgrace and the o nly crime ; f o r m o ney the

'

statesm en s old the state and the bu rgess s old his freed o m ;
the po st o f the o fficer a nd the v o te o f the j uryman were t o
be h a d f or the m o ney ; f o r m o ney the lady o f quality surren
dered her pers o n a s well as the c o mm o n c o urt es an ; the fal
s if in o f d o cu m ents and perj uri es h a d bec o me s o c o mm o n
y g
that in a p opul ar po et o f this age an o at h is called the
,
“

plaster o f debts ”
.Men had f o r go tten what h o nesty w a s ;
a pe rs o n wh o refused a bribe w a s regarded no t as an u p
” 1
r ight m an but as a pe rs o n a l f oe
,
.

Many o f the gre a tes t crises o f h ist o ry h a ve centered

ab o ut the ins tinct o f ac quisiti o n S o great and s o numer
.

o u s have be en t h e p eri o ds o f destru cti o n and c o nstructi o n

gr o uped ab o ut the instinct o f a cquisiti o n that many co n

sider it the chief instinc t in m an and acc o r dingly h ave,

written h ist o ries and p hil o s o p hies o f hist o ry purely fr o m the

ec o n o mic stand p o int The f o o d getting activities u n
.

d o ubtedly h a ve s h aped a vast po rti o n o f man s ener gies ’

,

but we must guard against taking t oo narr o w a view o f the

c auses o f s o ci alpr o gres s a nd o f the w o es o f ma nkind W e .

h ave h ad o ccasi o n t o s ee that the r e a re o th er sp rings o f

‘
M omms en, H istory of R ome V ol II , p
, . . 6 16 .
 The ogic a lB a ckgr ou nd
P sy chol f P hil h 37
o os o
p y

human acti o n chiefly th o se based o n the repr o ducti o n o f the

,

race and which furn ish the elements which enter int o t he
,

m o re elabo rate altruistic interests o f man Thes e will be .

given m o re attenti o n when we dis cuss the s o cial back gr o und

o f phil o s o phy . Here we merely indicate s o me hist o ric al r e
sul t s o f a cquisiti o n and leave the reader w h o is interested
,

t o pursue the references at the end o f this chapter .

The d o wnfall o f Greek ari st o cracy was due in the main t o

the large f o rt unes made in c ommerce industry and n avi g a
, ,

ti o n The o l
. d a rist o cracy busied with war and go vernment
, ,

left the lands t o the p o o rer classes w ho finally be came

wealthy thr o ugh thrift and go o d management a n d c o n se ,

quently demanded representati o n in the go vernment The .

result was at last dem o cracy This triumph o f p r o pe rty

, .

o ver birth d o es away with o ne f o rm o f m o n o p o ly but ina u

r a t e s an o ther which in time bec o mes as gre at a menace

g u

t o s o ci al welfare and pr o g ress as the o ne which was sup

planted Gra e cus br o ke d own the senat o rial arist o cracy o f
.

Rome by grantin g the merchants and industri al leaders cer

tain privile ges o f an agri cultural n ature in A sia and by ,

i ving them c o ntr o l o ver the j ury c o urts The t o wn s o f

g .

the middle a ges bo u ght their freed o m fr o m the feudal l o rds ,

and thus was entered the wed g e which w a s mi ghty in break

in g asunder the s o cial o r g anizati o n o f the peri o d Espe .

c ia l ly si gnificant f o r us is the fact that dem o cra cy freed o m, ,

—
equal opp o rtunities in sh o rt the ideals o f o u r o w n c o un
,

try are cl o sely ass o ciated with equal o p p o rtunitie s t o acc u

mu l a t e wealth due t o the fact that there exist in o u r c o un

t ry lar ge tracts o f public lands .

.7 Rea sons f or a Con sid er a t i on of t he Psych ol ogi cal

Ba ck gr ound — W e have c o nsidered s ome o f the princip al in
s t in ct s in m a n and the qu esti o n mi ght a ris e as t o th e sig
,
38 A n I nt r odu c tion t o P hil
osop hy

nifi c a nc e of
the discussi o n We take the o pp o rt u nity in .

c o ncluding t o s u gges t what w a s intimated in the be gi nnin g

that the psych o l o gical back gr o und is essential because ,

e t h e springs f
( )
a I t sh o ws wh a t a r the s o urces o o u r ,

acti o n .

( )
b I t makes clear the p o int that these springs o f a cti o n
determ ine within what l
'

i m its Ou r phil o s o phic al s cientific , ,

s o cial and p o litical pr o blems must m ove

, .

( )
o I t sh o ws that all kn o wledge even phi lo s o p h ic a l is , ,

f o r acti o n .

P hil o s o phy is o ne typ e o f acti o n o ne meth o d o f meetin g ,

pr oblems o ne way o f resp o nding t o stimuli The springs

-

,
.

o f al la cti o n phil o s ophical as well as s o called practic al are

,
-

the instincts S ince they are the s o urces they set the kind
.
,

o f p r ob lems we shal —
lm eet w e kn o w that is th at o u r pr ob , ,

lems will fall under the great catego ri es o f f o o d getting a nd

repr o d u cti o n o f t h e species Ju s t wha t p a r ticu l a r t u r n the .

statement o f the pr oblem a nd its an swer will tak e we c a n

n o t determ ine in advance There are m any fa ct o rs which .

direct an ins tinct no w in this directi o n f o r its s atisfacti o n ,

n ow in an o ther and it is o u r p u rp o se t o e x a mine s ome o f t he

,

fa ct o rs in gre a te r detail .

RE F ERE N CE S
A M Es , E S . .
,
The P syc h o l o gy of Religi o u s Experience , 3 3
51 ;
B A LD W IN , J M . .
,
Mental D evel o pment Meth o ds and ,
Pr o
cesses ;
C OL V IN S S The L earning Pr o cess ;
, . .
,

D E W EY and T U F TS Ethics 3 7 50 ; , ,
-

D RA P ER J W The I ntellectual D evel o pment o f Eu r o pe

, . .
, ,

Vol I Chapters I and I I ;

.
,

H OB H OU S E L T Mind in Ev ol
,
u ti o n and M o r a l
. s in E vol
u .
, ,

ti o n ;
 The P sy chol
ogi ca lB a ckgr ou nd f
o P hilos op h y 39
‘

JE R US A L E M , W , A n I ntr o du cti o n t o P h il
.os o ph y , 25 4 1 -

KEANE , A H , Ethn ol ogy ;

. .

MA S O N , O T , O ri gins o f I nventi o n ;
. .

M C DOUGA LL , W , S o cial Psych ol o gy .

M O R GAN , L H , A ncient S o ciety ;

. .

R IBO T , Th , The Psych o l ogy o f the Emoti o ns , Part II , I n

.

t r o du ct io n, 1 8 7 1 99, and Chap te rs VI , V I I I , I X ; -

Ro ss , E A , S o cial P sych ol o gy ;
. .

S U T H ER L AN D , A , The O rigin and G r o wt h p f t he M o ral I n

.

s t inc t ;

TAR D E , G , Th e L aws o f I mitati on ;

.

T H OM A S , W I , S o u rce B o ok f o r S o cialO rigi ns , P art I I ;

. .

T H O RN D I K E , E L , A ni mal I ntelligence , 282 2 94 , and Edu

. .
-

c a t io na lP syc h ol o gy ;

WAR D , L F , The P sychi c F act o rs o f Civil

. . iz ati on ;
WE S T ER M AR C K , E , The O ri gin and Devel o pment o f t h e .

M or alI dea s .
 C HA P TER III

THE P H YSIC A L B A C K G R OU N D OF P H I LO S O P H Y

1 . Introd u ctory —Wel h ave s aid th at

instincts a re t he
bu il t u p abo u t obj ects that there are no p u r e em o ti o ns and
, ,

th at man lives and o perates in this w o rld o f obj ects th u s

i bu ilt up I ns tincts and o bj ects are in fact but phases o r
t
.

m o des Of the s a m e c o ntin u ou s pr o ces s whi c h we may c a lle x

1 p er ience W e d o no t first po ssess instincts and later obj ects
.

f o r th em t o a ct u p o n bu t t o a ct a t a l
, linv olves bo th in
s t inc t s and o bj ects th at is t o ac t as we mean t o empl o y t h e
, ,

term in hu m an be h a vi o r To ma k e clea re r what is meant

.

h ere let u s take an example o r t w o I t is tho u ght by m a ny .

that we a t first h ave c o ns ci o u snes s and th en o bj ects a nd ,

by o th ers th at we firs t h ave o bj ects and then c on sci ou sness ;

bu t as a matter o f fact we d o no t fi r s t h ave eit h er o bj ects
o r c o ns ci ou sness b u t t h e t w o are aspects in the o ne c o ntin u
,

o u s act whic h we ma c all experience A gain in the re alm

y .
,

o f et h ics it h as be en u rged that a n act is go o d if the in ten

,

tion is goo d O n the o th er h and it has been mai ntained t h at

.

a n act is g o od if t h e co n s eq u ences are g o o d A n act h o w .

,

ever c a n no t be divided int o t h ese t wo as pects m o tive and

, ,

res ul t e x cept f o r the p u rpo ses o f disc u ssi o n ; bu t bo th go

,

int o any a ct whic h m ay be sp oken o f as m o ral A fail u re

i .

t o ta k e n o te o f t h e con t in u i ty o f th ings and pr o cesses and

their in terdep end ence h as led t o m u ch dis c u ssi o n and c onf u
si o n am ong philo s oph ers I n general the d o ctrine o f ideal
.
,

ism h as gr o wn o u t o f th e c onvicti o n that c onsci ou snes s a p

40
 The P hy si ca lB a ckgr ou nd o f P hilo s o h
p y 41

pears first and i s primary while the m o st recent a dditi on to

,

the p hil o s o phical h o us eh old the new realism is based o n th e

,

ass u mpti o n o f the pri o rity o f thi ngs W e c o me t o believe

.

that be c ause f or the p u rp oses of d is cus sion an a ct m u st be

bro ken up and its elements o r aspects c o nsidered sep a r a t el y
the act itself is o ne element p l u s an o ther e t ce t era
, L et u s .

cite an example I n the tex t bo o ks o n psych o l o gy there is

.

a chapter on mem o ry o ne o n percepti o n o ne o n I ma lna

, , g
ti o n and o ne o n e ach o f the s o called c o gnitive pr o cess e s
,
-
.

Al lt hes e ch a p t er s bear on the general t o pic the kn o win g

'

p r o ces s Th ese pro cesses are no t sep arate a ctivities which

.

a re carri ed o n o ne f o r a little time and an o ther f o r an o ther

, ,

bu t a l lma y be p r es ent a l lt he t ime I n the s ame w ay we

.

h ave bec ome accust omed t o speak o f the envi r onm ent on the
o ne hand and he r ed i t o n the o th er a s if they we re t wo
y ,

fix ed thin g s alw ays stru ggling t o adj ust t o ea ch o ther B u t .

when we think abo ut it we see th at bo th envir o nment and

heredity a r e no t fir ed bu t they va r y t oge ther .

2
. Divi si on s of t h e Phy sica l Ba ck gr ou nd of Phil osophy .

—With the above s u ggesti ons in mind we S hall c onsider n ow

th e physicalbackgr o und o f phil o s ophy fr om th e t wo s t a nd
p oints
( )a physi o l o gica l ,

( )b envir o nment al
.

Th e center o f interest fr o m th e physi ol o gic alstandpo int is

that o f s ex O u r questi o n is : what pro blems o riginate fr o m
.

the physi o l o gical diff erence s be tween the sex es which a re ,

imp o rtant f o r phil o s o phy ? We are t o understand fr o m the

o utset that wha t o ne d oes de ter mine s wha t one t hink s a b ou t ,

and what o ne d o es is p a r tl y c ond i tio ned b y o n e s h

p y s io
’

l ogi c a la bili tie s a nd dis a bil i tie s

. The first great po int t o be
rec o gnized is that it is u p o n t h e physi o lo gicaldi ff erenc es
between the sexes that a divisi o n o f l abo r is ba s e d H erbert .
42 A n I n t r o du c tion t o P hil
oso h
p y

S pencer di vides t h e life o f the his t o ry o f civilizati on int o t w o

—
great p eri o ds milit ancy and industrialism ; but as has been
suggested by Mas on it seems m o re in keeping w ith the
1
,

f a cts t o spea k no t o f an a ge o f militancy but a s ea o f mili ,

tan oy ; not an a ge o f ind u stri a l ism but a s ea: o f ind u stri al ,

ism . I n s h o rt w o men did the w o rk and the men did the

,

—
fi gh t ing a fact which devel'
o ped a peculiar type o f mind f o r

eac h s e x I n primi tive s o ciety w o man a n d man h ad t o a

.

great extent di ff erent fo od diff erent o ccupati o ns and c o n ,

2
s eq uently di ff erent mental type s and s o cial attitudes .

W o man th e be a rer and pr o te ct o r o f the child m u s t st ay

, ,

near t h e l o dge ; h er m o vements are hindered ; her h o me is

m o re permanent ; her f o o d c onsequently is that which can , ,

be f o und near at h o me such a s r o o ts berries herbs and

, , , ,

fru its and when thes e are not t o be f o und the great p r o
,

r es sive step is t h en m ade namely c u l tivati o n o f the land

g , ,

a step due t o w o man s ne ed, ’

Wh a t are s ome o f the o ther e ff ect s o f the p h ysi ol o gical

di ff erences o f s e x ? I t makes w o man the w o rker in the veg
e tabl e w o rl d Her wh o le life is built up abo ut the st aples
.

u sed f o r bread w h ether it be the tar o and bread fruit o f

,

P ol ynesi a ; o r the p alm tapi o ca millet o r yam s o f A fri c a ;

, , ,

o r t h e ri ce o f A sia ; o r t h e cerea l s o f Eur o p e ; o r the c o rn

and po ta t o es o f A meric a A l l the o ccupati o ns gr o uped
.

ab o u t any vegetal ind u stry suc h a s the gatheri ng trans p o r

, ,

t a t ion and th e activities necess ary t o a change fr o m the

,

r aw t o the c o o ked state a re t h o se o f w oman Thus she is

,
.

the fo o d bringer the ancest o r o f freight trains granari es

, , ,

a nd mil ls Her life leads her t o tak e up and devel o p w ea v

.

ing — a t firs t using the twigs ab o u t her but later devel o ping ,

raw m a teria lf o r cl o thing A m o ng the A laska I ndi ans the

.

‘
O .
M as onT
,
W o
.m an s S h a re i n P r i m ’
i t i ve C ul
t u re p , . 2 .

‘E S Ames , The P sy chol

. .
ogy o f R el i gi ou s E xp eri ence , pp 35 ff..
 The P hy s ica lB a ckgr ou nd f P hil
o os o h
p y 43

cerem o nials o f initi a ti o n f o r gi rl

s beginning at the dawn o f ,

pube rty emph as i z e the d omestic duties whi ch a s a w o man

,

s he must perf o rm ; sh e sews the skins o f the sq u irrel int o

blankets makes m ats and grinds the grain S he le a rn s the

, , .

virtues o f the w o m a n self de nial tem p erance and quietness

,
-

, , ,

thr o ugh fastin g f o r f o ur d ays and thereup o n tastin g o f '

w a ter and gr eas e she begins with an o ther pe ri od o f f ou r

,

day s o f fastin g Wo man skins the game and learns t o tan

.

the hides f o r cl o thi ng “

I f au ght in the heavens abo ve o r
.
,

o n the e art h beneath o r in the waters w o r e a skin

, s a va g e ,

w o men were f o und o n exam inati o n t o h a ve a n ame f o r it ,

and t o have succeeded in turnin g it int o its pri mitive u se

f o r human cl o thing and t o have invented new u ses u n
,

”
d e a m ed o f by its o ri gi nal o wner She is als o the po tter
n .
,

the first ceram ic art isan t h e beas t o f burden and is vitally

, ,

c o nnected wit h the o rigin and devel o pment o f l angu age .

Many the o ries h ave be en advanced t o acc ou nt f o r the

o ri gin o f lan gu age am o n g the m being the interj ecti o n a l the
, ,

mimetic and the intui tive ; and while an element o f tru th

,

may be present in each o f them it is cert ain that w o man has ,

played an impo rtant p art in the devel o pment o f s p eech as

related t o inventi o n and o ccupati o n t o its spread a nd t o its , ,

change W o man gathers h er f o o d in p acks in gangs o r

.
, ,

gro ups making it p o ssible f o r her t o chatter wit h her fel

,

l o ws since her f oo d i s still inert ; m an o n th e c o ntrary

, , , ,

h u nts live things s o he be c omes silent and t aciturn Gender

, .

c omes abo u t thr o ugh the pe rs onificati o n o f the results o f

“ ”
labo r o f the sexes B ecause the s ail o r is attached t o his
.

“ ”
ship he c alls it she W o man aids in the spreading o f
.

langua ge as a result o f th e cust o m o f capture thereby e n ,

richin g the langu a ge and c o nse qu ently the th o u ght o f th o s e

am o n g wh o m S he was br o ught .

I t is w o man as the f o under o f s o ciety t h at is o f chief in

44 A n Intr odu c tion t o P hil
o s op hy

t eres t t o Th rou gh her Se x u al

u s. l “
y determm ed m anner o f
life S he be c omes th e center o f t h e s o cialgr ou p ”
A s th e .

fem ale bi rd m akes t h e nest , o r th e female mammaldigs t h e

burro w f o r her y o u ng o r the fe ma le be e m ak es the h o ney ,

c o mb f o r her y o ung s o d oe s Woma n pr ovide the s u rr o u nd

,

ings es sential t o the s u rvival o f her o ffspring O f the h o me .

itself w o m an invented t h e ind u stri al po rti o n whil e man in

vented the d ef ensw e A man s h ou se is and alw a ys h a sbe en ’

—
.

his c a s tl e but f o r the w man it is m o re t h an a c astle it is

o
, ,

he r home t he seat o f h er l , abo rs and interests The w o man .

gr o up is d o min a ted by symp athy and mut u al aid and thi s ,

attit u de is not wh olly l o st t o m an f o r he bec omes sy mpa

t he t i c r e a dy t o assist in matters pertaining t o o thers
‘

, .

M an o n th e o the r hand is the hunter and fighte r His

, , .

f o o d get t ing a ctivities and his l o ve are all bu ilt up o n t he

-

chase Wife c apt u re 1 s a fo rm o f t h e ch ase Great em

. .

phasis has be en placed by s o me o n the si gnifican ce o f the .

meth od o f getting f o o d I n determining the type o f mind

whi ch is devel o pe d I n this c onnecti on P r o f es s o r Dewey
.

“
s ays The o ccupati o ns deter mine the chi e f m o des o f s atis
,

fa cti o n the stan d a rd o f s u cces s and failure Hence they

, .
,

furnish th e w o rking c l assific a ti o ns and definiti o ns o f value ;

they c ontr ol the desire p r o cess M o re o ver they decide t h e .
,

sets o f o bj ect s and relati ons which a r e im p o rt an t a n d the r e ,

by p r o vid e the c o ntent o r m a teri a l o f attenti o n and the

qu alities that are interestingly significant Th e directi o ns .

given t o ment al life ther eby extend t o em o ti o nal and intel

lect u al characteristics S o fun d a men tala nd p erva sive is t he
.
“

gr ou p o f o ccu p a tiona la c t ivi ties t ha t i t a ff o r ds the s che me

or p a t t er n o f t he s t ru c t ur a l o rganis a tion o f the ment a l
t r a i ts .
” 3
I t is a s P r o fess o r D ewey goe s
,
“

on to s h ow , p er

3
John De w ey, I nt e rp ret a t i on o f the S a va ge M ind, Ps yh og ca l
c ol i Re
vi ew, 1 902, p 217 I tal i cs not in the ori gi nal
. . .
 The Phy sic al B a c kgr ou nd o f P hilo s o h
p y 45

mi ssible t o spe a k o f a hunting typ e mil it ar y p ast o ral agri

, , ,

cul t u ral and the manufacturing type o f mental l

, i fe The .

increase o f p opulati o n whi ch has resulted in the destru cti o n

o f game has br o u ght abo ut newer meth o ds o f gettin g f o o d ,

has devel ope d new o cc u pati o ns and c onsequently new men , ,

tal types .

M a n the hu nter a n d fighter devel o ped initiative spo n

, , ,

t a neit y alert ness and cunnin g by the very necessities o f hi s

, ,

a ctivities This acc o u nts f o r the fact that in the s o cial

.

a fi a i r s o f the gr o up man is the leader ; he is the master o f

'

the cerem o nials even th o u gh these reflect the o c cupati o n in

, ,

t er es t s and pursuits o f w o men

, I n general the c o ntent o f
.

cerem o nials is w o man s but the fo rm is man s The s o cial

’ ’
.

aspects the c o ntent are sympathy mutual aid s olidarity

, , , ,

these c o me largely fr o m w o man s part in the battles o f th e ’

gr o u p ; but the f o rm by which t h ese attitudes are expressed ,

s u ch as the dance the p riesth o od the incantati o n and sym

, , ,

b ols bel on g s chiefly t o man The A u stralian initiati o n cere

, .

m o nials illustrate the m o t o r type o f mind which ma n p o s

ses ses while the ce rem o ni als f o r a d olescent girls as pra cticed
,

by the A laskan I ndians illustrate vividly the type o f men

,

tality p rized in the w oman Man h as always until very r e.

c ent l y as s u med le aders h ip in p o litical s o cial religi o us and , , ,

' military life due in great

, p art t o th e lo ng hist o ry back o f

th e activi ties c o nnected wit h t he chase With t h e c o ming .

o f new meth o ds o f m a king a l ivin g based o n o th e r agents ,

t h an bo ne and bra wn we witnes s w o man ta k in g her place in

,

the fields o f activity wit h the natural res u lt that she is

,

ass u ming the leadership in a spects o f industry p olitics r e , ,

li gio n and o th er f o rms o f s o ciall

, i fe fo rmerly reserved f o r
men .

This new feat u re o f o u r civi l i z ati on is j u st beginning t o

be e x pressed in t h e p hil os op h y o f the ti mes a nd it is t h e ,
46 A n I nt r odu c tion t o P hil
o s op hy

tas k o f th e phil o s ophy o f th e fu t u re as manifes ted in s cien

t ifi c s o cial industrial and p ol
, , , itical life t o adj u s t t o these
changes wr ou ght by diff erent meth od s o f meeting the ele
mental necessities o f l ife W e may e x pe ct f or example a
.
, ,

g reater emphasis in pr o test ant religi o n on the feminine a s

e c t s o f it ; a m o re humanitarian ideal o f go vern ment ; a r e ~
p
viva lo f id e ali sm in s o me f o rm in t h e d o main o f phil o s o phy ;

a literat u re m o re r o mantic ap p ealing f o r gre a ter s o cial

,

s o lidari ty bu t la cking in r u gged ness o f s tyle I n the p rae

, .

tic al applicati o ns o f the o ry a s in m eth od s o f p u nishment

,

and in the distributi o n o f g o od s we shall see an increasing

,

c o ntributi o n o f w o man s nat ure bu ilt up thr o ugh the l o n g

’

ages o f t o il in the d o mestic pursuits o f the gr o up .

( )
b We h ave indicated s o me o f the results o f the physi o

l o gical diff erence s between the sexes and o u r purp o s e n o w is

t o inq u i re int o s o me o f the eff ec t s of the hysical envir on

p
ment o n the type o f s o ciety which is devel o pe d in that e n
vir o nment and the kind o f t hi nking that fl o uri shes therei n
, .

W e must gu ard against the tendency o f m aking the envir o n

ment th e s o le fact o r in the determi nati o n o f a pe o ple f o r we ,

h ave seen t h at there a re psych ol o gic al fact o rs which must be

c o nsidered The envi r o nment in a large way determines the
.

c ou rse which the instincts mu st t ak e but a s we have f o u nd

, , ,

t h e t w o great needs o f any pe o ple a re f o o d and r ep r o d u c

ti o n regard l —
ess o f the envi r o nment a fact that a cc o unts f o r
simil a rity o f cust o ms in di verse parts o f the w o rld T hi s .

being the c ase the envir o nment is p o werful in shaping t he

,

directi o n w hich t h ese n eeds must travelt o find s atisfacti o n .

I n o ne p art o f the w o rl d the sea d o minates with the resul t

th at c ommerce s o o n assumes great p r o p o r ti ons ; in an o ther
t h e fertile lands c a llo u t an agric u lt u ral life ; wh ile o n th e
great plains the herder fl o urishes These fa cts are espe
.

cia l l y va lu ab le w h e n we c onsider t h a t t h ey determine l arge ly

 The ,
Phy sicalB a ckgr ou nd o f P hilo so h
p y

t h e ou tloo k o n life o f a pe ople shape their meth od s o f s olv

,

in g pr o blems determine the c o ntent o f their catego ri es o f

,

value fi x the virtues and in general mark o u t the lines

, ,

within which their spec ulative as well as t h eir p racti cal

thinking takes place .

We can readily s ee ho w this is p o ssible when we reflect

“ —
that Man is the pr o du ct o f the earth s surf ace t h at the ’

eart h h as m o thered him fed him s e t him t asks directed his

, , ,

th o u ghts c o nfr o nted him with difli cu l

, t ie s that h ave
stren gt hened his body and sharpe ned hi s wits given him hi s ,

pr oblems o f navigati o n o r irri g ati o n and at the s ame time ,

whi spe red hints f o r their s o luti o n She h a s entered int o hi s

.

b o ne and tissue int o his mind and s o ul O n the m o untain

, .

s he has given him leg muscles o f ir o n t o climb the sl o pe ;

al o ng the c o ast she has left th es e weak and flabby but ,

h as given him instead vigo r o u s devel o pment o f chest and

arm t o handle his pad dle or o a r I n the river valley she .

attaches him t o the fertile s o il circumscribes hi s ideas and

,

ambiti o ns by a dull r ound o f calm exactin g duties narr o ws , ,

his o utl o o k t o the cramped h o ri z o n o f his farm Up o n the .

wind swept platea u s in the bo undless stretc h o f grass lands

-

,
-

and the waterless tracts o f the desert when he r o ams with ,

his fl o ck s fr o m pas ture t o pasture and fr o m o asis t o o asis ,

w here life kn o ws much hardship but escapes the grind o f

drudgery where t h e watching o f gr azing herd gives him

,

l eis u re f o r c o ntemplati o n and the wide ranging life a big

,
-

h o riz on his ideas take on a cert ai n giganti c simplicity ; r e

,

ligio n bec omes m o n o th eism G od bec o mes o ne u nri valled like

, ,

the s and o f the desert o r the grass o f the step p e stretching ,

o n and o n wi t h o u t break o r ch ange Chewing o ver and o ver .

the cud o f hi s simple be lief as the o ne f ood o f unfed mind ,

his faith bec omes fa n aticism ; hi s bi g spatial ideas bo rn o f

th a t ceas el ess wa ndering o u tgr ow the la nd tha t bred th em
48 A n I nt r odu c tion t o Phil
o so h
p y

and be ar th eir legiti ma te f ru it in wide imperi alc o n qu ests .

o me o f the physical fa ct o rs which are influentia l

( )
1 S
in shaping the his t o ry o f a pe o ple will be m enti o ned her e ,

f o r if these f act o rs are influential in shaping hist o ry it is

certain t h at they figu re in the phi l o s o phy o f that pe o ple f o r

a phil o s o phy is n o thing mo r e than the m o st highl y general

iz ed and c a refully artic ul a ted c o ncepti o ns which a cc o unt f o r

the fa cts in th eir expe rience Their phil. o s o phy depends

up o n their stage o f devel o pment their s o cial o rganizati o n

, ,

—
their m eth o ds o f d o ing things in sh o rt phil o s ophy is a l ,

ways an aspe ct o f t he l ife interests and activities o f a

.

pe o ple .

We want t o indicate s ome o f the fact o rs wh ich h el p t o

fashi o n the phil o s o phy o f a pe o ple which help t o m o ld the
,

hyp o thes e s whic h are advanced a s an explanati o n o f their

life a nd i nteres ts These h yp o theses o r the o ries always
.
,

c ome l o n g after a f o rm o f s o cial o r g aniz ati o n has b een e f

f e c t ed and when man begins t o try t o a cc o unt f o r the facts
,

ab o ut him he always pr o j ects h is s o cial life int o his exp la

,

nati o ns This is the chief reas o n f or o u r di sc u ssi o n o f the

.

—
vari o us ba ckgr o unds o f phil o s o phy the bac k gr ounds t el l
u s what the later devel o pments will be .

The physicalfa ct o f rem o tenes s h as be en p owerfula s a

fact o r in sha p ing the ideals o f a pe o ple The ancient .

Ro man c o nsul in far o ff B ritain o ften assumed a n inde

-

e nd en c e o f a cti o n u nkn o wn am o ng the pr o vincial g o vern o rs

p
o f Gaul Centuries later Ro man Cath o licism in England
.

maintained a S i mila r indepe ndence t o wards the m o th er

ch u rch B o th o f these facts are in pa rt the r esults o f r e
.

m o t enes s fr o m th e cen ter o f auth o rity The rem o te nes s o f

.

the thi rteen c ol o nies fr o m the m o ther c o u ntry m ade it p o s

sible f o r the f o rmer t o assert t he ms el ves in th e f o rm ati o n
o f a great dem o cra cy .

‘
S e mp l
e I nfl u e nces
, of Ge ograp h ic E nvi ronment, p p . 1 2.
-
 The P hy sic a lB a ckgr ou nd
,
o f P hilos o h
p y 49

The e ff ect of nearness is equally significant The hist o ry .

o f G r eece is intimately tied up with that o f A sia because

Greek th o ugh t has always bee n mingled with the m o re my s

tical A si a tic strain ; Greek culture with A siatic culture ; and
the le genda ry hist o ry o f Greece is tied up with that o f A sia .

N atural barriers such as m o untains and deserts are pe r

sistent fact o rs The C a rpathian M ountains divided the
.

Slavic h o rdes int o t w o streams the one t o the n o rt h int o

,

the plains o f Germany and P o land the o ther int o the valley
,

o f t h e D anube and thence t o the A dri atic a nd t o the A lps .

We witnessed s o me o f the results o f this divisi o n in the late

w o rld w a r The A lps made it p o ssible t o devel o p a great
.

s o ciety in I taly free fr o m t he barbarian o f the n o rth and ,

rendered po ssibl e the survival o f Ro me f o r a much l o nge r

pe ri o d than w o uld h ave be en the c as e o therwise O u r o w n .

Ro ckies barred the weaker o nes fr o m the O rego n and Cali

f o rnia c o untri es checked the free m o vement o f lab o rers t o
,

the fact o ries there thereby ti ghtening the h o ld o f the l abo r

,

un i o ns o n the industries o f the c o ast .

N atural hi ghways rivers lake chains make p o ssible the

, , ,

free m o vement o f p eo ples a nd are thus im p o rt ant fact o rs in

hist o ry The D anube valley h as ad mitted int o Eur o pe a
.

l o ng list o f invaders fr o m A ttila the Hun t o the besiegers

, ,

o f Vienn a in 1 6 8 3 This valley has been the s cene o f warring

.

tribes and unas similated races f o r hundreds o f years and ,

p layed its last g reat r 61e in the recent war The r o a d bed o f .
-

the Pennsylvania Railr o ad between N ew Y o rk and Phila

delphi a c o vers the trail o f the L enni Lena p i I ndians which -

later was the ol d D utch r o ad fr o m N ew A msterdam and the

D elaw a re tradin g p o sts and still later the King s hi ghway
,
’
,

and in 1 83 8 it be came the r o ute o f the D elaware a n d Rarit a n

c a na L
Climatic infl u ences h ave o ften be en exa ggerated but it is ,

certai n that these are p owerf ul Extreme c old h as held.

50 A n I n t r odu c tion t o P hil
oso h
p y

bac k t h e devel o pment o f t h e a rctic regi o ns permit tin g only ,

t w o inhabit a nts t o t he squ a re mile Just s o extrem e heat .

tends t o debilitate and weaken the fibe r ( if a p e o ple .

( )
2 We r ec o unt a few o f the e ff ects o f t he physical eu
vir o nm e nt a lfact o rs and leave t o the interested r ea der the
,

references at the end o f the chapter .

M o untains and th e deltaic s wamps o f the I ndus and

Ganges and the c o astal marshes and lago o ns o n the eas t
have shut I ndi a o u t fr o m di rect interc o urse with the rest o f
the w o rld The result is th at we find the m supe rstiti o us
.
,

immutabl e in their religi o us and s o cial cust o ms a nd highly ,

ign orant Their o verwr o ught ima ginati o n has be en a o

.

c ou nted f o r by B uckle fro m the fact o f their l

5
iving in the
p resence o f great plains and hi gh m o untains suc h th a t the
reas o n is o verp o wered a n d p aralyzed I n Greece o n the .
,

c o ntr a ry where re as o n fl o uri shed th e natural fe atures were

, ,

o n a smaller s c ale such that they c o uld e asily be c o mpass e d

6
by man s reas o n I n thi s c o nnecti o n Treits chke po ints o u t
’
.

that the l o wer hill c o untry o f Swabi a and F r a nc o nia where ,

nature is gentler has pr o duc ed the great m aj o rity o f p o ets

,

and artists The r o ugh hi ghl a nds o f S av o y the A lpine

.
,

c o untry and the pr o vince o f B rittany have pr o duced but f ew

if any great art ists These facts may be due t o b o th is o l a
.

ti on and the o verp o wering o f the reas o n by the naturals u r

r o undings M o untain c o untries seld o m furnish men o f great
.

genius be cause th ey are far re m o ved fr o m the currents o f ,

a cti o n they perm it no leisure but dem a nd incessant t o il t o

,

meet the immedi ate nee ds o f life The fertile plains o n the .
,

o ther hand are the se a t o f we alth luxury and lei sure a nd

, , ,

pe rmit that freed o m o f interc o urse necess ary t o the f o rma

ti o n o f art s cienc e and phil o s o p hy
, .

B u ckl e , H e nr , H st or y i y
o f C v l a t on i n E ngl i i iz i
a nd , V ol I, p p 86 1 06 . .
-
.

°
i ii
Tr e t schk e, P olt k, V ol I , pp 99 5 ff . . .
 The P hy s ic a lB a ckgr ou nd o f P hilo s o h
p y

These fact o rs functi o n in the p o litica la n d s o cial lif e o f a

pe op le Plut arch sta t es that after the rebelli o n o f Kyl
. on

in 6 1 2 B C the pe o ple o f A thens were divided int o three

. .
,

p o litical parties c o rrespo ndin g t o the three physic al type s

o f c o u ntry The m o untaineers the p o o rest o f all wanted
.
, ,

a dem o cracy ; the pe o ple o f the plains the ri chest o f all

, ,

were anxi o us f o r an o li g archy ; the c o ast pe ople intermedi ,

ate betw een the t w o in wealth and in s o cial p o siti o n wanted ,

s o mething be tween a dem o cracy and an o li g archy I n the .

Civi lWar W est Virgini a became a s tate because the pe opl e

,

o f the m o untains c o uld no t pr o fit by slave lab o r and as an

,

index o f their tempe r they ch o se as their m o tt o M o nt a ni“

,
”
S emp er L i beri B ack o f the str o ng ab o liti o n spirit in N ew
.

En gland st o o d r o cky farms as back o f the Hart fo rd c o n

,

ve nt io n st o o d the pr o fitable s e a trade .Thus we s ee th at ou r

mo ral and p olitical phil o s o phy is o ften determined by the
c o nditi o ns which make f o r success in o u r f o o d getting a c t ivi
ties.

The e ff ects o f the envir o nment o n m an s physical b o dy

’

have be en carefully discussed since the time o f D arw in .

Many o f the p hy s ic a lp e c u l ia r it ie s if no t all are determined

r

by the n ature o f the physical features o f the habitat o f the

e o ple in questi o n Man and his envir o nment gr o w t o fit
p . .

The gre at lung capacity o f th o s e livi ng in hi gh altitudes ;

.

the thickness o f skin and hair ; the c ol o r o f the animal ; the

st ature o f individu a ls ; the small size o f wild animals in
m o untain regi o ns in c o mp aris o n with the same spe cies in
the l o wlands ; the dwarfed h o rses in I celand and in the ,

Shetlands and S ardini a ; the l o w stature o f the p e o les in

p
the p o o rer districts in Eur o pe ; the greater stature o f the
H o ttent o ts wh o are past o ral o ver their kinsmen the B ush
men ; the stunted Snake I ndians o f the Ro cky M o untains a s
a g ainst the buff al o hunters o f the plains ; the thin legs and
52 A n I n t r odu c tion t o P hil
o s op hy

thic k a rm s o f the I ndians al o ng the P a ra uay rive r— all

g
thes e are as s o ciated wit h the eff o rts at a fit betwee n man
“ ”

a nd his s u rr o un di ngs .

We are m o re c o ncerned with th e p sychical e ff ects of the

physical envir o nment They o f c ou rse are bo u n . d u p with , ,

the physical e ff ects but we wish t o sep arate them f o r em

,

ph a sis Di ff erent ra ces p o sses s diff erent t emperaments and

.
'

the di ff erences p revai lin the s ame race and even in t he s ame
l o cality I t is p r obable that the temperaments have a phys
.

i ol o ic a l basis —t h at f r e x amp le phthisi s renders n

g o , o e ,

bu o yant and happy et cetera resulting in the fact that

, ,

man s v
’
iew o f life in a very lar g e way i s tied u p with his
temperaments This fact h ad l . ed s o me o ne t o s ay that a

m an s phil o s o phy depe nds u po n h is t emperament a st at e

’
,

ment whic h c o ntains an element o f truth A nyway man s .

,
’

envir o nment is reflected in h is reli gi o n his law and hi s lit , ,

er a tu re B lacks t o ne states t h at in the I sle o f Man t o take

.
“
,

away a h o rse o r an o x was no fel o ny bu t a tresp ass bec a u se , ,

o f the di ffi culty in that l ittle c o untry t o c on ceal them o r t o

c arry them o ff ; but t o steal a pig o r a f o wl which is e asily ,

d o ne was a c apital misdemean o r and the o ff ender p un ish ed

, ,

wit h death ” 7
Gree k c o sm o gr aphy is a r efl e ct idn o f their
.

envir onment ; Eskim o hell is dark and c o ld ; the Jew s is a ’

place o f everlasting fire ; B uddhism l o o ks up o n heaven a s the

cessati o n o f all a ctivity and we little w o nder that this i s s o
,

when we think o f the incessant st ruggle a g ainst the ste am

ing heat and h u mi di ty o f the Himalay an l owl ands .

REF EREN C E S
C H A P IN S o cial Ev oluti o n ;
,

D ENI K ER J The Races o f M an Chapter II I ;

, ,

D RA P ER J W Th e I ntellectual D evel o pment

, . .
,
Eur o pe ,
Vo l I Chapters I II
.
,
-

“
" u ot e d f r om S em p l
e,Op . ci t .
, p . 40 .
 The P hy sica l B a ckgr oun d o f P hilo s o h
p y 53

L OEB , The I nfluence o f the Envir o nment o f A nimals in

J ,

D arwin and M o dern S cience edited by Sewa rd ; ,

PA TT EN S N The D evel o pment o f English Th o ught Ch a p

, . .
, ,

te r I ;
Ro ss E A F o u ndati o ns o f S o ci ol o gy 2 2 5 2 5 3 ;
, . .
, ,
-

SE MP LE E The I nfluence o f the Ge o graphic Envi ronment ;

, .
,

T HOM A S W I S o urce B o o k f o r S o ci al O rigins 2 9 7 4 ;

, . .
, ,
-

WO O D R U FF C E The Eff ects o f Tr o pic a l L ight on W hite

, . .
,

Men .
 C H A P T ER IV

TH E SO C IA L B AC K GROU ND OF P H IL O S O P H Y

1 . Introdu ct ory —W c me
. e o dire ctly t o t h e p ro b
mo re
lems o f phil o s ophy in a treatment Of t h e s o ci a l c onditi o ns
o u t o f whic h s ec u lative t h inking ari ses We s h oul
d k eep in
p .

mind t h at the psych ol o gi cal agencies w h ich we h ave dis

cussed in a f o rm e r c h a pter o perate in a physica lenvir o n
ment and that these t w o agen cies p sychical and physical
, , ,

mutual ly c o o pe rate in the f o rm ati o n o f a s o cial envir o nment .

I t is essential again t o ca l lattenti o n t o the fact th a t primi

tive ma n d o es no t start with a ready made system o f a d -

j u stments t h at is wit h fu lly devel o pe d instinctive resp ons es

, ,

and mech anisms o f resp o nses but these very resp onses and
,

mechanisms gr o w up in the c o u rse o f the l o ng p eri o d that

h as elap sed sinc e man firs t appe ared on the e a rth A ls o .

,

t h at t h e physica lenvi r o nment is itself no t fixed in advanc e

but bec ome s gr o ws a s man devel o ps a nd gr ows The physi
, , .

cal aspects o f N ew Y o rk City f o r ex ampl e are by no means

, ,

what they were in th e days o f th e D u tch traders Thus .

th e p h ysicaland th e psychic a laspects wh ic h we may distin

g u is h f o r p u rp o ses o f des cripti o n g r o w up t o gether t h e one
, ,

being t h e c o mplement o f the o ther B u t the res u ltant o f th e

.

m u tual pl ay Of these t w o ph ases o r aspe cts o f experience is

what w e shall c all the s o ci a lenvi r o nm ent .

far a s pri mitive man is c o ncern ed this s o cial enw r o n

is h is phil o s op h y his s cienc e , his re l
, igi on h is l a w , a nd
,

54
 The S o cia lB a ckgr o u nd o f P hilo s o h
p y 55

his go vernment and ind eed all o ther m od es o f acti on wh ich

'

, , ,

we sep arate divide and classify The same is tru e as fa r a s

, , .

the civilized and hi ghly cultured man is c o ncern ed His .

s o cial envir o n ment includes all thes e speci alized meth o ds o f ,

be h a vi o r but the di ff erence be tween the pri mitive and the

,

cultu red man is that th e latter cle a rly di ff erenti ates thes e
fields o f acti on evaluates them and behaves t o wards ea ch in
, ,

keeping with the value he attaches t o it P hil o s o phy f o r cul .

t u r ed m a n is a hi ghly technical a nd speci alized way O f l o o k

ing at things A t least this is what pe o ple usually be lieve it
.

t o be and if we go deeply int o cert ain the o ries we may be

,

c o nvinced th a t the be lief is well f o unded ; but f o r primitive -

man the wh o le undi ff erentiated mass of cust o m is his phil o s

o h
p y if
, we agree t o u se t h e term in t h is e x tended f o rm .

The his t o r y o f p g
r o r es s is p r ecis el
y t he hi s t o r y of the d if

f er en tia ti on of me th o d s of mee tin a nd e va lu a tin t h ob

g g e p r

l
ems l
zohic h c on r on t p f Fr l
o m the standp o int j ust
a eo
p e .

stated the de g ree o f advancement o f a pe o ple o r an age in

the hist o ry o f the w o rld can be estimated by the degree o f
specializati o n which prev ailed in thei r s o ciety B r o a dly .

speaking there have been but t w o great pe ri o ds o f hi gh in

,

t elle c t u a lachievement in the hist o ry o f the w o rld namely , ,

that Of the Greeks in the time o f S o cr ates Plat o and A ri s , ,

. t o tle ; and that o f the m od ern w o r l d fr o m abo ut 1 5 0 0 t o o u r

o wn time I n these t w o peri o ds speciali z ati o n di ff erenti a
.
,

ti o n individuati o n are the key w o rds

, .

A s the s o ci al c o nditi o ns reflect t h e physicala nd psyc h o

l o gical backgr o unds o u t o f which and u po n wh ich they a re
devel o pe d s o d o es ph il o s o phy a s we underst and it in cu l
,

t u r e d s o ciety reflect the s o ci alc o n diti o ns fr o m wh ic h it h as

ari sen a n d o f which it is a par t The phil o s o phy O f a peri od .

is an e x pressi o n o f the n a tu re and l

“
ife and s o ciety in te rms
56 A n I nt r o du c tion t o P hil
o so h
p y

of c ollective hum a n desires and aspirati o n as these were de

t e r m ined by c o ntem p o ra ry di fficulties and struggle ” 1
In .

the s ame w a y that we speak o f eighteenth century litera

ture dress o r m o des Of travel we may speak o f ei gh t eenth
, , ,

cent u ry phil o s o phy .

Each age time peri o d is d o minated by certain ideals

, , ,

which in t urn are a reflecti o n o f that a g e ; but be cause o f the

c o ntin u ity O f culture because the past lives in the present in
,

the f o rm of b o oks and art we find it m o re difficult t o p o int

,

o u t the a ctual c o ntri buti o ns o f a pe o ple a s o pp o sed t o what

they h ave inhe r ited .

The se intr od uct o ry rema rk s are intended t o emphasize

the relati o ns be tween t h e s o cia lenvir o nment a nd the type
o f phil o s o phy which is an expressi o n o f it f o r it is t his w ay ,

that we a cc o unt f o r c o ntinuity in devel o pment F o r ex .

ample we a re t o ld by the hist o ri a ns O f p hil o s o ph y that

,

phil o s o phy began with the Greeks This is a statemen t

.

whic h is true u nder certain c onditi o ns o nly a nd if we define

p hil o s o phy as we empl o y the te rm here it is n o t tru e at a l , l;
f o r o u r po siti o n is that the l o west s ava g e h a s a phil o s o phy
and th is is his way o f life I t is tru e that it may no t be
.

o f a very exalted type but f o r him it answers his purp o s e s

,

a s well a s the m o st highly elabo ra t ed and detailed the o ry

answers the pu rpo s es o f the pr o fes si o nal phil o s o pher A s .

we indic ated abo ve his ways o f life are no n diff er entiated

,
-

,
(
and if we we re t o select a w o rd o r te rm t o c over a l l h is
meth o ds Of rea cti o n we c o uld d o no better than t o empl o y
,

the te r m s o c o mm o n at this time namely Cust om Cust om , , .

—
is all s cience l aw phil o s o phy Within recent ye a rs there
, , .

has be en a g r owin g tendency t o treat the elabo ra t e f o rms o f

a cti o n s u ch a s o u r m o ral behavi o r o r eth i cs as gr o wing o u t
, ,

o f the bac k gr o unds whic h we have discussed plus t he s o cial ,

‘D w y
e e ,John G e rma n P hil
, os op hy and P ol
i ti cs pp 10 1 1 , .
-
.
 The S o cia lB a ckgr ou nd o f P hilo s o h
p y 57

back gr o und which is o u r immediate pr oble m here By the .

s o cial back gr o und we mean the c o n gl o merate o f s cience re ,

ligio n and s o cial o r g a ni zati o n which p revailed in primitive

,

s o ciety L ater when we speak o f p articular phi l o s o phi c a l

.

the ori es the relati o n be tween the prevailing s o cial o rganiza

ti o n and the type o f phil o s o phy d evel o ped will be d iscussed ,

but here we h ave in mind the cha o s o f c u st o ms o f primitive

life .

The hyp o thesis was ad v anced earlier that o u r elabo rate

f o r ms o f be h avi o r are f o unded on t w o prime necessities ,

namely fo o d getti ng activities and r ep r o d u ct lo n O f the s pe

,

cies We have indicated how these needs split up int o m o re

.

definite instinctive reacti o ns and o u r purp o se h ere is t o sh o w

that the elabo rate cust o ms o f primitive s o ciety a r e built o n
-
-

these gr o und f o rms The vari o us f o rms o f s o ci al life are

.

the o ccupati o ns the relati o ns between the se x es fo lk ways

, ,
-

and va ri o us cerem o nials inv o lvin g magi c and myth the —

early science phil o s o phy and religi o n o f man The cus
, , .

t o ms that a re o f the greatest imp o rt ance are th o se whi ch

are c o nnected with the getting and the distributi o n o f f o o d ,

the birth o f c hildren m a rri a ge initiati o n cerem o ni als which

, ,

are the hi gh s ch o o l educati o n o f the primi tive ad oles cent ,

and ri tes c o nnected with death and war , .

2 . Th e Na t u r e of Primitive S ocialLif e — Pri mitive s o cial .

life is a life O f c u st o m m o re ri gid and binding than m o dern

,

man generally think s The crime o f primitive s o ciety is the

.

breaking o f c u st o m f o r in this way inj u ry c o mes t o the

,

r o up and no t t o the individual w h o breaks the cust om

g .

D e p a r tures fr o m cust om are t a bo o Th at is t abo o is the .

,

ne g ative side O f cust om “

Th e cust o ms are the th o u sh a l
. ts -

” 2
and the t abo o s are the th o u shalt n o ts o f primitive life - -

H o w d o these cust o ms g et started ? Vari o us answe r s h ave

’
A mes, E S
. .
, y
The P s cho og l y of igi ou s Exp eri ence p
R el , . 59
.
58 A n I nt r odu c tio n t o P hil
o s o hy
p

been o ff ered I t is pr obable that a s g o o d an an swer as c an

.

be gi ven is that they o ri gin a ted thr o u gh l u ck o r accidental ,

s u c cessful ways o f meeting the demands o f the situati o n

whi ch they c o ver .

Man s behavi o r be c o mes habit u a lt h r o u gh repe titi o n and

’
,

ways o f a cting which have bro u ght succes s h a ve been handed

do wn while o ther ways bec o me tabo o
,
The trial and err o r
.

meth o d cert ainly is the chief o ne by which kn owled ge is

a cquired no t o nly by primitive man bu t by civilized man as
well O u r m o st el abo r ate r a ti o nal pr o cesses a re no t full
. y
pr o ved o r tested until they h a ve be en acted up o n S O we .

m ay s afely s ay that cust o ms h ave gr o wn u p ab ou t success

ful w ay s of a cti o n induced by the primitive needs o f man
kind and that they are no t o riginally based on ideas o f suc
,

cess plan s in advance o f the o cc a si o n o f their f o r mati o n o r

, ,

“
a s Pr o fess o r S umner states it Fr o m rec u rrent needs a r ise
,

habits f o r the individual and cust oms f o r the gr o up but ,

thes e res u lts a re c o nsequences which were never c o ns ci o u s

”
a n d neve r f o reseen o r intended Then again certain meth
.

o d s o f acti o n appe al t o a pe o ple A side fr o m the usef u l

.

and the l “
ucky there is the m o re immediate reacti o n o f in
,

d ivid u a l
‘
s o r gr o up s t o cert ain ways o f a cting acc o rding a s

thin g s j u mp with th e feelings o r displease them 3

.
’

3 Ta b oo
.
— A s cu st o m centers ab o ut th e o ccup ati ons and
o ther f o rms o f s o cial life and activities o f the gr o up l
end ,

ing themselves t o the p o sitive aspects Of experience s o d o es ,

tab o o rev o lve abo ut the s ame experiences as a negative fac

tor . The thin g s which p o ssess t abo o m o st po werfull y a re
s ex , eaders str angers and the dead Se x tab o o s e x tend
l , ,
.

bo th t o the pe rs o n and t o th e o ccupati o ns o f the members .

We hav e sp oken o f the physi o l o gical fact o rs o f se x as de

t erm ining in p art the type Of ment allife o f t h e individ u al ,

'
Dewe y a nd T u f ts E thi cs p 54
, , . .
 The S o cia lB ac kground f
o P hilo so h
p y 59

bu t in thi s c onnecti o n it sh o uld be p o inted o u t th at o n

the psych ol o gy o f habit f o rm a ti o n these m o des o f re a cti o n
e arlier determined by physi o l o gi cal necessity bec o me fi x ed
m o des O f respo nse o r c u s t o m which can n o t be vi o lated e x
,
‘

cept in app ro ved ways I n o ther w o rds the p hy sio l o i ca l

.
g ,

fa c t of s ea: is a center f or a wid e r a nge of cu s toms a nd

t a bo os tha t is of ea rl s c ience h ilo s op hy a nd r el
i i on
, y p g ,
.

W o m an has gener a lly be en debarred fr o m the public and

civil ri ghts whic h have been acc o rded man This is an ex .

tensi o n o f the bi ol o gical diff erence o f o ccup a ti o n s o metimes ,

exaggerated int o seclusi o n am o ng p o ly g am o us races and ,

int o s o mewhat O f inferi o rity in m a rti a l and feudal s o cieties .

The habits o f man wh o is m o t o r mar tial aggressive are o p , , ,

po s ed t o th o se o f w o man w ho is d o cile and submissive due ,

t o the c o nditi o ns u nder whic h each has stru ggled t o live Th e .

tabo o s between the sexes a r e gradually bein g br oken d o wn in

the presenc e o f o ther ways o f living di fferent means o f ,

evaluating c onduct and ch anged s o cial and po litic a l c o ndi

,

ti ons .

Great men chiefs kings and priests a r e tab o o ; they are

, , ,

set apart c o nsecrated s a nctified They have g ained their

, , .

p o siti o ns because they have been p o werful leaders in wars ,

and in o ther f o rm s o f g r o up life O nce h avin g g ained lead .

e r ship thr o u gh s o me service t d the g r o up the ri ght O f chief

’

t a inship o r kin g ship is handed d o wn t o members o f the

family o r t o o thers cl o sely ass o ciated with the chief O r king .

I n o u r o wn s o ciety we n o te h o w persistent is the tabo o o n

ru lers great men hi gh church O fficials and o thers S o pe r
'

, , , .

sistent is thi s fact that s o me have explained cust o ms o f

reli gi o n and o thers as well as the devices o f p riests and
rulers f or the purp o se o f kee p in g themselves and their cl a ss
in p ower I t is m o re in keepin g with s o und psych o l o gical
.

principles h owever t o acc o u nt f o r these facts o n the pri n

, ,
 60 A n I n t r o duc tio n t o P hil
oso h
p y

cip e l of h abit f o rm ati o n driven

, by the instinct Of sel
on f
subj ecti o n and its c o rrelate I t ha s been o ne O f the great
.

pr oblems o f go vernment t o break d o wn the tabo o s which

h ave gr o wn up a bo ut rulers We have j ust witness ed the
.

tra gedy o f th o s e who rule by divin e right

“ ”
The tabo o s
.

w hi ch h ave be en built up ab o ut the m h a ve be en br o ken d o wn

and th ey have be en subj ected t o the ri ghtful punishment o f
the c omm o n m an Viewed fro m o ne st andp o int it w o uld be
.

p o ssible t o wri te the wh ole o f p o litic a l hist o ry as a gradu al

breakd own o f tab o o s o n rulers and chi efs The highest.

a chievement in this respe ct is f o und in the dem o cracy in

”
which the o retically a t least every man c ou nts a s o ne
—
, ,
.

The devel o pment o f reli gi o n fo ll o ws the s ame r o ute the

g radu a l breakin g o f tab o o s o n priests medicin e men and , ,

religi o us instituti o ns in general F o r example it is a recent

.
,

fa ct o f g reat significance th at religi o us phen o men a h ave

yielded t o psych o l o gi cal and hence s cientific treatment
, , , ,

the the o ry bef o re being that matters O f s acred and divine

imp o rt w o ul d be deba u ched by being submi tted t o s cientific
meth o ds .

“
A c c o rdingly in cust om and t abo o we witness the funded
experience O f a pe o ple— their meth o d o f res p o nse t o th o se
needs which must be gratified if the g r o up is t o survive ; and
in hi gher f o rm s O f s o ciety th ose cust o ms which while being ,

elabo rati o ns o n pri mitive needs embo dy the spiri tual ideals
,

o f the gr o up .

4 . Va r iou s Typ es of Cu st om — W e have now t o c onsider

s o m e o f the p rincipal cust o ms o f pri mitive s o ciety with the
f o ll o wing idea primarily in mind : With what are the cust o ms
c o ncern ed ? A bo ut wh at d o they center ?
A p o ssible o rigin o f cust o m has been suggested in the
p sych o l o gy o f habit in which successful ways o f acti o n dis
,

c o vered by tria la nd err o r be c ome fi x ed and h anded d o wn in

 The S o cia lB a ckgr ound o f P hilo so h
p y 61

cerem oni a ls o f initiati o n and by imi tati o n B u t th e time .

c o mes in the hist o ry o f the race wh en reflecti o n o n th es e

cust oms ari ses a nd at that po int we have the o retical kn o w
,

led ge o r the S pe culative achievements o f primitiv e ma n .

Man u n c ons ci o usly devel ops a type o f s o cial o rga niz ati o n
j ust a s we devel o p a language but it is no t until mu ch ,

later that he attemp t s t o exp l a in his s o ci a l life o r th a t he

write s hi s gr ammar He g a ins an immens e st o re Of p r a c

.
‘

tical kn o wledge such a s the making o f bo ws and arr o ws ,

tra p s f or an imals axes bo ats and bridges bef o re he asks

, , ,

f o r p ri ncip l es B u t a time d o es c o m e when p r in c ipl

. e s ar e

dem and ed and at this p o int s cience and phil o s o phy a s we

thin k o f them are bo rn We sh all l ater h a ve o ccas i o n t o
.

enu merate s o me o f the agencies which c o mpel a se a rch f o r

principles which that is dem an d a rec o nstru cti o n o f cus
, , ,

t o m O r habitual m o des o f a cti o n S u c h a p r o c es s in vol ves.

c o ns ciou s nes s of t he r efl ec tive a nd he nc e c r i tic a ltyp e

, , .

( )
a S a c r ifi c e We shall begin
. ou r disc u ssi o n o f cere
m o nials and their purpo ses with s acrifice the b a sic a nd ,

characte ristic act O f which is that o f eating f o o d and this is

generally the staple fo o d o f the gr o up S acrifice in o ther
4
.
,

w o rds is fundamentally a f o o d pr o cess th o u gh in hi ghe r

, ,

f o rm s o f s o ciety this fact is m o re o r less dis gu is ed O ri .

g y
i n all the t o tem animal was the staple arti cle o f f o o d and ,

was itself s acrificed bu t later when it became rare s acri

, ,

5
fi e es were made t o it Spencer and Gillen in their el a bo rate
.
,

studies O f the primitive tribe s o f A ustralia s a y that the ,

purp o s e o f s acrificial c e iem o nia ls is t o incre ase the fo o d

'

su p p ly The eatin g o f the t o tem animal be came tab o o due

.

”
S a cr ifi ce s f rom t he l
,
o w e s t t o t he h i gh e st l s o f cu l
e vel tu re, consi st ,

t o th e ex te nt o f ni ne t ent h s o r m o r e o f gi f t s o f f oo d a nd s a cred ba n
,

qu et s
.
”
Tyl or P r i m i t i ve C u l
, t u r e V ol I I p 3 9 7
, .
, . .

l
'
N a tive T r i bes o f Ce nt ra lA u st r a l i a a nd N orthe rn T ribes of Central
i
A ust r ala .
 62 A n I nt r odu c tion t o P hil
os o h
p y

to a s c arcity and no member is p e rmitted t o e at o f it e x cept

a t th e cerem o nial feast The uncertainty o f the f o o d supply
.

and the indispensa ble need f o r f o o d rendered cerem o nials

f o r it s increas e o f deep and lasting significance A s Craw .

“
ley s ays The f o o d quest pr o vides the earlies t illu strati o n
,

o f t he w a
y in which
.
( pr i mitive man ) lays h o ld o f life I t is .

the m o s t engr o ssing fact o f p rimitive existence Man s .

’

daily bread thus bec o mes the obj ect o f innumerable acts o f
” 6
c a u ti o n and su p erstiti o n .

( 1 ) S a c r ifi c i a l B i t e s a nd To t em i s m S a c ri fi c ia l rite s .

are cl o sely c o nn ected wi th t o temism a w o rd t aken fr o m the ,

langu age o f the O j ibway I ndians and which me ans that man ,

has des cended fr o m a n animal and in s o me c ases fr o m a ,

plant ancest o r The animalo r plant fr o m whi ch the gr o up

, .

had its o r igi n is o ne cl o sely c o nnected with their f o o d sup

ply a nd indeed usually fo rm s the stapl e a rt icle The I n
, .

t ichiu m a cerem o nials des cribe d by S pencer and Gi l len and .

by H o witt h ave as their o bj ect the increase o f the to tem

,
.

Gras s seed is thr o wn br o adcast by the members O f the grass

see d t o tem and a hu g e lizard is fo rm ed by the membe rs o f
,

the liza rd t o tem and part s o f it thr o wn abo ut all f o r the

, ,

purp o s e o f a direct appe al t o the t o tem t o multiply itself

by virtue o f the magical po wer whi ch it p o sses ses The in .

crease in the t o tem is a s a m atter Of c o urse a benefit to the

gr o up in a substantial way f o r it relieves hunger a nd in ,

additi o n gives p o wer t o the gr o up S ince the t o tem gr o up .

c o mes fr o m a c o mm o n ancest o r the eating o f the t o tem

animal gives the gr o up the ma gi cal p o wer o f the animal
itself I t is si gnificant that at this st a g e the s acri fice is no t
.

made t o the ancest o r o r t o the go d bu t it is the go d o r a n ,

ce s t o r itself that is s acrificed Thus the gr o up received di

.

r e ctl the s a crednes s tab o o o r magic o f the Obj ect e aten

y , , .

The eating o f o ther f o o d o bj ects t h an th e t o tem f o r the

“
" u ote d f rom A me s O p
, . c it .
, pp . 1 20 21 -
.
 The S ocia lB ac kgr ound o f P hilo s o h
p y 63

purp o ses o f gaining po wer is c omm o n Cannibal fe asts a r e .

pr obably t o be explained o n the principle that the magic o f

the p o werful enemy is tran s fe rred t o the feasters The .

y o uth at the initi a ti o n cerem o nials may be fed fr o m the

, ,

o r g an s o f po werful enemi e s The l

“
iver gives val o r the
.
,

ears intelli ge nce the skin o f the f o rehead perseverance

,
”
.

The N o rt h A merican I ndi a n eats venis o n t o g ain s w iftnes s

and cunnin g but he av oids the clumsy be ar tame cattle
, , ,

and sl o w m o vin g swine s o that he m ay n o t g ain their ,

qualities because these qu al

, ities are detri ment al t o the co n
“ ”
c e t i o n o f the
p virtues which have be en built up o u t o f
the essenti a l activities f o r gr o up survival S o uth A meric a n .

I ndians eat bi rds fi sh m on keys and deer but av o id the

, , , ,

peccary and tapir ; A fri cans eat the meat a n d d rink the
bl o o d o f li o ns a n d tigers s o th at th ey may bec ome str on g
and mi ghty in battle .

( )
2 T h e O ccas i o ns o f S a c r ifi c e A n y unus u al n o n .
,

habitual o ccurrence may call f o r s acrifice When the se .

cu ri t y o f a pe o ple is br o ken when they are weakened by ,

death war pestilence o r famine o r when s o methin g unusual

, , , ,

is abo ut t o t a ke pl a ce such as a battle o r an eclipse then

, ,

the rites o f s acri fice are in o rder They may o ccur als o .

at stated inte r vals such as at the be ginning o f the seas o ns

and the o pe nin g o f the hunting seas o n f o r certain game .

I n fact every happ enin g which c alls f o r a cl o ser uni o n

am o n g the gr o u p and bd w ee n the gr o up and their ancest o r
o r the u nseen p o wer is an o ccasi o n f o r s acrifice .

When tabo o s have actually been br o ken when s in h as ,

been c o mmitt ed and when the c o nsequ ences have t o be de a lt

,

with we have s ac r ifices kn own as ri tes of p u r ifi ca tion .

When the sick re gain health when the w o men return t o ,

7
camp a fter childbirth when m o urners return fr om the f u
,

neral rites o f s acrifice are generally perfo rmed W ater is

, .

’
L evi ti cu s C h XI I
, . .
64 A n I nt r odu c tion t o P hil p y
os o h

c omm o nly empl o yed in thes e rites because it is sac r ed and

mysteri o us A ny meth o d o f c o min g in c o ntact with it is
.

—
empl o yed drinking spri nkling o r bathing B l o o d and fire
, , .
‘

a re s o metimes used bec aus e th ey are als o s acred and im

pa rt s acredness t o whatever they c o m e in c o ntact with .

( )
3 W h a t is d o ne in S a c r ifi c e ? We have s aid that the
p u rpo s e of s acrifice is t o c o me in c o ntact with a s acr ed
Obj ect in o rd er t o bec o me p o ssessed o f its s acredness I t .

uni tes the membe rs o f the gr o up with the p o wers which they
believe t o c o ntr o l them Then agai n c o me the ri tes O f
.

at o nement f o r s in either o f o missi o n o r o f c o mmissi o n We .

are bette r acquainted with Hebrew sacrificial rites a s give n

in t he O l d Testament and we are theref o re better able t o
,

dis c o ver the purp o se o f them by an exa minati o n o f Hebrew

cust o ms The earlies t Hebrews were shepherds and n o mads
.
,

th e sheep being the m o st imp o r tan t anim a l o f their expe r i

enc e and h ence their t o tem animal The O l
, des t feast o f the
.

Hebr ews the Pass o ver is a su r vi val o f the t o temic stage

, ,
.

Remembe rin g that the sacri ficed animal w a s itself the deity ,

i t is evident that th o se w ho ate Of it gained the s a cr ednes s

and m agical qualities o f the deity When they entered the .

ri ch c o untry t o the west they be c ame wa r like and their

desert g o ds be cam e go ds o f war A n agricultur al lif e car
.

ri ed m an y changes in their cust o ms am o ng which w a s the ,

su bstituti o n o f the bull as the s acred animal instead o f the

sheep a s in their n o m a dic days be cause cattle be came the
,

chief fo o d a nimal This fact is reflected in their reli gi o us

.

life in th at t h e hu l lw a s a symbo l f o r Y a w eh their G od ,

.

This symb o l was s et up in the vari o u s s h ri nes a nd even in

the temple at Jerusalem .

I n m o de r n Chri sti a nity we witness the O l dest ideas o f s ac

ri fi c e
.
“
Th e P ass o ver determines the c o ncepti o ns which
cente r in M a ss or t h e L o rd s S u pper The c o mmu ni c ant
’
.
 The S oc ial B a c kgr oun d o f hilo s op hy
P 65

p a rt akes O f the m a gi c life l iterally by eating the bo dy and

,

dri nking the bl o o d ; o r ideally by empl o ying bre a d a n d

”
wine a s symb o ls . B aptism a s p racticed in m o dern churches
is als o a survival o f ancient rites o f puri ficati o n in which
“ “
the sins are washed away The s acramental d o ctrines
.

and cust o ms o f reli gi o n sp r ing fro m the living and p eren

ni al superstiti o n o f the ma sses They exist no t merely be .

cause it is th e fashi o n t o cultivate them but als o be cause the ,

magic and mystery which they inv olve are n a tive t o unen
li ghtened minds ” 8
.

( )
b I n i t i a t i o n C e r emo ni a l
s We wish next .t o c o nsider
c erem o nials O f initiati o n o ne o f the chief as pe cts o f early
,

cust o m These cust o ms have t o de al m o re directly with in

.

t e r e s t s c o nnected with the repr o ducti o n o f the speci es such ,

as marri a ge birth and relati o ns be tween the s exes ; whereas

, ,

s acri fices were m o re intim ately related t o f o od p r o cesses .

These cerem o ni als a r e the Obj e c t ive regimen t o which y o uth s

h ave been subj ected as they cr o ss the thresh old fro m child
h o o d t o maturity They are f o r primitive and s av age man
.

the meth o d Of transmi s si o n t o the y o un g o f the ideals as ,

pirati o ns and interests o f the g ro up We can be st under

, .

stand them if we think o f the hi gh s ch o o l educati o n o f the

m o dern bo y o r girl in which the attempt is made t o a c
,

quaint the ad olescent with the culture o f the r ace f o r the

purpo se o f pro vidin g such with instruments the better t o
meet the pr oblems demands and needs o f o u r time ; and t o
, ,

indicate meth o ds by whi c h the ide als aims purp o ses and , , ,

aspirati o ns m ay be refined and pu rified A s o u r hi gh .

s ch o ols give the y o uth th o se pri nci p les which have be e n

fo und valu able in c op ing with o u r civiliz a ti o n s o d o the ini ,

t ia t io n cerem o nial s acqu aint the y o uth o f primitive culture

with th e elements which are deemed valuable by the gr o up ;
a
A m e s, O p u s cit .
, p . 192 .
66 A n I nt r o du c tion t o P hil
o s ophy

and j u st a s we a r e able t o determine th e ideals o f a pe ri o d

by a c o nsiderati o n o f the curr iculum s o may we dis c o ver ,

the v a lues o f th o s e wh os e cerem o nials we study .

I n the l o wes t typ es o f s av agery it is hi ghly pr obable th a t

t h e cerem o ni als o f initi ati o n a r e purely a matter o f cus
t om i e
,
. there are no ide as o r ideals inv o lved at all no
.
, ,

reflecti o n o n th e inner si gnificance o f the rites ; but even s o ,

they represent t h e typ e o f t hing that the gr o up res p o nds

t o necess arily .

B y t h e meth o d o f tri al and e rr o r certain habits o f r e

s o ns e have been built up and thes e habits are h anded d o wn
p
t o the y o ung membe rs o f t h e gr o up w ho a re abo ut t o as ,

s u me the duties and a ctivities o f fu ll members C o ns e .

quently if in the initiati o n cerem o nials as in s a c r ifi c e w e

, , ,

st u dy what is d o ne r a ther t h an what is bel

.
ieved we shall ,

no t be tempt ed t o f o u nd t hem u p o n t o o firm a n ideal back

gr o und O r t o se a rch t o o seri o usly f o r the ide a s that u nderlie

them I n o u r interp retati o n o f these phen o men a w e m a y
.

d o wh at is p ermissible name l y t o see k f o r the causes o f

, ,

them as the facts surr o unding w arrant ; but it is not per

mi ssible t o as cri be t o the s avage and pri mitive man the l ofty
c o ncepti o ns o f duty whi ch a r e f o un d in civilized ethical
,

the o ries o r abstract n o ti o ns o f c a use and eff ect which h ave

,

be c o me the p o ssessi o n o f civilized man only a t the expense

o f endless experimental res e a rch A n example o r t w o will
.

sh o w the general f o rm o f the c erem o ni a lo f initiati o n and

“ ”
will make evident the virtues o f th o s e who practice them
th o se elements whi ch a r e deem ed o f v alu e t o s u c h a s w ou l d
be membe rs o f the gro up .

( )
1 C e r emo n ia l of t he A m e ri c a n A bo r igine s
“
I n t h e .

life o f the Thl ink et t there is al m o st n o thi ng between child

h o o d a nd adult age Y o u th that delici o us p au s e between
.
,

infancy and mat u rity ha s no place in his experi ence A t

,
.

th e a ge when o u r c hildren are ba rely re a dy t o l a

y aside
 The S oc ia lB a ck gr o un d o f P hilo s op hy 67

pinaf o re and sh o rt tr o users A laskan bo ys and girls a re ,

declared t o be O ld en o u gh t o marry and be gin life f o r them

selves ”
. The first great event in the li fe O f the Thl ink e tt
girl was her arri v al at maturity She was banished f o r s ix .

m o nths in a small ou t h o use fr o m which she c o uld no t stir-

D uring the p eri o d s h e was kept busy sewing squirrel skins

int o blankets and we aving hats and baskets the O bj ect o f
, ,

which was t o teach her the virtues o f w o man t o wit p a , ,

t ie nc e and industry O n the firs t day o f her retre at a smal

. l ,

pin was inserted thr o u gh her l o wer lip which was chan ged ,

t o a lab ret o n her wed d in g day

-
She was tau ght self denial .
-

by bein g tempted by f o o d and drink o f which she was de

ri ve d f o r f o ur days She must n o t m o ve abo ut lest s he
p .

acquire habits o f re stlessness no r must sh e t alk lest she ,

be come a sc o ld A fter the perio d she m ad e her d ébut A t

.
, .

this c o min g o u t feast she w as intr o duced t o a l

-

lthe y o ung
men o f the o p p o site p hratry and dressed in her best st o o d , ,

o n an elevati o n while be ing examined by all the y o ung men .

“
I f s he were healthy and industri o us m o dest and reserved , ,

s p o ke sl owly quietly and m o ved deliberately and especi ally

, , ,

if s he h a d g ained a re p utati o n f o r unusual industry and

” 9
skill suit o rs abo unded and she was s o o n marri ed
,
.

The B razilian girl s expe r ience is m o re trying Endur ’

.

ance is the chief virtue here as is seen in the cerem o nials .

She is secluded f o r a m o nth and is fed o n bread and water

. .

She is br o u ght o u t bef o re her parents and friends a nd each ,

pers o n p resent gives her s ix licks acr o ss the back and breast
with a s ip o until sh e falls senseless o r dead
, I f s he r e .

c o vers it is repeated every s ix h o urs a nd it is c o nside red an

, ,

o ff ense t o p arents n o t t o strike hard Mea ts and fish are .

m a de re a dy the sip os are dipp ed in them and given her t o

,

10
lick ; th en she is a w o m a n and is ready f o r m a rri a ge .

“
l G S A d ol
" u ote d f rom H a l e scence V ol I I
, p . .
, , .
, . 233 .

”
Wal k er, A R T ra vels on the Ama z on, p 325
. .
, . .
68 A n I n t r o du c tion t o P hilos op hy

( )
2 I ni tia tio n C er emo nia l
s f Fra z
o er h
the A
as fr ica ns .

made interesting studies o f the cerem o nials o f the A frican

Z ulus and nei ghbo rin g tribes W e shall st ate briefly s o me
.

o f the p o ints o f the Z ul u c erem o nial A t the firs t signs o f .

pube rt y the girl must hide no t be seen by men c over her, ,

head les t the s u n shri vel her and seclude h erself f o r s o m e

, ,

time in a hut I n N ew I reland girls at this age are c o nfined

.

'

f o r f o ur O r five years kept in small cages in the dark and

, ,

n o t al lo wed t o s e t f o o t o n the gr o und The cages are small .

and h o t but are cle a n and the girls are taken o u t o nce a
day t o ba the ; in these c ages they remain until they a re
taken o u t t o be married and attend the great feast which is
a p art o f the cerem o ny P o o r pe o ple c a naff o rd t o keep
.

their d aughters thus s h ut u p but a few wee k s bu t t h e time ,

in creases with wealt h and stati o n .

I t wil lbe n o ticed th at the feast is u s u al ly an imp o rtant

element in th e marri age cerem o nia l We h a ve theref o re in .
, ,

marriage bo th o f the grea t interests of life present .

Every tribe o f t h e present day h as cerem onial s of the

nature we h ave j ust indicated N o t o nly are th ese fo und in
.

p ri mitive and in pre sent s avage tribe s but they have been ,

t o pics o f sup reme interest thr o ugh o u t the devel o pment o f

civilizati o n I f we take the tribe s o f A ustralia the e a rly
.
,

Jews the pe o ple o f B o rn e o N ew Guinea o r o f a n y o ther

, , ,

place we sh a l
, lfind s o me f o rm Of initiati o n cerem o ni al cen
tering abo u t t h e interests o f repr o ducti o n The wide p r eva .

lenc e indeed the u nivers al preva l

, , ence of t h e cere monialis
h ighly s u ggestive .

R EF EREN CES

A M E S , E S , P syc h ol
. . o gy Of Reli i ou s Experienc e , 5 1 1 6 8 ;
g
-

BO UG LE , C , D ar
. w inism and S o ci o l o gy , in D arwin and M o d
ern S cience edited by Seward ; ,

B RIN T O N D G Religi o ns o f Primitive Pe oples ;

, . .
,
.
 The S ocia lB ac kgr ou
nd f P hil
o o s op hy 69

C H A P I N S o cial Ev oluti o n ;
,

COO LEY C H Human N ature and the S o ci a l O rder ;

, . .
,

DENI K ER J The Races o f Man Chapters V VI I ;

, ,
-

DE W EY and T U F TS Ethics Ch apters I I V I II ; , ,

-

D O P P K E The Place o f I ndustry in Elementa ry Ed u ca

, . .
,

ti o n ;
D o w n J The N egr o Races Chapter s II VI I ;
, ,
-

FARNELL L R The Ev o luti o n o f Religi o n ;

, . .
,

HA DD O N A C S yllabus o f L ectures o n Magic and Primitive

, . .
,

Reli gi on The Study o f Man Chapter X IV ;

, ,

HARRI S O N J Pr o lego men a t o the S tudy o f Greek Religi o n ;

,

HO S E and M C D O UG ALL The Pa g an Tribe s o f B o rne o Vol , , .

I Ch a pter V ; Vo l I I Ch a pters XV XV I II XX II ;
, .
, , ,

JE V O N S S I ntr o ducti o n t o the Hist o ry o f Religi on ;

, .
,

RA T Z EL F Hist o ry o f Mankind Vol I ;

, .
, , .

RI V ER S W H R The T o das ;
, . . .
,

Ro ss E A F o u ndati o ns o f S o ci o l o gy Chapter VIII

, . .
, ,

S M I TH W RO BIN S O N The Reli gi o n o f the Semites ;

, .
,

S P EN C ER and GILLEN The N ative Tribes o f Central A u s ,

tra l i a and N o rthern Tribes o f Central A ustralia ;

,

S UM NER F o lkways ;,

T H O M A S W I S ex and S o ciety S o urce B o ok 1 1 2 1 8 0

, . .
, , ,
-

and Pa r t I I ;
TYLO R Primitive C ul
, ture Chapter V and A nthr o p ol o gy , , ,

IV ;
W U ND T , W .
, El
ements of F o lk Psyc h ol ogy ;
 CHA PTER V

A G EN C I E S IN TH E A D V AN C E F RO M CUST O M TO RE F LE CT I ON

1
. I nt r od u ct or y.
—W e have dis cus sed s ome o f the types
o f a cti o n o f primitive man as manifested in cerem o ni als o f

s acri fice and initiati o n A s fa r as it was p o ssible t o d o s o

.

we emphas ized wha t wa s d one r a ther t ha n wha t wa s bel ieved ,

f o r it i s a c o mm o n fall a cy t o treat thes e cust o ms f ro m the

standp o int O f the s ch o lar and no t fr o m th a t Of the pri mitive
thi nker o r act o r hi m self We reas o n that since a ce rtain
.

typ e o f a cti o n in o u r experi enc e inv olves a p l a n that a l l

acti o n is c o ns ci o usly purp o sive inv o lves a ims o bj ects and
, , ,

ideals The d o g while he makes adj ustments which meet

.
,

the needs o f his existence certainly d o es no t f o rm fr ee ideas

,

inv olving plans O f a cts t o be d o ne ; and we shal l be cl o ser t o

the facts o f pri mitive experience if we think o f it a s a bo dy
O f habits inv o lving the minimum o f c ons ci o us reflecti o n .

A c tion is p r im a r y a nd a p pe a r s l on bef or e r efl ec t io n
g .

2
. Th e Level s of Cond u ct — Psych ol o gists rec o gnize at
l east three levels o f c o nduct They are the instinctive the
.
,

h abitual and the c o nsci o us Spe akin g gener ally we m ay

, .
,

sa
y that the instinctive level r epresents and i s c o rr el a t e d
with wh a t we have sp o ken o f as the psych o l o gical back
g r o und O f phil o s o phy The p sych ol o gi cal aspects o f habit
.

are when tr ans ferred t o gr o up li fe what we have dis cussed

, ,

as gr o up c u st o m o r mo r es o r the s o cial back g r o und o f

,

phil o s o phy W h en treated s o cially c o nsci o us be havi o r o r

.

c o nduct be c o mes the s cien ce phil o s ophy and all the o th er

, ,

70
 fr o m C u s t om t o Refl ec tion
'

A genc ie s in t he A d van c e 71

type s o f actio n and meth o ds o f beh avi o r which we have in

,

mind when we speak O f t he reflective and spec u lative w o rk

O f m a nkind .

I nstinctive acti o n meets the demands o f an o rganism up

t o a ce rt ain p o int in it s devel o pment I t s di fficulties a re n o t .

numer o us its m o des of resp o nse th o u gh hi ghly elab o rate in

, ,

ma ny c ases a r e m o re o r less cert ain in thei r end o r aim

,

the aim bein g o f c o urse no t a c o ns ci o us o ne in the indivi dual

o r g anism H abitu al a cti o n likewise d o es n o t inv o lve the
.
, ,

u s e O f the hi gh brain centers but is ca r ried o n al m o st aut o

l
m a t ic a ly B u.t p y
s c h o l
o lc a l
g ly there are times in the life
,

o f the hi ghest o r g an ism when these m o des o f behavi o r break

d o wn There are crises which can no t be met o n these t w o

.

l o wer meth o ds o f beh avi o r and i t is a t t he p oi nt o f the

,

br ea kd own o f ins tinc tive an d ha bi tu a lr es p ons es t ha t c on

s cio u s nes s a r is es .

Asit is at the po m t o f breakd o wn o f c u st o mary m o des o f

resp o nse that c onsci o usness arises in the individual thinker ,

s o it is that reflecti o n as a s o ci a l and o bj ective undertakin g

has its o rigin in the bre akd o wn o f cust o ms P r ogr es s that .

,

is t a k es p la c e o nly a t t he p oin t of c onflic t be t ween s ome

,

ne w fa c t a nd f the gr ou p o cu s to ms bel
ie ve d or a t l
ea s t a o

c ep t ed a s va l uab le C o nsequently in the advance fr o m cu s

.
,

t oms which are merely acce p ted t o cust o ms which are a c

ce t ed because they are c ho s en we have t o search f o r th o se
p ,

c o nflicts which a r o se I n p rimitive life which br o u ght ab o ut ,

these chan ges I n s o d o ing we are n o t intr o ducing new

.

fact o rs but w e shall s ee at w o rk a clash o f interests fo unded

,

o n the ve ry facts which we have already c o nsidered namely , ,

activities f o r f o o d and f o r the race and the vari o us m o difi ,

cati o ns o f these as w e n o ticed in the several instinctive ten

d en cie s in man Th a t is thr o u gh a clash o f int erests f o r
.
,

the s a t ls f a c t io n o f man s el e menta l needs , these very in

’
72 A n I nt r o du c tion t o P hil
o s op hy

i
s t nc t s and h abits bu i l t abo u t t h em are tr anscended and we ,

reach a higher levelOf a cti o n based o n acceptance after a

s u rvey o f the fac t s There is a w o rld o f di ff erence between
.

the c u s t o ms o f a primitive gr o up accepted blindly and th o se

o f an advanced civilized pe o ple whic h h ave been accepted in ,

p art a t l e ast becaus e they are the be st meth o ds o f a cc o un t

,

ing f o r the facts o f expe rience ; but the imp o rt ant likeness
"

c o nsists in this that the cust o ms o f the primitive ma n a s

,

well as th o s e o f the hi ghly civilized a re gr o up habits bui lt

up t o meet t he pr obl ems wh ich c o nfr o nt o r whi ch h ave con
fr o nted th em .

3 . A ge c s in t he Br ea k ow n of Cu stom W h at a re
n i e d —
s o me o f the fact o rs which make f o r an a dvance o ver in
s t in c t ive a nd habitual o r c u st o mary m o des o f a cti o n ? In
answer t o this questi o n we h ave t o inquire int o s om e o f the
causes O f the cl a s h o f interests am o ng men f o r as we in , ,

timat ed pr o gress and advancement take place in a c onflict

,

be tween s o mething already in o perati o n and s o me o ther fact

whi ch d o es no t squa re with what is a ccepted A t a still .

h igher level o f devel opment we shall find the c o nflict t o

c enter abo ut the interests o f the individual as against th o se
O f the g r o up as a wh ole I t is in such a struggle that indi
.

vid u a l is m as ag ainst gr o up life g ains in pr o minence and in

fl u en ce . E arly man h o wever is enga g ed in the f o o d quest
, , ,

m aking t o ols and crude h o uses fi ghting and m aking sl aves ,

o f the c o nque r ed s atis fying his em o ti o nal life in s o ng the

, ,

dance and physical c o ntests and winning w o men f o r wives

, ,
.

Al l th ese a ctivities are carried o n habitually ; bu t a time

c o mes when reflecti o n is essential t o gr o up su r viv a l .

O f the agencies which c ause man t o bec ome t hou gh tful ,

r efl ec tive and h ence

,
spec u lative we menti o n the f oll owing
, ,

( )
a W o rk .
“

( )
b T h e A r ts ,
 A genci e s in the A dva nc e fr om C us t om t o Reflec tion 73

( )
O War .

Mutu al A id .

( )e Family L ife .

( )
f I ni tiati o n Cerem o n i a l
s S acrifice et cetera , , .

g
( ) The B eha v i o r o f R efract o ry Memb e rs o f t h e

Gr o up .

We shall indic a te in a s u mmary manner t h e influenc e o f

these vari o u s a gencies in the devel o pment t o a high er l evel
O f behavi o r 1
.

( )
a W o r k by which we
, mean acti o n f o r s om e end o u t

side O f the pr o cess itself inv o lves an alert nes s no t o nly o f

,

the bo dy but o f the mind ; it qui ckens percepti o n and makes

f o r f o resi ght ; it acc u st o ms o ne t o c o ntr o l the imm ediate
demands f o r a re mo ter go o d in the future ; it devel o ps c o n
t inu it y o f purp o se the ability t o h o ld t o a single line o f in
,

t e r e s t and t o what is gr eat e st O f all the f o rm ulati o n o f

, ,

plans f o r a cc o mplishing t a sks with the gre a test ease L ike .

thinking which is d o ne o nly when man fails by o ther meth

,

o d s o f acting w o rk is d o ne usually when n o o ther way will

,

b r in g results The result is that pl a ns f o r gainin g ends

.
,

o f meeting needs and satisfying desires are devised inv o lvin g

,

as little w o rk as p o ssible a nd yet bringing the greatest ,

return s The divisi o n o f labo r whi ch at first was based

.

u p o n diff erences between the sexes which we have discussed ,

i n an ea rlier chapter later became extended t o diff erent ,

classes and castes and still later t o the hi ghly specialized

,

ty p e o f lab o r that go es o n in o u r m o dern life This spe ci al .

iz a t io n t o gether with inventi o ns and devices al o n g s o many

lines h ave as their pu rp o se the s avin g o f w o rk with an in
,

crease O f p ro d u ct The bare fact that man w a s f o rced t o

.

e a r n o r win his l iving rathe r than t o c a t ch it that he was ,

1
F or more e x tende d t rea tm en t s ee re f ere nce s at th e e nd of the
ch a p t er.
74, A n I nt r o du c tion t o P hilos op hy

f o rced t o be c o me a n agri culturist and a herder rather than

a hunter and a fisher s o sharpened hi s wits that he ha s ,

l a nne d t h o u gh t ou t means o f s atisfyin g his needs wi th the

p , ,

least e ff o rt ; a nd the greatest thing o f all is that w o r k he l

p ed

t o t ea ch him t o t hin k .

b
( ) Th e A r t s The essential
. feature ab o ut the arts is

th at they p r ovide s o me embodiment f o r fo rm o r o rder .

Th ey are the t a ngibl e ideas o f m an th a t i s they are the , ,

o utward expressi o n O f the idea I n o rder t o exp ress clea r ly .

the idea it must be definite and in this sharpening and de

fining the idea s o th at it can be expressed in s o n g the dance , ,

in p o tte ry in weavin g o r in music lies the chief v alue o f

, , ,

a rt a s a fact o r in man s intellectual devel o pment O rder ’

.
,

—
f o rm balan ce equilibrium symmetry all are br o ught t o
,
, ,

c o nsci o usness and are m ade parts o f the env i ro nment o f the
s o ci al gr o up by be c o min g o bj e ctive in music and in the o ther
a rts . Certain o ccasi o ns and a ctivities o f pri mitive man
“
c alled f o r art F o r example war calls f o r f o re dancer w h o
.
— ”
,

leads o u t t he fi ghting line and w h o pe rf o rms in p ant o mime

all the m o ti o ns O f t he fight “
The deeds o f the great hunters
.

”
are remembered in s o ngs and pant o mimes The m o ve ments .

o f the hunter as well as o f the animal hunted are repr od uced .

Al lo f these facts make f o r a clea ring up o f ideas they m ake ,

f o r thinkin g f o r refle cti o n and phil o s o phy is j ust a seri o us

, ,

kind Of reflecti o n .

( )
c W a r This is one o f th e chief means o f sharpe n
.

in g ideas and issues A m o ng the l o wes t sava ge pe o ples in

.

t ell e c t u a l pr o gres s hin g es ab o ut meth o ds o f warfare and

efficiency but at a higher level o f a dvance m ent aims ideals
, , ,

and is sues bec o me cle arly defined and s e t o ff The c o nflict .

devel o ps k eenness O f percep ti o n agi lity o f bo dy and mind , ,

aptitude in s o lving pr oblems immediately p atience perse , ,

ver a nc e and initiativ e

, I t tends al s o t o r ender man s oci al
.
 A genc ie s in the A dva nc e fr o m C u s t o m t o Refl ec tion 75

by emphasizin g the n eed o f team w o rk o f subo rdinati o n t o ,

lead ers and l o yalty t o hi s gr o up A p o werful result o f war

.

fr o m the intellectual standp o int is the clash in meth od s o f

“
acti o n between the c o nquered and the c o nquer o rs Co n .

quered Greece her c o nquer o r s c o nquered is an ol ”

d state
ment that illustrates the po int here The ideas o f the
.

c o nquer o rs are always enriched by th o se o f the defeated f o e ,

a ri cher v o cabulary r es ults and the n o velties in handw o rk

, ,

musi c a n d o ther f o rms O f intellectual and em o ti o nal r e

sp o u ses bec o me i nc o rp o rated in the life o f the c o nquer o rs .

The s o cial results Of war are numer o us and hi ghly s igni

fi c a nt especially in view o f the fact that the s o cial life a nd
,

o r g aniz ati o n o f a pe o le marks a startin g o int f o r their

p p
the o retical spe c ulati o ns and at the same time determines
the limi ts within which spe culati o n c an take place War de .

vel s g r o u p sentiment g r o up c o hesi o n and gr o up l o y a lty

o
p , ,
.

I t is p r o bable th a t feudalism had its o ri gin fr o m the fact

“
that a little s o ciety c o m p actly united under a feudal l o rd
w a s greatly str o n ger f o r defens e o r attack than any bo dy

o f kinsmen o r c o villa gers and than any as sembly o f vol

-

un

”
tary c o nfederates The Hebrews after they had settled in
.
,

Canaan seemed fated t o disinte grate int o l o c a l c o mmunities

, ,

but were welded int o o ne nati o n by wars The Greek c o n .

federacies resulted fr o m the Persian wars ; and th e N ew

En gland c o l o nies be came united as a resul
'

t o f the activities
o f King Philip .

( )d M u t u a lA id This
. a g ency is primarily s o cial and
h as been em p l o yed as the f o undati o n o f all s o cial life It .

im p lies a c o mm o n purpo se which f o rm s a c o ntr olling rule

“
o f acti o n .Mutual A id o r ass o ciati o n w as the chief cause
in th e devel o pment o f intelli gence ” 2
L an guage imitati o n
.
, ,

and s o cial experi ence are the o ff s hoo t s o f mu t u ala id , a nd

’
Cha pi n, S oci a lE vol
u ti on p , . 104 ,
76 A n I nt r odu c tion t o P hil
o s op hy

it is agreed generally th at l anguage is an essenti a lt o any

thinking wh atever Thus as l angu a g e is enriched by the
.

c o a les cing o f pe o ples and as s o cial life be c o mes m o re a nd

,

m o re integrated th e intellectual aspects o f life be c o me

,

quickened sharpened and bette r defined

, , .

( )
e F a m ily L ife
“
F amily l
.ife needed m o re permanence
than sex attra cti o n c o uld pr o vide and bef o re the p o werful ,

s ancti o ns o f religi o n s o ciety and m o r als were su fficient t o

‘

, ,

secure permanence it is pr obable that th e pr o perty interes t

,

o f the husband was lar g ely eff ective in building up a family

l ife requiring fidelity t o t he m arriage relati o n o n the p art o f

t h e wife ” 3
.

P arentalca re is o ne o f t h e chief incentives t o industry ,

o ne o f t h e great s o urces in the devel o p ment o f th o u ghtful -

ness f o resi ght p rudence and j udgm ent The c a re o f the

, , .

y o u ng b a s ed o n the instincts heret o f o re discussed le ads t o

, ,

all the o ries o f educ ati o n fr o m the c rudest s avage initiati o n

, ”

ce rem o ni als t o the m o st elabo rate phil o s o phy o f educ ati o n .

The c o nflict br o u ght abo ut by having children which inter

fer e wit h th e c u st o m ary m o des o f ad ul t be havi o r brings t o
the f o regr o und the ques ti on as t o meth o ds o f rendering them
s o cially fit individuals The ans w er t o this qu e sti o n h as
.

p r o v o ked a s m u c h discussi o n in the h ist o ry o f the race as

any o ther that h a s ever c o nfro n t ed m a n and the s o luti o ns ,

have vari ed fr o m time t o time and fr o m c o nditi o n t o c o ndi

ti o n m oving fr o m the extremes o f ex p o sure a nd early death
,

t o elabo rate educati o nal a nd s o cial advantages I t is ditfi .

cult t o think o f a ny o ther pr o ble m which h as br o u ght s o

f o rcibly t o man s attenti o n the meaning and v alue o f life ;
’

o r which h as be en a greater s t imul us t o industry and t o th e ,

devel o pment o f symp a thy ; o r t o th e qu ic k ening o f the in

3
E thi cs D ewey a nd Tu f ts p 4 7
, , . .
 A genc ie s in t he A dva n ce fr o m C u s t o m t o Refl ec tion 77

l
t ele c t u a lac tivities f o r meeting the demands whi ch the child
imp o ses .

( )
f I n i t ia t i o n C eremo nia l
s a nd O t he r G r o u p C us t o m s .

The chief value o f these fr o m the intellectual stan dp o int is

that they bring t o c o nsci o usness the gr o up ideals I n gen .

eral as i s well kn o wn gr o up life is a life o f cust o m There

, , .

a re o ccasi o ns which bring these cust oms t o the f o cus o f c o n

s c io u s ne s s they bec o me s el
, ec ted are a t t end ed t o
,
The y o uth
.

when initiated int o the mysteri es o f the gr o up is m a de a c

a int e d with the funded experienc e o f that g r o up o f th o s e
q u ,

ideals and purp o ses which the gr o up deems essenti a l t o its

survival Ri gi d as is cust o m it is m o dified by the c o uncil o f
.

ol d men and the leaders in o rder t o meet the c o ntin gencies

n o t o ri gi nally c o ntemplated by it The cerem o nial brings
t o c o ns ci o usnes s that there are features o f it which may n o t
apply t o c o nditi o ns as they ap p ear at a m o re recent time ,

and the result is that such a cust o m is c o ns ci o usly amended

and enlarged here and abrid ged there but all the time as ,

ri gi d an adherence as is p o ssible is given t o the ol d The .

fo ll o win g O f cust o m am o ng primitive tribes can be under

st oo d be st by a n example fr o m ou r o w n life The o retic al . ly
the c onstituti o n o f the United States is o u r fundamental
law but the interp retati o ns which h ave be en placed up o n it
,

by o u r c o urt s o ften c o nflicting w o uld d o ubtless no t be

, ,

rec o gnized by the o riginal framers S O many n o vel situa

.

ti o ns have arisen since it s ad o pti o n situati o ns m o re o ver

, , ,

which it s framers c o uld never have c o ntemplated that it is ,

o ften with greatest di fficulty that we rec o gnize the o ri i n a l

g
intent at all I t serves h o wever as a princi p le o f acti o n
.
, ,

j ust as d o the rituals but the ways o f interpreting and act

,

ing de p end up o n the c o nditi o ns and circumst ances o f the

i mmediate present that is u p o n th e c on fl icts wh ich dem and
, ,
78 A n I n t r o d u c tion t o P hil
o s op hy

adj ustment M an o f any time and pl ace always re a ds int o

.

the intent o f hi s cust oms o r c o nstituti o ns hi s o w n nee ds ,

purp o ses desires and interests ; and these c onflicts o f the

, ,

present with the p ast are a v a luable means t o revisi on and

pr o gres s .

g
( ) The B eha vi o r of Refr a c t o ry M ember s of the G r ou p .

I n g eneral s ciety b o th primitive and m dern fr wns n a ny

, o o , o o

radical devi ati o n fr o m the cust o m a ry m od es o f d o ing things .

I t r equires time and much eff o rt t o get a habit instituted ,

and it is with reluctance that s o ciety breaks with an O ld

meth o d o f s o lving its pr o blems whether that meth o d pre ,

vails in religi o n s cience educati o n phil o s o phy o r what n o t

, , , , .

B u t there always h a ve been th o s e w h o have n o t bee n satisfied

t o a ccep t thin g s as merely given
“ ”
handed o u t by s o me
,

auth o rity whether tha t auth o rity be the deity the king
, , ,

chief st a te s ch o o l instru ct o r o r p arent This break with

, , , ,
.

the a ccepted meth o ds O f a cti o n varies in degree fr o m the

s o cial o utcast and the hardened criminal t o the critic o f
the s o ci a l instituti o ns and d o ubters in phil o s o phy religi o n
, , ,

and s cience S o me f o r m of d o u bt is essential t o any p r o g

.

res s whatever ; s o me fo rm o f breaking with the established

meth o ds o f behavi o r is essential in o r der t o bring t o c o n
s ci o u s ne s s the fa ct that the cust o m a ctually prevails ; and

when the brea k O ccurs each side m u st o f necessity st ate its

case .

The wh ol e hist o ry o f p r o gress m ight be written under this

t o pic pr o vided we treat a refract o ry membe r o f s o ciety in
—
the manner we have suggest ed a s o ne who breaks in s ome
manner with the cust o m ary meth o d o f d o ing thi ngs S uch .

a hist o ry w o uld be an a cc o u nt o f the meth o ds by which a

me mber of a gr ou p w h o p o ssesses the instincts which we
,

h ave discussed bec o me s a n ind ivid u a l; o r m o re generally

, ,

how a gr o up bec om es cons ciou s , r eflec tive and c o nse quently, ,

 A gencies i n the A d va nc e f r om C u s t o m t o Refl ec t ion 79

hyp o the ti ca l in me thod s of p r o bl em and exp er i s o vin l g,

men t a la s t o i t s s o cia l cu s t oms We sh o uld s ee that the .

breaks o r c o llisi o ns gr o up themselves abo ut the interests o f

the g r o up a s o pp o sed t o th o se o f the individ u al; and the
c o nflict between h a bit and reflecti o n between cust o m and
, ,

p r o gress The interests relatin g t o the f o rm er w o uld be

.

th o se m o re elementa ldemands which we h ave c o nsidered u n

der f o o d g ettin g o r ec o n o mic activities and the racial o r r e ,

p r o ductive interests o f life Th o se interests relating t o the .

latter while they g ro w o u t o f the f o rmer r epresent the m o re

, ,

intellectual aspe cts o f pr o g ress such as we find in the de ,

vel o ment o f law

p reli g i on s cience
,
and phil o s o phy
, ,
.

We sh o uld find that an a gricultural o r c o mmercial life

emphasized individual initiative t hri ft pers o nal s a g acity , , ,

4
and c u nning A s Maine states the case o f the j o int fami
.

lies o f the S o uth Slav onians The adventur o us and ener g eti c
“
,

membe r o f the br o therh o o d is always rebelling a g ainst its

natural c o mmunism He go es abr o a d and makes his f o rtune
.

and as s trenu o usly resists the demands o f his r el a tives t o

bring it int o the c o mm o n acc o unt o r pe rhap s he thinks hi s ,

share o f the c o mm o n st o ck w o uld be m o re p r o fitably em

pl oyed by him a s ca p ital in a mercantile ad venture I n .

either c as e he be c omes a dissatisfied membe r o r a decl ared

A s m an be c o mes able t o get o n
”
enemy o f the br o therh o o d .

by himself he f o r g ets bo th the Unseen P o wers and his

g ro up but the latter d oe s no t fo rget the individual but calls
,

him t o stri ct acc o unt, causin g the clash and the resultan t
statement o f the issues inv o lved .

The hist o ry o f the devel o pment o f law and j ustice is a

hist o ry o f the stru ggle be tween the interests o f the r e f r a c
t o ry membe r and th o se o f the gr o u p The p urp o se o f law .

‘
M a i ne , y Laws
E a rl a nd Cu stom s , p . 96 4 .
" u ote d by D ew ey a nd

Tu f t s, op us c it d
e , p 60
. .
80 A n I n t r o du c tion t o P hilos op hy

is to ma k e f o r unif o r mity o f acti o n a nd he wh o step s t o o

,

fa r a side fr om this expressi o n o f the p ublic c ons cience is ,

an enemy o f the gr o up Fr o m Hammura bi and M o ses t o

.

o u r o wn day the pr o ble m h a s be en t o rest rain the individual ,

t o h o ld him in line I f there is a c o mmandment against c o v

.

e t o u s nes s it is be caus e this is ag a inst the interests o f the

g r o up as a wh ole ; if there is a statut e pr ohibiting the is su

“ ”
ance o f w a tered st o ck it is be cause the interes ts o f the in
’

dividual mus t be subo rdinated t o th o s e o f s o ciety Thus .

the c o nstant clash be twee n the individual o r gr o ups o f indi

vid u a l s and s o ciety as a wh o le aff o rds the setting f o r a

clea ring up o f ide a s f o r defining interests aims p urp o ses

, , , ,

and f o r the eff ecting o f harm o ni o us relati o ns between c on

fl ic t ingp a rties .

Religi o n t o o has h ad its refract o ry membe rs The early

, , .

h ist o ry o f th e Christi a n religi o n is a hist o ry o f c o mpr o

mi ses o f c o nflicting elements in the air a t t h e time o f its in
c e
p t i o n— Greek phi l o s o phy o riental mysticism
, Jewish r e ,

lig i o n and pr i mi tive Ch risti anity

, Th e est ablishing o f
.

church d o gmas served the s ame gener alpurp o ses in religi o us

life as the f o unding o f c o nstituti o ns c o mmandments a nd , ,

l aws in p o litical life namely t o mark o f the l

, ,
i mits within
which the individu al c o uld live and o perate The recal .

c it r a n t membe r made it o bli g at o ry up o n t he instituti o n

'

clea rly t o state its premises and the c o nclusi o ns fl ow ing

fr o m them .

S cience phil o s o phy and all the interests o f man h a ve

, , ,

had th eir Th o mases w ho h ave served t o bring int o the lime

li gh t o f c o nsci o usnes s the o p po siti o ns to p revailing meth o ds
and the o ri es w h o stimulate t o reflective a ctivity and c o n
, ,

s equently t o rec o nstructi o n A s all life i s quickened by the

.

d o ubter and critic s o it is made richer and fuller by the man

,

wh o stands a little ab o ve his fell o ws in t he ability t o analyze

 A genc ies in the A dva nc e fr o m C us t o m t o Refl ec tion 81

and invent While the hist o ry o f pr o gres s c an no t be

'

wri tten abo ut the lives o f a few g reat men it is w o rth while ,

t o kee p in mind that the gre a t men in hist o ry are th e p ace

setters o f the race that they s et high marks t o be reached
, ,

which if no t attained by many o f u s spur us o n t o greater

, ,

dili gence and pe rseverance I t may be true that t he g reat .

man seizes upo n what a l ldimly pe rceive and thr o ws this int o
simple statements int o tan gible f o rm s o that when it is be
, , ,

held by the many they immediately acquies ce in it and as

sert that th ey have always held the s ame o pini o n believed ,

the s ame th o u ght o r had in mind th e s ame principle

, .

Thes e vari o us a gencies which we have dis cussed are o f ,

c o urse no t the o nly o nes that call f o rt h p r o gres s advanc e

, ,

fr o m cust o m t o reflecti o n but they serve t o illustrate the

,

general p oint namely that advan ce c o mes abo ut thr o u gh

, ,

c o nflict and that c o nfli ct is an inevitable result o f the play

,

o f instincts in divers e physical surr o undin g s A fter t h e .

race h as bec o me reflective there are o cc a si o ns f o r advance

and these c enter ar o und devices f o r the s a ving o f labo r bet ,

ter meth o ds o f c o mm unicati o n and the disc o very o f new ,

principles in science and phil o s o phy ; but the agencie s that

we ha ve discussed are mainly th o se which c o mpel m an t o d o
any thinki ng wh atever We have assumed that when he be .

gins t o think s o mething new is go ing t o hap p en and t o in

, ,

di c a t e s o me o f the results o f this pr o cess is the purp o s e o f

this w o rk .

REF EREN CES

B A D RN PO W ELL , The
-

L an d Systems o f B ritish I ndi a ,

II ;
T
BAR ON , A Sketch o f Semitic O ri gins
B U RY J B A Hist o ry o f Freed o m o f Th o u ght ;
, . .
,

CAR P EN T ER J E C o mp arative Reli gi o n ;

, . .
,

DE W EY and T U F TS Ethics Chapter V ; , ,

82 A n I n t r od uc tio n t o P hilos op hy

EL Y , R T .The Ev o luti o n o f I ndustri al S o ciety ;

.
,

HARRI S O N J Pr o le g o men a t o the Stu dy Of Greek Religi o n ;

,

KELLO GG V L B ey o n d War ;
, . .
,

KRO P O TK IN Mutual A id a Fact o r in Ev o luti o n ;

,

MAINE S I R H S The Ea rly Hist o ry O f I nstituti o ns ;

, . .
,

MOR G AN L H A ncient S o ciety ;

,
. .
,

M U RRAY F o ur Stages o f Greek Reli gi o n ;

,

Ro ss E A
,
F o undati o ns Of S o ci o l o gy
. .
,
Chapters VI I ,

VII I .
’
 CHA PT ER VI

TH E NA TU RE OF P RI M I T IV E TH O UG HT

1 . I nt r od u ct or y —.B efore man beginsp t h e to s l te

e cu a on

facts Of his w o rld he has an abundance O f p ractic al kn o wl

e dge c o ncern ing thi n gs which c o me within his experience .

He kn o ws how t o make weap o ns and h o uses he has inf o rma ,

ti o n c o ncernin g the habits o f anim a ls and the pr o perties Of

plants and he has a m a s s O f info rm ati o n c o nc ern in g what
,

later c o mes t o be physics astr o n o my m a thematics and

, , ,

medicine I n fact he has acquired a great deal o f kn owl

.

ed ge O f the empiric al variety by the meth o d O f trial and e r

‘

r or . While thi s is no t stri ctly speaking science it is the ,

s tu ff o u t O f whic h science a n d phil o s o p hy arise f o r all ,

thi nking takes its o ri gin in the materi als O f sens e This .

empirical kn o wled ge is as a matter O f c o urse c o nnected w ith

, ,

the life interests O f the gr o up : m a n nee ds shelter and he be

c o mes a builder ; he needs f o o d and he devises meth o ds in the
nature o f bo ws and arr o ws traps and snares t o s atisfy these
, ,

de mands ; he needs t o cr o ss the stream and he learns t o build

bri d ges ; when he takes t o the sea he le arns t o find his c o urse
by th e stars and he names the c o nstellati o ns after the ani
,

mals that he kn o ws ; he le arns t o c o unt t o surv ey t o e xp e r i

, ,

ment t o measure t o c o r relate in resp o nse t o the needs which

, , ,

are his A nd the imp o rtant aspe ct o f it all is that thinking

.

never wh olly severs its c o nnecti o ns wit h thes e practical

nee ds Thinkin g after all is thinging
. .

O u t o f these c o ncrete happenings O f man s l ife gro w his ’

83
84 A n I n t r o d u c t io n t o P hilos op hy

sp eculative endeav o rs He wants t o a cc o unt f or t h ings ;

.

the w o rld is a mystery in a g reat m any ways go verned by ,

strange laws it is alive and can be a cc o unted f o r o n the

, ,

o nly cre a tive principle man kn o ws namely his o wn abili ty

, ,

t o d o thin g s .

2. S om e O ccu rr ences w hi ch Pr ovok e Thinking a nd

S p ecu l a t i on — What are s o me o f the happenin g s which c all
f o r thinking and f o r s p e culati o n ? We remember that think
In I n the g enuine sens e O f the ter m d o es n o t take pl ace ex
g
cep t when there is s o mething t o be s o lved s o me pr o blem t o ,

be met which c an no t be a dj usted t o o n the o ther levels O f

behavi o r i e o n the instinctive and habitual Wit h this in
, . . , .

mind we shal la s k the questi o n thus : What are s o me O f the

“

happ enin gs in the life O f early man that call f o r explan a

”
ti o ns that can no t be adj usted t o habitually ?
, What are
s o me o f the u nu s u a lthin g s ? The usual things d o no t call
f o r explanati o n — the very fact that they are u sual o rdi ,

nary cust o mary is explanati o n en o u gh I t is a m ark O f a

, , .

decidedly hi gher intellect t o take c o gnizance O f the c ommo n

things F o r example it t o o k a N ewt o n t o c o nnect the co m
.
,

m o n o rdina ry ha p pening O f an apple fallin g t o the gr o und

,

w ith the falling O f the m o o n t o wards the earth B u t then .

,

a break d o es c ome in the ha bitu al and it is a t this p o int ,

that man be gins t o w o nder His attenti o n is arrested and

.
,

this means that the matter in questi o n bec o mes the O bj ect
O f refl ecti o n ; and it is that s e t O f facts m o s t striking w hich
firs t be c o mes the subj ect matter f o r the sharpening o f man s ’

wits .

( )
a B i r t h D ea th a nd S ick ness
, , Thes e are facts which
.

arrest attenti o n and which therefo r e furnish materi al f o r

, ,

the o per a ti o n O f the c o gnitive pr o cesses A m ong alm o st if .

not al lpe o ples w e s ee cerem o nials c o nnected with th es e facts ,

as the ri tes O f purificati o n am o ng th e Hebrews o r th e bu ri al ,

 The N a tu r e o f P rimi t ive Th ou
gh t 85

cust o ms am o n g the A meri can I ndians D eath espe cially .

, ,

h a s a p r o f o und e ffect o n primitive man and o n civili z ed man

a s well The m o ment a man dies the impulse O f the p ri mitive
.

man i s t o leave him and run The p all o r O f death the cess a
.
,

ti o n Of a cti on O f breathing and the c o ld clammy feel o f the

, ,

dead bo dy strike terr o r t o the mind O f the nature m an He .

must think O f death as the sudden departure fr o m the bo dy

O f tha t which br o u ght life— a fact which functi o ned in the
o rigin O f the s o ul idea .

Sicknes s interferes with the r o utine Of the day it calls t o ,

attenti o n the interrupted habi ts hei ghtens by c o ntrast their,

value and le a ds t o s p eculati o n c o ncerning its causes I t is

, .

genera lly th o u ght t o be due t o the presence O f dem o ns O r -

devils and when thes e are cast ou t by the machinati o ns O f

,

the medicine m an the p atient return s t o n o rmal life a ct ivi

ties A s o ne d o es no t fully a p p reci a te libe rty and its bless
.

in gs until o ne has under g o ne s o me type O f c o nfinement a nd ,

as o ne d o es no t meditate o n it until it is j e o pardized s o d o es ,

o ne n o t a preciate the be nefits and pleasures o f being well

p
n o r d o es he s p eculate o n the causes o f dis o rders and their

remedie s until he has faced the pr oblem The O ld a d a g e .

,

“
We never mis s the water ti l l the well g o es dry illustrates
”
,

t he value Of the pr oble m in pr o v oking t o th o ught a nd spe e n

lati o n .

Sicknes s bi r th and death fi gure in situati o ns which lead

”
, , ,

in part t o the o ri gi n and gr o wth O f ma gic belief in dem o ns

, , ,

spirits and s o uls ; t o ne g ative ma gic the medicine man and

, , ,

later t o m o re elabo rate s o ul the o ries which functi o n even in

present d a y t hinking t o myths c o ncerning the o ri gin and
,

destiny o f m an and t o the pr o fessi o n o f the pri est physi

, ,

cia n and minister

, .

( )
b U nu s u a l O c c u r r en c es in N a tu r e such as eclipses
, ,

thunder and li ghtning fl o o ds a n d c o mets a r e o f interest t o

, ,
86 A n I n t r odu c tion t o P hil
os o h
p y

pri mitive man E clipses have always been a subj ect Of mu c h

.

mystery and supe rstiti o n am o n g men and m any st o ries are ,

invented t o a cc o unt f o r them I n central A fri ca in A u s.

,

tr a l i a and in A meric a the b

, elief prevails that in an eclipse
,

o f the sun it is swall o w e d by a dark spirit ; the ch a nges O f

the m o o n are c o nnected with the go ds no t o nly in the myth ,

o l o gies Of th o s e menti o ned ab o ve bu t in m o st myth o l o gies

, ,

a s the Greek Ro man and Teut o nic

, , The su p erstiti o ns c o n
.

n e c t ed with c o mets is well kn o wn f o r even within the mem o ry

o f all are th e weird st o ries Of Halley s c o met fresh and ’

amusing .

( )
0 S e a s on s The .c o n n ecti o n o f the seas o ns with s eed
tim e and ha rves t has made the m the subj ect O f myth and
cerem o nial the w o rld o ve r A m o ng the Egyptians and .
,

B a byl o nians and o ther pe o ples O f western A si a the chief

,

cerem o ni als were vegetati o n cerem o nials which o ccurred at

stated s eas o ns I n the east the cerem o nials were held at the
.

time O f th e s o lstices and the prevalenc e thr o u gh o ut the e ast

,

e rn w o rld Of cer em o nials c o nnected with v ege tati o n has l ed

s o me t o c o n clude that these represent the earliest deity

cerem o nials .

“
The ide a O f c h anging seas o ns O f summer and winter o f , ,

the budding and witheri ng O f gr ain are naturally ass o ci ated ,

”
w ith life and death Winter bleak c o ld h o rrible r e
.
, , , ,

sembles death ; spring j o y o us glads o m e bu o yant r ep r e

, , , ,

“
sents life ; and as lif eles s nature is again resuscitated in the
spring s o will th e s o ul awaken t o a bright and j o y o us ex
,

”
i s t enc e in the future .

d
( ) O t her O c cu r r en c e s We shall
. n o t st o p t o menti o n

the nume r o us o ccas i o ns f o r myth in primitive life f o r the ,

abo ve will indicate the p o int we wish t o impress that think ,

ing c o mes o u t o f the unusual the no n cust o mary Every ,

-
.

thing ab o ut which myths have bee n m a de are j ust su ch o c

 The N a tu r e o f P r i mi t ive Th ou gh t

c u rr e nces— and they are many . They h ave all o cc a s m ne d

what we are characterizin g as sp e cu la t ive think ing certainly

'

of a l o w o rder especiall y in the cruder myths but increasing ,

as t he myth bec o mes m o re refined .

The facts O f d ay and ni ght the chan g es in the po siti o n

,

O f the stars the o ri gin O f cultural instituti o ns such as the

,

family the city the state lan gu a ge and religi on ; the o ri gin
, , , ,

, ,
—
O f the w o rld Of man Of evil and s in all this and m o re ,

primitive man h as inc o rp o rated in his speculati o n

3
. S p ecu l a t i on G r ow i ng O u t of Th e se O ccu rr en ce s —To
acc o unt f o r the phen o men a j ust c o nsidered gives o rigin t o
s p eculative thinking The facts are t o be explained and
.
,

man p o ssessed Of the instinct O f curi o sity O ff ers vari o us

, ,

hy p o theses t o take c are o f the fa cts TO state the questi o n .

m o re clearly Given the abo ve facts what explanati o n will

, ,

s atisfy the instinct Of curi o sity ? A lm o st any t ale will d o it

f o r p rimitive man d o es n o t em p l o y many checks and balances
in hi s thinking B u t he wants t o kn o w ho w thin g s go t
.

started what brings abo ut day and ni ght what is back o f

, ,

the many fa cts that strike his attenti o n The answers t o .

—
such questi o ns c nstitute primitive th o u ght the phil o s o phy
o

and s cience O f the early man The s ame phen o men a are als o
.

resent with us and s et o u r r ob lems and it may be that the

p p ,

“ ”
answers we return will ap p ear primitive t o a later genera
ti o n .

We sh a ll discus s primitive th o u ght under three general

h eadin g s : ( a ) Ma gi c ( b ) T o temism o r A nimism ( c ) Myth
, , .

These cate g o ries are n o t exclusive but they represent ,

sta ges attitudes o r p o ints O f vie w t o wards the phen o men a

, ,

O f nature We can be st understand these attitudes if we s ay

.

that ma gi c represents what we are accust o med t o speak O f

as the w o rld view ed fr o m the s cientific stand p o int ; animi sm
the religi o us View O f the w o rld ; a n d myth as the met a
88 A n I nt r od u c tion t o P hil
o so h
p y

physica l st andp o int f o r the regarding O f the s ame p r ob

lems We kn o w th at s cience religi o n and metaphysics are
.
, ,

by no means exclusive but that their fields o verl ,

—
ap all are
dealing with the s a m e phen o mena with di ff eren t interests at
stake S o is it with ma gic an imism and myth— they are
.
, ,

di ff erent th o u gh related meth o ds o f giving s o me type Of e x

planati o n t o the facts whi ch arres t man s attenti o n ’
.

( )a M a
g i c W. e may thin k O f magi c a s devices f o r t h e
c o ntr o lo f nature in the interests Of the g r o up a nd at a , ,

later stage in its hist o ry f o r the interests Of the individual

,

w ho pra ctices it N ature is a live Wi th a mysteri o us f o rce

. .

o r p o wer whic h can be c o ntr o lled if the pr o per means are

empl o yed The medicine m an and the witch a r e pers o ns w ho

.

h ave c o nnecti o ns with the mysteri o u s p o wer a nd are able ,

t o bring h appiness o r ru in B y c o ntact with the thing o r

.

p o wer the w o rshipp er sec u red f o r himself and the gr o up that

whic h m ade him str o ng and mighty in battle fleet o f f o o t , ,

cunning sagaci o u s a mighty m an o f val o r in the interests

, ,

of gr o u p life C ou rage pru dence cunning swiftness

.
, , , ,

strength in fa ct all t h e virt u es c o uld be h a d by e a ting o f

,
“ ”

the flesh o r drin k ing o f the bl o o d Of s u ch animals as p o s

s e s s s ed t h e
“ ”
fo rce I f a lean w o man is t o bec o me fat this
.

desired resul t may be br o ught abo u t a cc o rding t o the A u s,

tr a l ia n belief by t h e simpl e pr o cess O f pr o curing a fat

, ,

y o ung o p o ssum and giving it t o the w o man t o eat .

The perfo rm anc e o f m agi cal rites Often inv ol ved an el ab ~

o rate technique Spencer and Gillen s el

. ab o rate studies O f’

the A ustralian t ribes c o nvince o ne t h at s h o ul d t h e s ame

technique be devel o ped a l o ng wh at we are ple ased t o c a ll

s cientific l i nes the r esul ts f o r s cience w o uld be rem arkable .

I t is , indeed fr o m m agic that o u r s cientific and religi o us

,

tec h nique deri ves “

O u t O f th e technique o f magic has ari sen
.

t w o very di ff erent types o f tech ni q ue O ne is t h e tech niq u e

.
 The N a tu re o f P ri mi ti ve Th ou gh t 89

of s cience w h ic h aims by t h e u se Of delic a te and s t a ndar

,

diz ed instr u ments o f Observati o n measurement and calcul a ,

ti o n s u ch as fine balances micr o meters micro s c ope s micr o

, , , ,

t o mes dividing engines statistical tables and al g ebraic f o r

, ,

mulas at acqu iring an acc u rate and ec o n o mic intellectual

,

c o ntr olo r sh o rthand f o rmulati o n o f the o rder o f nature .

The o t h er is religi o us technique whi ch aims by it s symb ols , , ,

rites prayers et cetera at bringin g int o ri ght relati o n with

, , ,

o ne an o ther th e h u man gr o u p and individual o n the o ne

h and and th e Supreme P ower wh o is the cust o dian and dis

, ,

penser Of the values o n p a rticipati o n in which de p end indi

vid u al and s o cial well be ing o n the o ther hand I n brief r e
-

, .
,

ligio u s technique aims at vita l m o ral and spiritual c ontr ol , .

B o th these techniques h ave gr o wn o u t o f primitive magic

whic h was primitive s cience a nd religi o n in o ne Reli gi o n .

and magic became diff erenti ated a s reli gi o n came t o embo dy

m o re clearl y and rati o nally th e o rgani z ati o n Of h u man
values int o a c oherent and s o cializ ed wh ole a nd thus t o fur ,

nish explicitly the m o tives and s ancti ons f o r a hi gher s o ci a l

m o ral o rder ; whi le magic incap a ble Of devel ,
o pin g int o an

agency o f s o cialm o ralizati o n and rati o n al spiritualizati on ,

remained merely a tech niqu e f o r the s a tisfacti o n o f is o lated

inter es ts and irrati o nal passi ons ” 1
W e n o te that am ong .

the A u stralians a diff erentiati o n is ta k ing place betwee n the

“
layman and th e pri est in th e u se o f ma gi c a fact which
” “ ”
,

is significant f or a mong a l lc u l es t h is diff erentia

t u re pe op l
ti o n h as taken pl ace res u lting in clas ses vo cati o ns and
, , ,

pr o fes si o ns Certain cerem onial

. s ma y be perf o rmed by the
A u stra l ian la yman j u st a s the l a ym an in religi o n am o ng us

may perf o rm certain rel igi ou s rites bu t t h o se which inv olve

‘

m o re s eri ou s matters must be p resided over am o ng u s by

“ ”
the man wh o se life is d edic ated t o the ca u s e and a mong ,

‘
L ei ghton, J . A .
, The F i el
d of i
Ph l
osop h y , pp . 19 1 3
-
.
90 A n I nt r o du c tio n t o Phil
o s o hy
p

them by the s o rc e rer and med icine ma n A mo ng th e A r u nta .

tribe o f A us tralia a man w ho wishes t o u se any o f the s a cred

o r m agi c al sticks the t a ku l
, a f o r example go es away by
, ,

“
himself t o s ome is o lated sp o t in the bush and placing t he , ,

stick o r bo ne in the gr o und cr o uches d o wn o ver it m u tter

,

in g the f oll o wing o r s o me similar curse as he d o es s o : M ay

,
‘

‘
y o ur hea rt be rent asunder o r M ay y o ur ba ckb one be
,
’

’ ‘
split o pen and y o ur ribs t o rn asunder or May y ou r head ,

and thr o at be split Open " Wh en he h as d o ne this he r e

’ ’

turns t o the camp leavi ng the stick stuck ih the g r o und but -

later he bri n g s it ba ck near the camp and hides it Then ,

.

s ome evenin g after it has gr ow n dark he rem o ves the magic ,

stick fr o m its h iding place creep s quietly up u ntil h e is cl o se

,

en o ugh t o rec o gnize hi s victim He then s t o o p s d o wn tu rns

.
,

h is back t o wa rds th e camp takes the stick in bo th hands

, ,

j erks it repe atedly o ver his sh o ulder and mutters again the ,

s am e c u rs e The magic g o es fr o m the p o int O f the stic k

.

/
strai ght t o the man w h o s o o n sickens and die s u nl
,
e s s h is

life can be s aved by a medicine man w ho can dis c o ver and

rem o ve the evil m agi c Sicknes s and death are t h o u ght Of
.

as the result o f evil m agic o f the entering int o the bo dy Of

,

the victi m s o m e O f the mysteri o us f o rce o r p o w e r which .

abo unds in n a ture ; a nd again the technique bOth f o r t he

bringing o f the e vil m agi c int o the bo dy and f o r the r e
m o vin g by c o unter magi c is O ften intri cate and elabo rate .

The the o ry inv o lved in sickness and death that is magic , , ,

i s d o ubtless lar gely u nc o ns ci o us a s am o ng us we a r e Often

,

dem o crats meth o dists and what no t because o f c u st o m

, ,
.

B ut it i s certain that a t s o m e p o int in the hist o ry Of a

e o ple especially am o ng the cultur a lraces the acts whic h
p , ,

are perf o rm ed inv o lve reas o ns the o ri es a nd hypo theses

, ,
.

The practice and belief in magic inv olve a principle

t

cl o sel y rel at ed t o what we call the law O f c aus ati o n

“ ”
.
 The N a tu re o f P r imi t ive Thou gh t 91

Primitive ma n speak s Of events as inv olving spirits magic , ,

mysteri ous f o rces o r p owers ; bu t m od ern man attempts t o

acc ou nt f or the same facts o n a m o re mechanic al basis and ,

“ ”
sp eaks Of the u nivers al law Of caus ati o n When D avid
.

Hume wr o te s o stro n gly against c ause he may h ave had

“ ”
,

in mind such an idea O f it as the primi tive m an p o ssesses

s omethin g which can be s een t o pas s fr o m o ne thing t o
an o ther I n the pr o gress fr o m ma gi c t o s cience we see a
.

m ovement wh ich may be describe d a s inv olving three stages ,

namely first that which attributes t o even t s a mysteri o us

, ,

—
f o rce whi c h brings them t o p ass a c o ncepti o n which p re
.

vai l s no t o nly in pri mitive s o ciety but als o in o u r o w n I g .

no r a nt pe o ple st and aghast a t h ypn o tism have great r e ,

“ ”
gard f o r pers onal magnetism and will p owe r ; wear a r a b
bit s f o o t f o r go o d luck plant p o tat o es o nly a t cert ain times
’

m
,

Of the o o n act o n the suggesti o ns o f t he f o rtune teller

, ,

“ ”
believe in mind reading take ma gi c medicines ea t w o nder
, ,

w o rking fo od s refuse t o o ccupy r o o m numbe r thirteen be

, ,

lieve that the whi stling girl and the cr owin g hen never
“
,

”
c o me t o a very goo d end and nu mer o us o ther suspici on s
,

“
based o n that mysteri o us f o rce ”
The sec o nd sta ge is rep
.

resented in th at type Of thi nking which speaks O f a Univer

sa l L aw Of C ausati o n F o rce Energy Matter and suc h c o n
, , , ,

cep t s a s h ave had w o nde rful influence in s cientific and phil o

s o phi caldiscussi o ns in recent times I n the third st a g e O f

.

devel o pment in whi c h we now l ive and in terms Of which w e

think t o d a y we be lieve that suc h a c o ncept as the Univers al
L aw o f Causati o n is Of no value in determining any p a r ticu
la r c ause but that if w e s ea k o f ca u se at all we sh o uld speak
p
in th plural and no t in the singu l
e —
ar w e sh o ul d talk O f
ca u s es
, the pa rticul a r j ob in each cas e be ing t o determ ine
th e c onditi o ns u nder whic h a given o ccurrenc e may be e x
e c t ed t o repe at itsel f
p .
92 A n I n t r od u c tion t o P hilo s op hy

( )
b A n i mism
“
The c o mm o n V iew.am o ng pri miti ve ma n

is t h a t everyt h ing s eems t o be a l ive and that m o st things ,

p o ssess a s o ul T o be a l ive means f or the primitive thinker

.

t o be a ble t o m ov e t o change t o have o ffspring e t cetera

, , , .

These being the criteri a O f l ife trees sun m o o n stars , , , , ,

rivers o cean plants and animals are all a l

, , ive and may p o s
,

sess a s oul; and t o be alive is a sufficient explanati o n o f all

m o vem ent m o ti o n and c h ange Things h ave a s o ul als o
, .
,

a sec o nd p ers o n o r d o uble whi ch can t alk walk wear cl o th

, , ,

ing and d o generally wh at th e firs t pe rs o n is able t o do .

B u t in additi o n it po ssesses p o wers which the first pe rs o n

, ,

d o es no t p o ssess ; it c an go thr o u gh Obj ects which the bo dy

c an no t penetrate ; it can m o ve with gr eater rapidity ; and
is able t o t ake o n vari o us shapes and f o rms whic h the bo dy
c a n no t d o This latter ability o f the s o ul is due t o its
.

n ature sin c e it is less t an gible n o t so s olid but is like

, , ,

breat h o r ai r .

I t is n o t t o be u nderst o o d tha t pri mi tive man dr aws a

sh arp distincti o n be twee n s piri t and o bj e ct between s o ul ,

and bo dy f o r cert ainly h e h as no clear cut idea O f s o ul o r

,

spiri t as w o uld make it p o ssible t o draw such a distincti o n .

I t is m o re in k eeping with s o und p sych o l o gy t o assert th a t

—
O bj ec t an d spirit a r e non di ff erentiated th at the Obj ect -

i s bo t h th e O bj ect and the spiri t ; and that what ever strikes

the attenti o n f o rcibly what inter rupts a pu rp o se o r thwarts
,

“ ” “ ”
a desire is a nimated I n this simple way a w o rld O f live
.

Obj ects is bu ilt up no t o nly men and animals be in g alive

, ,

but a s Herbe rt S p encer has sh o wn plants and in o rganic

, ,

O bj ects o r a s Ratzelhas s aid The w o rds spiri t and s o ul

,
“
,

indic ate generally any expressi o n O f life and the criteri a

”
,

of l ife is m o vement chan ge p ower t o thwart purp o s e and

, , ,

t o a rres t a ttenti o n Things ou t O f the o rdinary such as

.
,

strange tree s pec u l iar st o nes wh ite buff al o es a nd night

, , ,
 The N a tu r e o f P r im i t ive Th ou gh t 93

bi rds a re a l l animated “
D ise a ses s u ch a s del
.
”
i ri um and
epilepsy ( the s acred diseas e ) a re the w o rk O f spi rits .

A t a later stage in primitive th o ught there is a d u alis m

be tween spirit and Obj ect based p o ssibly o n a distincti o n
,

between the n o rm al and the a bn o rmal the cust omary m o de ,

o f beh a vi o r Of a thin g in c o ntrast with its u su al beh a vi o r ;

but f o r pri mitive man there is never an abs olute brea k be

tw een spirit and O bj ect I t is a well kn o wn fa ct th at even
.

am o ng hi ghly cultured pe o ples the belief in animism p revails

generally Even the s ch olar may kic k th e chai r agains t
.

which he a ccident a lly stumbles and derive great s a t is f a c,

ti o n fro m thus getting even with the pervers e c h air

“ ”
.

I n o ne o f its f o rms alm o st t o o elabo rate t o be rec o gnized

, ,

animism exists a s the greatest achi evement Of an intellectual

a —
nature th t man had yet made the ide alistic p h il o s o phy ,

the attempt t o sh o w that the particular Obj ect o r fact p ar

takes O f reflects o r p a rticip ates in the u nivers al ; the uni
, , ,

versal m o re over which the F ij ia ns call K a l

, , o u ; the Melane

sians M a na ; the Zulus I nko si ; the O mahas Wa ka nd i ; the

, , ,

A l g o nquins M a ni t ou
, .

Thus primi tive m a n acc o unts f o r his w o rld if we m a y ,

c a ll it an explanati o n o n the p rinciple that it is alive and

,

has a s o ul TO be alive means that t o go furthe r int o de

.

—
t a ils is u seless that is s ufficient ; j ust as it was useless t o
inquire furt her a s t o why a st o ne falls t o the earth when it
was explained t h at that is its nature ; o r why water rises
“ ”

in a tube when the fact was a cc o unted f o r o n the the o ry th at

“ ”
natu re abh o rs a vac u um ; o r why o pium makes o ne go t o
sl ee p wh en the the o ry was and the explan a ti o n as well that
, ,

“
it po s sesses d o rm ant p o wers o r ho w the ea r th is held in
pl ace when it is evident that a man has it o n his sh o ulders .

The l atter explanati o n w a s carried a step further h owever , ,

u nder t h e inquisitive and critical questi o ning o f the nat u re

94 A n I n t r od u c tio n t o P hilos op hy

ma n w h o h ad his s cruples as t o what the man w ho h el d up

the ea rth s t o o d o n but his c u ri o sity was s atisfied when it
,

w as explained t h at t h e m an st o o d o n the back Of a large

t u rtle .

Certain Of the m o st stri k ing o f spiri t Obj ects bec ome t he -

c enters abo u t whi c h cerem o nials gr o up themselves ; and these

are t h e life i nte rests o f th e gr o up A s the striking o c cur .

renees give o ri gin t o spirits s o are these spirits in t u rn a p

pealed t o pr o pitiated charmed w o rshipped s a crificed t o
, , ,
’

, ,

and bribed Thus s o cial l

. ife expres sed in cerem onial rel i ,

gi o n magic myth and in what l

, , , a ter be co m e s cience a rt ~
,

and phil o s o phy is centered abo u t th o se facts that a rrest

,

attenti o n ; and the facts that a rres t attenti o n are the c en

tral l ife interests Of th e gr o up t h o s e fact o rs essentialt o ,

gr o up s u rvival .

( )
c M y t h w h i ch Inv,
o lves bo t h animism and magic is ,

m o re directly c o ncern ed with explanati o n I t appears a s a .

hi gher st age o f thinking and is m o st cl o sely a ss o ciated w ith

,

o u r s cience and phil o s o phy W e d o not want t o be u nde r

.

st o o d as s aying that animism ma g ic and myth have ceas ed , ,

t o exist in presen t day thinking f o r such is by no me ans

the c as e ; but there wa s a time when these meth o ds were
chara cteristic a ccepted prev alent A t a l o wer sta ge Of
, , .

myth m aking we s e e the crudest attempts a t acc o unting

f o r t hings attempts whic h quite pr o bably inv olve the mini
, , ,

mum Of c o nsci o us r efl e ct io n 2
F o r exampl e am o ng the A l
.
,

o n u in I ndians the w o rds f o r da wn and ia n t r abbi t were

g q g
simila r .The myth o f the o ri gin Of light c o nsequently , ,

centers abo ut the gi an t rabbit Myth f o rm ati o n gr owing .

o u t O f the similari ties be tween w o rds is c o mm o n and h as

been c o nsidered fundamental in the o rigin Of all myths .

S uc h a fo undati o n f o r myths inv o lves th e mi nim u m Of

’
Wu ndt E l , k P sycholo gy p 4 1 4
em ents O f F ol , . .
 The N a tu re o f P rimi t ive Th ou gh t 95

c o nsci o us reflecti o n being a simple case O f anal o gy ; but

,

the gre a t myth o l o gi es Of a ncient pe o ples are m o re directly

c o nsci o us and in fact are hypo theses invented t o acc o unt
, , ,

f o r the facts O f experience ; but pri mitive myth accepts the

“

w o rld as given The o rigin o f t he w o rld o rder as a wh ole

.

”
still lies bey o nd it s field o f inquiry .

I n ad diti o n t o the nature and purp o se o f myth as pre

—
sented and state d abo ve that which emphasizes the infl u
—
ence O f lan gu a ge it is w o rth while t o state bri efly charac
te r is t ic O pini o ns O f th o se w h o have given the questi o n care
ful c o nsiderati o n Spe ncer believes myt h t o be dist o rted
.

st o ri es Of rem o te ancest o rs ; Frazer regards them as a t

tempts t o explain the facts which arrested man s attenti o n ’

—the facts Of nature and the o ri gin O f m an ; Wundt be

lieve s that myth includes s cience and reli gi o n that it regu ,

lated priv a te and public life We suggest that p rimitive .

myth pe rhap s a r o se u nc o nsci o usly due t o striking events in

man s expe ri ence that m an did n o t c o nsci o usly s et o u t t o
’
,

explain events and phen o men a but expressed the firs t the o ry ,

t hat the facts su ggested ; f o r it is a psych o l o gic al fact th a t

anything tha t arrests attenti o n s u gges t s s o m ethin g that is
no t present p oin t s t o a p o ssible s o luti o n o r c o urs e O f a c
, ,

ti o n and ind ica tes a meth o d o f inte rp retati o n which in

, ,

this cas e is the myth B u t at a later pe ri o d t he myth is

, .
,

a ctu a lly a c o nsci o us atte m pt t o giv e an expl a nati o n o f the

facts Of experience .

Myths center ab o ut three imp o rtant facts o f m a n s ex ’

e ri en ce namely the w o rld he lives in man himself espe

p , , , ,

c ia ll his o ri g in and destiny and finally the ri g in Of cul

y o , ,

ture o f s o cial life The first type o f myth we c all the c o sm o

.

go nic ; the s ec ond anthr o p ogenic ; and the third myths Of

, ,

her o es .

O f c o sm o go nic myths we are p o ssibly bes t acquainted

96 A n I nt r od u c tion t o P hil
os op hy

wi th t h o s e Of t h e Hebrews The simpl e th ou gh direc t st a te

.

“
ment is m ad e that in the beginning G o d c re a ted the h e a v
ens and th e ea rt h ”
A m o ng o ther pe o ples the e x planati o n i s
.

based o n th e c reative po wers o f m a n and w o m an the phe —

h o mena Of nature being the result Of a m al e and a female
princip l e Thi s meth od o f interp retati o n is based o n the
.

psych ol o gic alfacts inv ol ved in t h e pe rcepti o n Of an Obj ect ,

namely that a th in g i s always pe rceived in terms Of the

,

e xp e r ie n cé Of the p ercipient Th o se expl an ati o ns based o n

.

t he a ctivity O f t w o principles s u ch as L ov e and Ha t e L i gh t ,

and D arkness are reflecti o ns fr om the n o ti o n Of th e o rigin

,

o f th ings thr o ugh t h e se x es .

Tw o c o ncepti o ns o cc u py a p r omi nent pl ace in the c o s

mogonies o f c u lt u ralpe o ples T h e firs t is that the crea .

tio n Of t h e w o rld was preceded by cha o s a terrifying abys s ,

in Gree k myth ol o gy o r a w o rld s e a enc o mp assing t he e arth -

a s in t h e B aby l o ni a n statement o f creati o n Terrible de .

m o ns e x ist i n c h a o s a nd are in Gree k myth ol o gy t h e chil

, ,

d ren Of ch a os The o th er c o ncepti o n present in creati o n

.

myth s O f c u lturalpe o ples are t h e a cc o u nts Of the battles o f

the go ds Here are pictured gi a nt str u ggles between g o o d
.

g o ds a nd evil o nes th e f o rmer fin ally wi nning o u t and

, ,

bri nging o rd er o u t O f c h a o s The evil go ds are cast o u t but

.

a re no t wh olly cr u s h ed and generally remain as the s o urce

,

o f evi l T h us
“
. the devil a fallen angel S atan than wh o m
, , ,

n o ne h igh er s a t was o nce an angelo f light bu t n ow h e g oe s

”
,

abo u t as a r o aring l
“
i o n s eeki ng wh o m h e m ay dev o u r ”
.

The ant h r o po genic myth s are fo und am o ng all pe o ples .

They vary a cc o rding t o th e culture Of th e pe o ple w ho p o s

sess them bu t a l ,lgi ve s o me k ind Of explanati o n O f the o ri gin
Of m a n and venture th e o ries a s t o his d estiny Sp encer
,
.

a n d Gi l len s a y th at a l
3
lt h e No rt h e rn T ribes Of C ent r a l
3
Opu s c it ed , pp . 4 94 if .
 The N a tu re o f P r imi tive Thou
gh t 97

A u str al
ia h a ve explan ati o ns O f th e creati o n. These ex
planati o ns as a matter Of c o urs e are cru de but they answer
, ,

th e demands o f the nature man The livin g men came fr o m

.

individuals who lived in the A lchering a the far past and

“ ”
, ,

the an cesto rs p o ssessed p owers su p eri o r t o a n y o f the pres

“
ent membe rs Of the gro up B u t if a n a tive 1 s asked Where
.
,

did the men O f the A lcherin g a c o me fr o m ? he will lau gh at

”

the absurdity O f such a questi o n as many am o ng u s w o uld ,

d o if ask ed “
Where did G o d c o me fr om ?
,
”
Thes e t ribe s
believe t h at a l lpe ople go o d and ba d alike f o r they have
, ,

no ide a Of a f u tu r e life o f happines s o r mi sery b a sed o n

g o o d o r evil c o nduct return t o the sp o t f o rmerly o ccupied

“

in the A lcheringa and that they may again underg o r e

,

inc arnati on .

The Hebre w statement o f man s creati o n is familiar t o ’

al l—he was created in the ima g e O f G o d and there w a s ,

breathed int o his n o strils th e breath Of life W o man was .

c reat ed fr o m a p art Of the bo dy o f man a statement which ,

is s u ggestive as illustrating the s o cial p o siti o n Of w o man a t

thi s pe ri o d o f Hebrew hist o ry B u t how man c o mes int o
.

t h e w o rld and where he go es at death i e birth a nd death , . .

,

pr oblems have always f u rnis h ed a fertile t opic f o r the im

,

a gina t io n o f man .

The cul ture and h er o myths h ave t o d o with acc o untin g

f o r the facts Of s o cial l i fe and O r g anizati o n f o r example , ,

the o rigin Of th e st ate the city Of lan gua ge o f number e t

, , , ,

ce t er a The h er o is no t merely the her o ic her o but is

.
“ ”
,

als o t h e h er o t h at figu res in the spiritual and s o cial realm ,

as the f ou nder Of s o ciety th e o r igi n M 0 r o f religi o n o r the

, ,

giver o f s o me valu able art Past s o cial achievements are

.

re g a rded as th e deeds Of gr eat her o es and in s ome c ases o f , ,

t h e go ds themselves The h ero is usually an ideal created

.

in the im a g e O f m an and reflects in a hei ghtened degr ee th e

98 A n I nt r od uc tion t o P hil
o s op hy

ide al s aspirati o ns and vi r t u es O f a pe o ple H er o myt hs

, ,
.

mus t necessarily c o me late in the devel o pment Of a p e o ple .

I t i s no t u ntil much has been acc o mplished th at the mind

attempts t o acc o unt f o r it S o cial and p olitical life that is
.
, ,

must be a fact o r in experience bef o re they can be th e sub

e c t matter O f myth
j Ther .e must have exis t ed a diff erenti
a ti o n O f v o cati o ns family life a l
, e g al system reli gi o n the
, , ,

arts and all the c o mplexities even o f p rimitive s o ciety in

, ,

o rder to give the myt h O f this type a f o o ting A nd the .

meth o d o f explaining these facts give o rigin t o wha t we c all

the h er o s a g a .

Myth as is evident deals wit h the facts in the ex p erience

, ,

O f th e pe o ple w h o pr o j ect them ; and the similarity O f myth

is d ue t o the simil a rity in the p r oblems which diff erent
pe o ples have h a d t o meet C o mm o n pr oblem s lead t o c om
.

m o n s o luti o ns varying a cc o rding t o the l o cal c o nditi o ns

,

surr o unding t h em S cience and phil o s ophy a r e bu t mo re

.

th o u ghtfulway s Of attempting t o s olve t he s am e pr oblems .

O u t Of m agic has gr o wn th e techniqu e by whi ch we c o ntr ol

“ ”
the c o nditi o ns in testing o u r myths o r hyp o theses P rim , .

it ive m an h a s n o meth o ds O f c o ntr o l and his the o ries are

limit ed o n l y by the fertility Of h is imaginati o n Primitive .
’

m a n c o ntr o ls m a n a by s acrifices and by mysteri o u s ce r e

m oni als ; m o dern m an by determinin g experimentally the
,

relati o n between facts and acting in acc o rdance with the

,

results O f such rese arch

4. S ome Cha r a ct er i st i cs of Pr imit ive Th inki ng
— T h ere
a re c ertain liabilities t o e rr o r which w e sh o uld ex a mi ne
briefly We h ave suggested th a t p rimitive thinkin g has
.

no met h od s O f c o ntr o l and wher e thi s is the cas e the p os

s ib it ie s f o r err or are greatly incre ased

il .

There is a meth o d in primitiv e th o ught whic h we empl o y

but we a r e m o re c areful in its u se This is the meth o d Of
.
 The N a tu re o f P rimi t ive Th ou gh t 99

anal o —
omet h ing is like s omet hi ng e l
gy s se t h eref o re t h e two ,

a r e rel a ted S uch a c o ncepti o n o r meth o d leads t o ass o cia

.

ti o ns Of the kind we menti o ned in o u r treatment Of myth ,

such f o r example as the relati o n be tween the gi a nt rabbit

,

and d a wn ; or t o the c o nclusi o n that wh a tever m o ves has

life a nd a s o u l and is m ov ed by purpo ses and desires simi
,

lar t o th o se o f m a n .

Early tr a diti o n tells u s Of an o rganizati o n o f s o ciety o n

4
the basis Of the n u mber twelve a m o de Of o rganiz a ti o n ,

o ri i natin g pr o b a bly am o ng the B abyl o nians and re g arded

g ,

by them as s a cr ed since t he he a vens displayed twelve

,
“ ”
signs .Since this was a divine number it w as believed ,

th at a state o rgani z ed int o twel ve p art s o r dep artments

w o uld als o share in sacredness o r the magic o f the divine
“
p o wers TO the B abyl o ni a n the s ky furnish ed a revela
.
,

”
ti o n Of the l a ws that sh o uld go vern terrestri a l life The .

s acr edness Of the numbe r twelve is express ed in the twelve

le g endary tribes Of I sra el ; in the twelve go ds Of Greece ; and
in the twelve A p o stles I t is als o seen in Gree k s o ciety which
.

w a s o ri gi na ll
y c omp o sed Of twelve divisi o ns th ere be ing f o u r ,

clans each Of which was c omp o s ed O f thr e e phratri es

, .

A n o ther aspec t Of anal o gical reas o ning is tha t which p r o

a l o r g aniz ati o n int o the sp eculative
j e c t s the prevailing s o ci
thinkin g O f a pe o pl e Menti o n was mad e earlier O f th e f act
.

that th o se who live under a m o n a rchical f o rm Of go v e rnment

r o j ect this f o rm o f o rganiz a ti o n int o their reli gi o us s e c u
p p
la t io ns f o rm ing a heaven after the fashi o n O f their p o litic al
,

s o ciety O ne o f the best examples O f this is seen in t h e r e

.

ligio u s c o ncepti o ns which p revail am o ng us t o thi s very

day O u r reli gi o us ideas are t o a gr eat e x tent taken over
.

fro m th e p olitical o r g ani z ati o n wh ich was current when

Christianity w a s gettin g its f oo ting Ch rist is king a nd l or d
.

‘
W u nd t , O pu s cit .
, pp . 304 ff .
1 00 A n I ntr od u c tion t o oso h
P hil p y

o f a l
l
.
“
Ch ri st ou r r o a
y lmaster leads agains t the f oe ,
and ”

the many exa m ples which will o ccur t o any o ne w ho runs

o ver the church hymns o r thinks o ver the v a ri o us cere

m o nials O f the churches will c o nvince o ne that o u r reli gi o us

,

life bo rr o ws its c o nte n t l argely fr o m m o narchy and seld o m

if ever mak es a pl a ce f or a type o f s o cial and p olitical life
whi c h prevails am o ng u s t o day tha t is de m o cracy , , .

“
Eur o p e was o rganized thr o u gh feudalism a nd the sup rem
a cy o f the p o pe like a vas t l adder reachi ng fr o m t he p o pe ‘

t o t he s e rf ; and c o rresp o ndin g ly the w o rld was c o nceiv ed a s

a simila r l adder reaching fr o m G o d thr o u gh the an gels and
t h e ch u rch d o wn t o m an and t o n ature bel o w man ”
.

P rimitive thinking is pr o ne t o c ommit the fallacy k n own

“ ” —
in l o gi c a s p o s t ho c ergo pr o pter h o c, be ca u s e s ome
thing c o mes bef o re s o mething els e the f o rmer is the c ause ,

Of the l at t er ; o r bec ause s o mething c omes immediately after

s o mething els e the f o rmer is the e ff ect Of the latter A
,
.

g reat deal Of kn owled g e h as be en a ccumulated in this way

“ ”
.

O u r c o mm o n superstiti o ns are generally the res u lt O f thi s

fallacy go ing all the w a y fro m bad luck whic h f oll
, o ws up o n

th e bre aking o f a mirr o r t o the dire e ff ects O f planting po

t a t oes in the wr o ng time Of the m o n o — thes e and the numer
o u s o th ers a re due a s Mill s ays t o the
“
,
pr o pensity t o gen
,

”
er a l
iz e .

spo k e w isel
B ac o n y Of the fallacies in reas o ning whi c h
a r e c o mm o n am o ng hi ghly civilized man H e c alled them .

”—
“
I d ols the I d olOf the Tri be o r the tendency t o ne glect
,

negative instances e g the failure t o take a cc o unt Of the

, . .
,

cases in whic h bad lu ck did no t c ome t o o ne who br o k e a

mirr o r ; the I d ols O f the Cave t h e tendency t o view things in
,

the li ght O f o u r own interests o r t o use B ac on s w o rds ,

’
,

“
the underst a ndin g O f men resembles no t a dry li ght but ,

”
ad mits O f s ome tincture o f the passi o ns and will ; and the
 The N a tu re . o f P r imi t ive Th ou gh t 1 01

I d ol
s Of the The atre err o rs int o whic h o ne may be l
. ed by ,

the spi r i t O f th e times Thes e are fallacies t o which in .

,

additi o n t o th o se which we have menti o ned ma n is sus ,

ce
p t ible .

A nd if highly c ul tured men are subj ect t o these fal

lacies ,

ho w m u c h m o re s o m u st be primitive man "

R EF ER EN CES

A MES , E S The P sych o l o gy O f Reli gi ou s Ex perience , VI ;

. .
,

CAR P EN T ER , J E , C o mparative Re l i gi o n , Chapters 3 4 ;

. .
-

St o ry O f P rimitive Man ;
C L O DD ,
CO OLEY C H Hu man N ature and the S o cial
, . .
, O rder , pp .

1 4 6 ff ; .

CR AW LEY , ER N E T , The Mystic Ro se ; S

D E W EY JO H N I nter p retati o n o f S ava g e Mind P sy chol
, ,
o i
g ,

c al Review 1 90 2 ; ,

FRA Z ER J G S o me Primi tive The o ries o f the O rigin o f

, . .
,

M a n in D arwin and M o dern S cience edited by Seward ;

, ,

HO S E and M C D O UGAL L The P agan Tribe s o f B o rne o Chap , ,

ter XV I I ;
J O LY Man bef o re Metal
, s;
L EI GHT ON J A The Field o f P hil o s op hy Ch ap t ers 2 —
, . 3; .
, ,

MARRE TT R R Pre A nimistic Religi o n in F o lk L o re

, . .
,
-

,
-

1 90 0
MAR V IN Hist o ry O f Eur o pean Phil o s ophy Chapter
, , IV ;
MA S ON W o man s Share in Primi tive Culture ;
,
’

RA T Z EL Hist o ry O f Man kind Vol I ;

, , .

S P EN C ER HERBER T S o ci o l o gy Vol I Chapters 2 0

'

, , , .
,
-

24 ;
S T ARR F S o me First Steps in Human Pr o gress ;
, .
,

T H O M A S W I S o urce B o o k Pa rts I I VI VI I
, . .
, , , ,

TYLO R Primitive Culture Vol I I o n A nimism

, , .
, ,

WUND T F olk P sych ol ogy

, .
 CHA PT ER VI I

OR I G IN OF TH E P RO B LE MS OF PH ILO S O P HY

1 . I ntr od u ct ory .
-

s cience and p hil

The pr oblems os o of

phy ari se a t the p o int a t whi c h man substitutes f o r super

nat u ral c auses and f o rces nat u ra l o nes ; at the p oint at
,

whic h he be gins t o attribute change and t h e vari o us phe ,

h o mena a cc o unted f o r by primitive man o n t h e gr o und o f

myth magic and animism t o c a u s es whi c h c an be m o re

, , ,

easily submitted t o verificati o n P rimitive th o ught lacks o ne .

essential that we attribute t o phil o s ophy namely the c o n , ,

s ci o us attemp t t o interpret a l l the f a ct s o f expe rience in r

terms Of s o me pri nciple The u nivers e f o r phi l o s op hy mus t

.

be an or de r ed univers e o ne whi c h displays a pri nciple Thus

, .

p hil o s o phy attempts t o c onstru ct a c o nsistent w o rld view

whic h s atisfies t he demands O f the head a nd which pr ovides
a plac e f o r the l o ngings O f the hea rt A nd as we shall see .
,

later th e c o nflict be tween the head a n d th e h eart ha s

,
“ ” “ ”

be en the bittere st o ne in all phil o s ophy .

P rimitive m a n did muc h thinking as is evident fr o m t h e

gr eat myth o l o gies but h is spe culati o n was unc ontr olled ; he
,

h ad no mean s O f weighing measuring balancing and h e , , ,

c o nstructed his the o ries m o re t o pleas e and s atisfy the

f a ncy than t o s atisfy a deep and lasting intellectual de
m an d Whe n what we a re pleased t o call phil o s o phy ar o se
.

am o ng the Gre eks they t o o p o ssessed n o meth ods O f c o n

, , ,

tr olling t h eir thinkin g ; bu t they m a de the grea t step men

‘

1 02
 O r igin o f the P r o bl
e ms o f P hiloso h
p y 1 03

t io ned abo v e n amely that o f attempting t o acc ou nt f o r

, ,

facts in te rm s Of na t u r a l p rincip les This is o ne Of the .

reas o ns why Greece ha s been called that p o int Of li ght in

“

”
hist o ry ; and S O th o r o ughly did they map o u t the c o urse of
“
phil o s o phy that the p o et Shelley s ays We a re all Gree ks ,
.

O u r l a ws o u r literature o u r religi o n o u r a rt have their

, , , ,

” “
ro o ts in Greece ; o r as Sir Henry Maine s ays Excep t the ,

blind f o rces O f n a ture there is n o thing that moves in th e

,

w o rld t o day that is no t Greek in o ri gin .

We c an c o nsequently give a go o d deal Of attent io n t o

, ,

Greek speculati o n and t o the c o nditi o ns ou t O f which it

ar o s e f o r it is tru e that Greek thinkers have set the p robl ems
O f phil o s ophy and have l argely determined the termin ol o gy
,

w e empl o y .

2
. Cond it i ons Wh ich Led t o t h e O r igi n of Ph il osop hy .

We h ave now t o inqui r e int o the specific a genc i es which were

o perative in Greece f o r the bringin g t o the fr o nt of pr o b

lems O f s cien ce a n d phil o s o phy We have c o nsidered vari ou s

.

a g encies which make f o r reflective thinking and Our purp o se ,

is no w t o ac quaint o urselves with the sp ecifi c agencies in

Greek life which figu red in makin g univers al the j u dgment
that Greece i s the cr a dle O f phil o s o phy Thin g s d o no t j ust .

h appe n they do no t m erely gro w but there are always

, ,

c o nditi ons present which fav o r o r hinder devel o pment We .

d o no t attempt t o tell why c o rn gr ows yet we kn o w it d o es , ,

but we can state c onditi o ns which make f o r a healthy cr o p ;

neith er d o We attempt t o state why man gr o ws why he de ,

vel o s fr o m s a vage ry t o civiliz ati o n

p and w hy h e t hinks
,
o ne

st ate O f s o ciety better than an o ther but we can state c o ndi

,

ti o ns which fav o r o r retard d evel o pment We can state .

that pro gress c omes abo ut thr o u gh c o nflict but we are no t ,

attemptin g t o sta t e wh y it is better t o w in in th e confl i ct

1 04 A n I nt r o du c tion t o P hil
os o h
p y

than t o l o se why it is be tter t o ma k e pr o gress than t o stand

,

still I f o ne wants t o believe the latter there is apparently

.
,

no way Of c o nvm cm him t th c o ntrary

“

g o e .

( a ) P h y s i c a l F a c t o r s

( )
1 Greece is a peninsula a n d the, s ea is e a sy o f acces s ,

a s ea m o re over which is full O f islands

, , .

( )
2 Greece has a tempe rate climate much m
, o re s o th a n
the rive r valleys O f A sia .

( )
3 Greece is br o ken int o a gre a t number Of s m i ll dis
t ri c ts making it p o s sible f o r diff eren t pe o ples t o devel o p
,

m o re o r less diff ere nt ideals .

( )
4 T h e M e dite rranean made it p o ssible f o r the Greeks
t o devel o p with o ut seri o us interfere nce o n the p art O f the
A siatics f o r it w a s imp o ssible t o transp o rt large arm ies .

( )
5 Greece faced the civilized east — there are but three
o r f o ur har bo rs o n the wes t c o as t .

( )
6 T h e lands ca p e o f Greec e is u p o n a m o derat e s cale

—no gre at m ountains no des ol ate des erts N atu re in

, .

Greece I S no t terrible .

L et u s inqu i re Int o s ome O f th e results Of such a physical

envir o nment The fact that the s e a i s easy Of acces s and
.

that i t ab ounds in islands mad e it po ssible f o r the Greeks ‘

t o find means o f expressi o n Of the instinct O f cu r i o sity a n d ,

f o r the g r o wth Of trade and c o mmerce A tendency in m a n

.

which finds an a dequa t e means o f expressing itself in acti o n

tends t o be stamped in as the c omparative p sych ol
“ ”
, o i sts
g
sa y . Thus f o rtified m ade stro ng by u se the instinct when
, , ,

o ther stimuli are present ed i s exp ressed with a dded vigo r

, .

M o re o ver the instinct itsel

, f is made m o re sensitive t o
stimuli the limen is l o wered s o t h at a s timulus which w o uld
, ,

fail t o excite the o rganism under o ther c o nditi o ns will m eet

with a re sp o nse such t h at gr eat res u l ts are a chi ev ed in dif
f erent fiel d s of inte rest .
 O rigin o f t he P r obl
ems o f P hilo s o h
p y 1 05

The p o ssibilities o f a c ommercial life are a w o nderfulih

c en t ive t o g r o wth The activities essential t o a successful
.

c o mm ercial career are such a s t o devel o p keenness and alert

ness and a well w r o u ght pr o gram o f acti o n ; but t he infl u
,
-

ence O f such a caree r in rubbin g O ff the r o u gh ed ges O f is o

lati o n a n d backwardness are t o o well kn own t o demand
c omment .

A temperate climate demands w o rk a n d man o wes m o re ,

t o the fact that he has had t o w o rk than is generally rec o g

niz e d . The natural pr oducts O f Greece w ere greater than
th o se o f the A siatic c o untries This led t o gr eat er variety
.

in o ccupati o ns and we have su ggested in an o ther c o nnecti o n

,

the im p o rtance O f Occupati o ns in shaping the type O f mental

life o f a pe ople o r class Men f o rm the habit O f industry as
.

they fo rm o ther habits and the c o nditi o ns f o r habit f o rm a

,

ti o n must always be present O nce the habit Of industry is .

f o rm ed thr o u gh w o rk made necess ary by the very c o nditi o ns

o f a c o untry this attitude o r habit is readily br o u ght t o
,

be a r o n o ther S ituati o ns f o r example the intellectual a c t iv

, ,

ities o f man The industri o us nati o n c o mmercially may p er

.

h aps be c o me the i n dustri o us n a ti o n intellectu ally .

The natural features Of Greece divide it int o many dis

—
tinct p arts abo u t twenty in all The natural barriers p r e .

vented o ne p o rti o n fr o m abs o rbing the o ther alth o ugh they ,

were no t s o po werful as t o prevent interc o urse and rivalry

in vari o u s lines o f interest The diversi t y o f p r o ducts Of
.

the secti o ns o f Gre ece mad e f o r interc o urs e and hence t h e

bre a king d own o f the tendency t o bec o me c o nse r vative and
superstiti o us due t o is olati o n The mou ntain S l o pe s in
.

A ttica grew grapes and Olives s o th at the A t ti c a ns c o ul d

well be c ome the pr o viders o f these c o mm o dities t o o thers
wh o c o uld n o t p r o duce them O n the o ther h and A ttica
.
,

c o uld no t p r oduce grain This fact led t o trade t o t he

.
,
1 06 A n I n t r o d u c t io n t o P hilo s op hy

bringing h ome Of new ideas and cust o ms t o t h e brea k d o wn ,

Of that c o nservatism that p revails in a purely agricultur al

n ati o n and t o the S harp ening o f the instinc t o f curi o sity
, ,
“
f o r the seafari ng Greeks were always seeking s o me new
”
thing .

P ersi a w a s able t o s u bdue the A siatic Greeks alm o st with

o u t a bl o w b u t she fa iled t o c o nquer the E ur o pean Greeks

even by s upreme eff o rt The Mediterranean made it p o s

.

sible f o r the Gree ks t o devel o p independent O f A siatic inter

ference al th o u gh t he Greeks were able t o gain the bes t el
, e

ments O f A siatic cul ture due t o c o mmerce Where the same

, .

e nvir o nm ental fact o rs as are f o und in Greece were present

in o th e r p a rts a s in wes t Syri a o r p arts O f A si a Min o r

, ,

civil iz a ti o n began with the s ame char a cteris tics a s we find

in Greece ; but in the c o untries menti o ned the ri ver empires
imp ressed their culture o n that o f western S yri a and A si a
Min o r Wh ile the Mediterranean made travel l
. es s difficult ,

res ulting in t h e mixing o f pe oples that es sential t o pr o g

,

r ess it at t h e s a me time p revented the imp o siti o n by f o rce

,

Of A siatic c u ltu re on the Gree k districts .

The fa ct th a t Gr eece faced the eas t made it po s sible f o r

h er t o c a rry o n h er traffic with the eastern c ou ntri es a nd
p revent e d entrance by the barbari ans o n the west c o ast O n .

the side t o wa r ds I t a ly Greece is a c o ast o f cli ff and marsh

, ,

wi th but a few g o o d h arb o rs There wa s that security

.

—
fr o m invasi o n fr om b o t h directi o ns fr o m t h e east and
—
fr o m the west due t o the benefi cen ce o f nat u re ; s o that
the G ree k genius wa s able t o find ot her means of e x pres
si on
—
.

G ree k l ands cape i s moderat e m o gre at deserts t o p ro

duce the e ff ect o f m o n o t o ny a nd h o m o geneity no gr e at ,

m oun t a in s t o awe t h e mind n o terrible e arthquakes t o strik e

,
 O rigin o f t he P r o bl
ems o f P hd o s op hy 1 07

t err o r t o th e imagin ati o n and no destru ctive fl o od s t o a p

,

p al lthe mind a n d t o disc o urage a sea fari ng life We r e

,
-

member that it has been suggested that m o n o theism tends

t o prevail in desert c o untri es and that the mi nd is o ver ,

awed by th e phen o mena Of nature in o thers S O th a t no a t ,

tempt is mad e t o explain o r t o understand but tha t man in , ,

m u te submissi on bo ws bef o re them His attitude is o ne o f

, .

pr ayer fai th mysticism ; but when nature is less c o mpe lling

, ,

the mind Of man S eeks explanati o ns “

O riental despo tism .

gives w ay t o Greek freed o m O riental s u bmissi o n t o tr adi ,

-

ti o n and cust o m wa s replaced by fearless inquiry and o rig

,

ina l it y ”
. M o derati o n and variety in natural phen o men a
mus t be influential in S haping the many sided genius O f a
pe o ple The Greeks devel oped a l o ve f o r harm ony and p r o
.

p o rti o n ; m od erati o n became the ide a l Of virtue ; tem p erance

and the me an figure c o nstantly in their ethics ; and they
empl o y the s ame w o rd f o r go o d and be autiful .

l r e n o l o n ger c o n
( )
b S o c i a F a c t o r s The Greeks a .

“ ”
s id e r ed a y o un g pe o ple B ef o re the remarkable rese a rches
.

which be g a n abo ut 1 87 0 the chief Of which has been S ince

,

1 90 0 it was the cust om t o stand in am azement at the r a

,

p idi t y o f the rise o f Greek civilizati o n We h av e since .

lea rned h owever that Obscure millenniums preceded the

,
“
,

s u dden bl o om
“ ”
The f Egea n civilizati o n spread al
’
o ng the c o asts and

islan ds o f the Mediterranean at vari o us p o ints fr o m Cyprus

t o S ardinia This is the civilizati o n Of the slender sh o rt
.
, ,

dark skinned pe ople O f s o uthern Eur o p e and dates fr o m ,

abo ut 3 500 B C t o 1 2 0 0 B C T his culture was n o t bo r

. . . .

r owed but was native Steady p r o gress appears fr o m r o u gh

.

st o ne implements a nd rude carvin gs u p t o ma gnificent

br o n z e w o rk and highly devel o ped art This civilizati on .
,
1 08 A n I n t r od u c tion t o P hil
oso h
p y

especially that in Crete was destr oyed by a seri es Of bar ,

bari an inv asi o ns assisted pr oba bly by th e oppressed native

,

inhabitants .

B etween 1 5 0 0 a n d 1 2 0 0 B C a remarkable change t o ok

. .
,

p lace in Greece This peri

. o d marks the c o min g Of the
H o meric Greeks the A chaeans , They di ff er greatly fr o m
.

the o thers b o t h physic ally and in s o cial cust oms H omer s .

’

Greeks are ta l l fair O f yell o w h a ir and blue eyes They

, , , .

burn their dead w o rship a s u n go d use iro n sw o rds feast

'

, , ,

al lni ght o n r o a st o xen and are vi go r o us in all warlike a o

,

t ivit ie s The A ch aeans imp o sed their language and c u s

'

t o ms u p o n the Cretans and Myceneans and the cust o ms ,

blended m o re re a dily than the races The unit Of s o ciety w a s .

the clan p resided o ver by a clan elder The ties whi ch .

bo und the clan t o gether we re kinship and w o rship Clans .

u n it e d int o tribe s the le a din g cl a n elde r be c o min g king Of

,

th e tribe and its priest O riginally a tri be dwelt in several

.

clan villa ges in the valleys ar o und s o me hill O n the hillt o p .

w a s the c o mm o n w o rship place I n hilly Greece m any o f .

thes e citadels gr ew near t o gether c ausing a still further ,

weldin g t o gether O f the pe o ple Sep ar a te citad els w o uld be

.

t o rn d o wn o ne large o ne c o nstru cted S O that a city r e

, ,

sul t ed . A s clan s federated int o t ribes S O did t ribes federate

int o cities o r city S tates .

The city had t h ree p olitic a lelements k ing c o uncil and , , ,

p o pular a ss embly— the g erms O f later m o narchy a ri s t o c ,

ra cy and dem o cra cy The king wa s l

,
. eader in wa r j udge ,

in pe ace and priest a t a l

, ltimes ; the chiefs were the clan
elders and members o f the king s family ; the a ssembl ’
y was
made u p o f free men w ho h a d a t first but little t o d o o ther
than t o l isten t o what the kin g and the chiefs had al ready
planned B u t even the assembly had t o be p er s u a d ed i t
.
—
c ou ld no t b e o rdered H o mer gives an inte re sting pict u re O f
.
 O rigin o f t he P r o bl
ems o f P hilo s o h
p y 1 09

“
a fre e ma n who even o ppo s ed the king
. The ri s t es u nco n .
,

t r olled O f spe ech wh o se mind was ful lO f w o rds wherewith

,

t o s trive a g ains t the chi efs — hate ful w as he t o A chil les

abo ve a l l and t o O dysseus f o r th em he wa s w o nt to revile
, ,
.

B u t n o w with shri ll sh o ut he p o ured f o rth his upbraidin g s

e ven up o n g o o dly A g amemn o n
”
.

The third great peri o d Of Gr eek hist o ry is mark ed by the

D o ri an invasi o n which be g an abo ut 1 0 00 B C The ih . .

vad ers intr o duc ed the u s e O f he avy arm ed infan try with -

l o ng spears in regular a rray and cl o se ranks They settled

, .

in the Pel o p o nnesus a distri c t which had be en the cent e r O f

,

Mycen aean and A chaean gl o ry B u t bo th inv a ders and f o r .

mer inhabitan ts l o st their lead in culture and when civiliz a ,

ti o n t o o k a start in abo ut 90 0 B C it ar o se in new centers . .

,

—in A ttic a and in A sia Min o r Greek life bl o o m ed again .

abo ut 6 50 B C . .

A n im p o rt ant s o cial fact is th a t the Greeks cam e t o think

that all Hellenes were O f o ne race The fo rces whi ch mainly .

m ad e f o r the unity Of feeling were lan guage literature and , ,

the O lympian rel igi o n The likeness in langu a ge made it .

po ssible f o r a c o mm o n li terature t o prevail s o that H o mer ,

—
was sung everywhere a fact which tended gr eatly t o wards
s o cial s olidari ty The p o ets m o re o ver invented a system
.
, ,

Of relati o nship which in myth ol o gical garb ha d much t o d o

with uniting the pe o ple Helen s o the p o ets s aid had thre e .
, ,

s o ns o lus D o r us a nd X u nthu s
, , us became the
, .

father O f A ch a ns and I o n E o lus D o ru and I o n .

,

were the an cest o rs o f all Hellenes the — the Do

r ians th e A chaeans and the I o nians
,
1
A , language .

and literatu r e a c omm o n ancestry and a c o mm o n religi o n

, ,

were p o werful fact o rs in giving s olidity t o Greek s o ciety .

B etween 1 0 0 0 and 5 0 0 B C the kin g s disappe ared fr o m . .

,

’
Cf . i
w th the d scu ss i i on o f cu l
tu re m t hs, Ch V I y . .
1 10 A n I n t r odu c tio n t o P hil
o s op hy

all except t w o o f the Greek cities and the g o vernment c a me ,

int o the hands Of the n obles The next s tru ggle p olitically
.

w a s th at between the few and the many be tween the n o bles ,

and the mass e s . The ty rants wh o se d a y appr o ximately

,

was be tween 7 5 0 a nd 5 0 0 B C then ar o s e a s the ch a mpi o ns

. .
,

O f the many and thus th e way w a s p aved f o r dem o cracy

, .

Very briefly we have sketched the s o cial c o nditi o ns O f the

Greeks d o wn t o a bo ut 6 0 0 B C the time when the pr o b
. .
,

lems o f s pe culative thinkin g began t o aris e O u r questi o n .

n o w is wh at is the relati o n be twee n th a t s o cialba ckgr o und

,

and phi l o s o phy ? The surv ey indicates that Greek civiliza

ti o n is Old that time en o ugh had elapsed f o r char a cteristic
,

t raits t o devel o p f o r the envir o nment t o have be c o me O pe r

,

ati ve in the devel o p m ent o f traits f o r wars t o l end their ,

c o ntributi o n a s agencies O f pr o gress f o r c o mmerce t o d e ,

vel o ,p f o r g o vernments t o be f o unded a nd o vert hr o wn T h e .

fa ct that a large number O f distri cts e a c h wit h its cl a n

elder c o ns o lidated int o a city led naturally t o a m o re l iber al
f o rm O f go vern ment f o r each clan elder w ho became a n o ble
o r chief w o uld be guided s o mewh at by the desires and ih

t e r e s t s o f hi s o wn pe o ple .

The gr e a t pe ri o d o f breakd o wn due t o invasi o ns fur

nis h ed the s etting f o r the weeding o u t o f unsucces sful m o des

O f a cti o n al o ng the line O f warfare and such other a ct ivi

ties as w o uld be engaged in by a pe o ple Of varied interests
a s were the Greeks O ne will readily n o tice that all thr o ugh
.

t h e s oc ial devel o pment the Greeks h ave been ind ep end ent .

They were always suspici o us o f auth o ri ty f o r even in Tr o ,

“
j an days The ri s t e s c o uld p o ur fo rth his upbraidings even
upo n g o o dly A g amemn o n ”
Then the fact that all Hellenes
.

c a me fr o m a c o mm o n ancest o r created a feeling Of br o ther

h o o d and dem o cra cy Kin gs were o verthr own oliga rchies
.
,

were s u perseded and the pe o p le rul

, ed S u ch free dom in .
 O rigin o f the P r o bl
e ms o f P h ilo s o h
p y 1 11

p l
itical
o acti o n c o uld but be reflecte d in o ther types Of
no t

interest a n d c o nsequently we find the Greek thinkers attack

, ,

ing fearlessly any p r o blems The field was indeed ripe f o r.

the pr oblems o f phil o s o phy .

3 . Gr eek Rel igi on — B ef o re we c o nsider t h e p r o bl

em s o f
‘

phil o s o phy and s cience whi ch ar o se in Greek life we S hall

c o nsider bri efly the re li gi o u s spe culati o ns Of the c o untry
which is the father O f s cience and phil o s o p hy I t is o u t O f .

a religi o us mat rix that phil os ophy immediately devel o ped .

I t will be recal led tha t there was a native p o pulati o n o f

great an tiqui ty in Gree ce a n d in the isl a nds abo ut This .

pe o ple h ad a religi o n o f mysticis m which was pri marily in

t e r es t e d in the s o ul When the barbarians came fr o m the
.

n o rth they br o u ght with them their religi o n whic h was a

reflecti o n O f thei r a ggressive n ature We have therefo re .
, ,

t w o tendencies in the religi o us ex p erience O f the Greeks ,

which h ave fi gured largely in lat er devel o pments n o t

o nly Of Greek th o u ght but o f all th o u ght a s well We m a y .

call these t w o tendencies the mystical and t he intellectual .

A t a s om ewhat later peri o d o f Greek th o u ght and befo re ,

the o ri gin o f purely s cientific pr oblems the ol d f o lk reli gi o n , ,

that whi ch fl o uri shed be f o re the c oming O f t he barbarians ,

became identified with the cults O f Di o nysus and o f O rp heus ;

while the religi o n o f the invaders acc o unts O f which we ,

have fr o m the H omeric po ems becam e the O lympic religi o n , .

The O rphic tendency the reli gi o n o f mystery i s pri

, ,

marily o ther w o rldly The chi ef interest centers a b o ut

-

man s s o ul its fall and its r eturn t o its f o rmer celestial

’
, ,

abo de The s o ulhas c o me fr o m afar trailing cl o uds O f

“
,

gl o ry was o nce pure and unsullied ; but no w it h a s a c o r

,

rupt nature a nd the business o f man here bel o w is t o g et

,

back t o the realms o f the blest The s o ul makes its etern al .

r o unds fr o m the dead t o th e living fr o m th e living t o the

, ,
1 12 A n I n t r od u c t ion t o P hilos op hy

de a d now in man no w in a l o wer animal and finall

, , y in du e ,

seas o n it reaches the end Of its j o urney o nly it a p pe a r s t o , ,

sta rt a l lo ver agai n in t he endless eternal whirl o f time A S

, .

Gree k th o ught devel o p ed t he O rphic religi o n o r te ndency

,

f o und expressi o n in th e Pythag o rean phil o s o p hy which

fl o urished in the west Whi le this phil o s o phy in bec o ming
.

s cientific mad e valuabl e c o ntributi o ns t o mathematics hs ,

t r o no m y and bi o l o gy it never l o st interest in the mystic a l

,

and reli gio us When we reach the g r eat systematic phil o s

.

op he r s we find the O rphi c current running thr o u gh their

th inking Especially is this true Of Plat o w ho w a s p o wer

.

fully influenced by the Pyth a go reans and wh o s e s o ul d o c ,

trine reaches far back int o the ages bef o re the a rrival Of
the ba rbari ans fr o m the n o rth with their m o re rati o nalisti c
religi o n .

The O lympi c religi o n o n the o ther h and was t he f o re

, ,

ru nner O f the s cientific and practical a spect O f Greek life

and th o ught Th is is the religi o n which we have le a rn e d
.

fr o m H o mer and fr o m the great dramatists The O ly mpic .

trad iti o n is well exemplifi ed in the c o sm o go ny o f Hesi od .

T h e Fates o r p o ssibly Fate which is be y o nd and superi o r t o

t h e g od s divides the w o rld int o f o u r gre a t pr o vinces : t he
heavens the eart h the air a n d the water which were later
, , , ,

t o appe ar in Gree k th o ught as the fou r el eme n t s earth air , , ,

fi re and w —
ater c o ncepts that played the chief part in the
s cientific s peculati o ns o f the Greeks and which rem ained ,

f u ndamental and elemental until the ri se o f the s cience Of

che mistry A s Greek th o ught devel o ps fr o m the r eligi o us
.

t o the s cientific fr o m the s upernatural t o t he n atural we

, ,

find the O lympi c current a ccepting a t omi sm and materi al

is m entering heartily upo n the things O f this w o rld and
, ,

thr o wing aside the idea o f a G o d as essenti al in the exp l

ti o n o f th e facts o f expe rience .
 O rigin o f the P ro bl
e ms o f P hilo s o h
p y 113

W e h ave t u ched o these tw o tendencies in Greek th o ught

on

becaus e they run thr o u gh the wh o le hist o ry o f phi l o s o phy .

The o ne is the mystic al th a t ty p e o f th o ught whic h p re ,

—
vails in tim e o f disintegr a ti o n a n d decay when m a n l o ses
his nerve Such a peri od is that which runs all the way
.

fr o m the dec l ine o f spe culati o n in Greece after the death o f

A ri st o tle thr o u gh the Ro m an peri ods and the mi ddle a ges
,

t o the renaiss ance I n the first part o f t he nine t eenth cen

.

tury t he r o mantic mysti c a l tendency c o mes a g ain t o the

,

fr o nt and finds expressi o n in the literature o f Ge r many

, ,

France England and A merica in p o litical l

, , ife in religi on , , ,

and phil o s o phy .

“
The O lympic the scientific fl o uri shes in the go lden
, ,

a ges in th o se peri o ds o f security and o f pr o gress wh en

”
,

m an feels himself the m aster o f the w o rld Such peri o ds .

were the centuries o f gr eat systems am o ng the Gr eeks o f ,

the age o f disc o ve ry and inventi o n a t the be ginning o f th e

m o dern w o rld and in the centuries o f the remarkable r a
,

t io n a l
i s t ic systems o f phil o s o phy which ar o se with D e s cartes
and which have reached with s o me excepti o ns t o o u r o w n , ,

day .

The mystic al tendency o riginating in the cults o f the ,

early i nhabitants o f Greece ru ns thr o u gh later Greek ,

th o u ght neo Pl a t onism and Christianity ; the s cientific ten

,
-

d e ncy tak es its ri se am o ng the pa g an Gre eks and runs ,

t hr o u gh Greek s cience the scientific researches o f the r e

“

naissance the p olitical a nd s o cial life o f the sixtee nth sev

,
-

e nt een th and ei ghteenth centuries and finds expressi o n in

, ,

the emphasis o n intelli gence in o u r present day phil o s o phy .

The fo rmer re g ards man as f a llen and helpless ; the lat

“ ”

ter is bu o y ant and h opeful a nd thinks little o f s in The , .

f o rmer is no n the o r etical is mystical cares little f o r science

-

, ,

and r esearch ; the latter places unbo unded c onfidence in

1 1 4: A n I n tr o du c tio n t o P hil
o s op hy

re as on —it is the key that unl o cks the u nivers e and its my s
t e r ie sif any p ssesses The f rm er is ther w o rldly ; the
it o . o o -

la tter believes that man s j o b is here bel o w

’
.

We shall s ee these tendencies as th ey appe ar fr o m time

t o time in the great systems o f th o u ght which it is o u r pur
p o se t o investigate We shal l s e e f o r example that ideal .
, ,

is t i c type s o f phil o s o phy are always o ther w o rldly my s t i -

“ ”
cal and c o me fo rward as defenders o f the faith ; and that
,

s cientific s p e culati o n finds a c o n genial w o rld where spirits

"

and dem o ns and inhabit ants o f the o ther w o rl d t ak e a sub

o rdin ate
p o siti o n if they figu re at a ll .

REF EREN CES

B A LL W W
, . .
, S h o rt A cc o unt o f th e Hist o ry of M a them a
tics ;
B U RNE TT Early Greek Phil o s o phy Part I 1 1 0 1 ;
, , ,
-

D RA P E B J W I ntellect u al D evel o pment o f Eur op e

, . .
, , Vol I ,
.

IV ;
G O M P E RZ , TGree k Thinkers ; .
,

GRO T E Hist o ry o f Greece Vol V III ;

, , .

JER US ALE M W A n I ntr o ducti o n t o Phil o s o phy translated

,
.
, ,

by S anders 3 7 ; ,
-

L EI GHT O N J A The Field o f Ph il o s o phy Chapter I II ;

,
. .
, ,

MAR V IN W T The Hist o ry o f Eur o pean Phil o s o phy 7 8

, . .
, ,

94 ;
PLA T O T h e P r o tag o r a s and Theaetetus translated by
, ,

J o w et t ;
RO G ER S A K Hist o ry o f Phil o s o phy 8 67
, . .
, ,
-
‘

T H ILLY F Hist o ry o f Phil o s o phy 1 3 6 ;

, .
,
— ,

WEBER A Hist o ry o f Phil o s o phy 1 7 53

, .
, ,
-

WE ST W M A ncient W o rld 95 25 0 ;
, . .
, ,
-

WIN D ELBAN D W Hi st o ry o f Philo s o phy transl a ted by

, .
, ,

T u fts 2 3 1 3 9 ,
-

ZELLE R O u tl in es o f G re ek Ph i l
, o s o ph y 3 5 1 0 1 ,
-
.
 CHA PTER VI I I

TH E P ROB LE MS OF PH ILO S O P HY

1 . I ntrod uct ory —We

. have now t o inqui re int o the natur e
o f the pr oblems Of p hil o s o phy They have t o deal with
.

the s ame m ateri a l that myth magic and animism deal with ;
, ,

but the answers which phil o s o phy gives are di ff erent and
the spirit o f the undertaking is di ff erent P hil o s o phy i s a .

m o re c o ns ci o u s attempt t o acc o unt f o r the phen o mena o f

experience in terms o f s o m e pri nciple o r o ther which threads
,

t o gether the app arent diff erences int o a unity I t sets t o .

w o rk earnestly t o find principles and is patient in the searc h

f o r c o ntr a dicti o ns whic h wi l
l no t square with the principle
which is c o nstan tly and c o nsci o usly empl o y ed ; f o r it is by
the uni o n o f app arent c o ntr a dicti o ns in s o me hi gher and
m o re inclusive principle that systems are c o nstructed The .

aim is t o secure a harm o ni o us view o f the w o rld S O that w e

may kn o w where t o p lace things how t o evaluate th em and
, ,

h o w t o beh ave in their presence .

What will be the pr o ble ms Of any peri od will depend

u p o n vari o us fact o rs such as the p o litic al c o nditi o ns c om
, ,

mer cia l interests and the s o cial life

, I n Greek life and
.

th o u ght the pr oble m o f c o nduct usually d o minated The .

questi o n what is go o d ? was the center fr om which specula

,

ti o n generally s et o u t I t is true that t o attack any o f the

.
-

pr o blems o f phil o s o p hy is t o raise them all f o r every phil o ,

s o phical the o ry must acc o unt f o r a llt he fa cts o f experience .

A n ethic al the o ry inv o lves a l o gical th e o ry a l o gic al the or y

,

1 15
116 A n I n t r o d u c ti o n t o P hilo s op hy

in t u rn inv o lves a theo ry o f reality and S O o n A t o ne time

, .

reli gi o n is Of suprem e interes t and phil o s o phy is viewed

fr o m that st andp o int ; again s cience may be the d o minating
interest and o u r p hil o s o phy will be a reflecti o n o f s cience
, .

We h ave po inted o u t earlier th at a system o f phil o s o phy is

a reflecti o n o f th e life O f the peri o d in which it pr o spers
.
,

and that t o underst and the system in questi o n we must kn o w

the c o nditi o ns which gave it birth We shall have numer o us
.

o ccasi o ns t o s ee the trut h O f this statement in the shifting

o f pr o blems fr o m time t o time as we p a s s in review trends

o f peri ods in which we shall b e interested We have s aid

.

als o that t he Greeks especially Plat o and A rist o tle set

, ,

the p r oblems Of ph il o s o phy This is true but it S h o uld be

.

added th at the aspe cts o f the p r o blems S hift certain o ne s ,

bec o ming o f c h ief interes t in o ne pe ri o d t o be supplanted in

an o ther by new c o nditi o ns o f l ife
The earlier Greek thi nke rs did no t di ff erentiate the pr ob
lems o f s cience and phil o s o phy I t was a l
. ls cience o r a l l
phil o s o phy as we c are t o c all it Inde ed the p r o cess o f dif
.

f e r ent ia t io n h a s no t been c o mpleted t o this day a s is seen ,

in the r e cent s eparati o n Of s o ci ol o gy and psych ol o gy fr o m

the parent a nd in the tendency t o make o f ethi cs a s cien
,

”
t ifi c discipline
. Many c a n remember when physics was
“ ”
studi e d as natur al phi l o s o phy and psych o l o gy and ethics
,

“ ”
as mental a n d m o ral phil o s o phy This c o nstant break
.

ing aw a y fr o m p hil o s o phy o f th e v ari o us dis cip l ines such

as s o ci ol o gy and psych o l o gy h as l
-
ed cert ain cynics t o r e

mark o n the interesting c areer O f phil o s o p hy which was o nc e

—
everything and is n o w n o thing a humble be ggarly paren t ,

wh o has been turned o u t o f h o use and h o me by a large

fa mily o f children w h o have g r o wn str o ng and mi ghty B u t .

th o se w h o make such a sserti o ns f o rg et the p a r t that phil o s

o h
p y has played in ma k in g t h e remark p o ssible at a l
l; t h ey
 The P r o bl
ems f
o P hilo s o h
p y 1 17

ta k e a r etro spect view and assume that what are no w d efi nite

a nd well defined sciences wer e always s o .

2
. Th e Pr obl ems r a i sed by th e ea rly Gr eek s Kn owing .
-

wh at we d o ab o ut the c o nditi o ns in early Greece wh a t p r o b ,

lems o f a spe cul ative nature sh o uld we expect t o find ? We

h ave s ee n c o nstant changes o f a po litical nature a shift ,

fr om kin g s t o n obles t o tyrants and t o the pe o ple ; we

, ,

h ave fo und a c o mmerci a lly a ctive pe o ple wh o were a c

a int ed wit h d iff erent ideas cu st o ms and p ractices all o ver
q u , ,

the w o rld ; we have fo und a heter o gene o us pe o ple due t o dif

f e r ent ge o graphical c onditi o ns ; a pe o ple w h o h a d a c o mm o n
lan gua ge and w ho sprang fr o m a c o mm o n ancest o r ; and ,

fin ally we n o te that their entire attenti o n in the early sta ges

,

Of their experience was directed t o the thin g s o f the o utside

w o rld t o nature t o the materi al and no t t o the mental o r
, , ,

spiritual In fact up t o this time no sharp l

.
, ine w a s dr aw n
between mind a n d Obj ect o r matter .

O u t o f suc h a backgr o und ar o se the questi o n : I s there

anythin g p er ma nent in the universe ? I s there a common
r inci l e th at runs thr o u gh all the di ff erences that m a n pe r
p p
ceive s ? What kind o f thin g i s the w o rld anyh o w ? This
is the p hil o s ophic pr oblem o f p er ma nence and c ha nge o ne ,

o f the pr o f o undest pr oblems in phil o s o phy Th i s is the .

pr o blem o f the wo r l d and is generally sp oken o f as the c o s

mol o i c a lpr o blem I nstead f the terms m n n and
g . o
p e r a e ce
'
cha nge we may empl o y the terms bein and b m in and
,
g ec o
g ;
the pr oblem stat ed in these term s w o uld be I S there a O ne a , ,

Unity which is B ein g fr om which all di ff erences fl ow ?

O th er pr o blems ar o se in Greece as a result o f c o nst ant
fluctu a ti o ns in political aff airs The m asses and the no
.

bility were stru gglin g incess antly laws were chan ged at ,

every meetin g o f the law makin g bo dy O ld ideals we r e c o n

-

s t a nt l breaking d o wn cust o ms were iving way t the will

y , g o
1 18 A n I n t r od uc t ion t o P hilos op hy

of tyran ts a nd tribalc o ncepti ons o f gu i l

, t and retri buti o n
were be ing underm ined by the new fee ling o f the w o rth o f
th e individual The p o ets especially Eu ripides reflect the
.
, ,

new ideals o f skepticism and individualism as it wa s e x

pressed in practical a ff airs in the c o ntr o l o f the la w c o urt s
and the p o litic al m a chinery in gener al by str o ng pers o nali
ties The times a ff o rded ample setting f o r the gr owth o f the
.

individua lagains t the c o nservative cust o ms wh ic h ha d regu

lated the life o f the pe o ple .

The Persian w a rs h ad a tendency t o u nite t h e Gr eek s

a g ains t a c omm o n enemy bu t o nce the danger wa s o ver ,

A thens entered up o n a pe ri o d o f pr o spe ri ty nev er k n own

be fo re and the O ld struggles be came m o re insistent A thens
, .

became the chi ef city o f Greece the centre o f c o mmercial

,

and intellectualactivity t o which c ame men fr om a l

, lp a rt s
o f the c o untry drawn by the c h arm o f a busy and interes t
,

ing l ife A s a l .ways results when pe o ple Of diverse interests

meet A thens be came a city n o t o f o ne idea but o f a th ou
,

s and C u st o m c o uld no t l o ng s u rvive intact in the stru ggle

. .

wit h o ther cus t o ms fr o m di ff erent p arts o f the w o rld The .

fa ct that di ff erent cust o ms gove r nlng the s ame a cti o ns pre

vailed in o ther p arts O f the w o rld naturally led t o a criticism "

o f prev ailing Greek cust o ms and t o individualism in th o ught

a n d a cti o n Wh en s u ccess dep ends up o n keenness and

.

Sh rewdness in d riving a bargain we always find there the

individ u a l —he is b o rn in j ust su ch a situati o n When p ol i .

ticallife is s u ch that the man o f wealth o r the demago gu e , ,

o r the war ri o r may gain a desirable place by the exercise

O f hi s p owers whether m o ney o rat o ry o r arms we find in

, , , ,

dividu a l s gradually br e a kin g fr o m the mass t o qu a lify t h e m

selves f o r wh at might be theirs f o r the taking The pol i .

tic all if e wa s su ch , as is evident , th a t a ny one who coul d

 The P r o bl
ems o f P hilo s o h
p y 119

perchance be c ome an individual might take his pla ce am o ng

the mi ghty .

A thens at this time was indeed a dem o cracy — that is ,

a dem o cracy f o r citizens f o r there were many sl a ves and

n o n citizens wh o se in t erests were o ther th a n g o ve rnmental
-
.

Every citizen had a part t o pe rf o rm in the state ; he was a

j uryman and assemblyman o r s o me O fficial o f the go vern
,

ment A lways fr o m a f o urth t o a third O f the citizens were

.

in the civil service These h o n o rs were p a ssed ar o und s o

.

that at o ne ti m e o r an o ther in t he l ife o f a citi z en he was

called u p o n f o r service in s o me O fficial c apacity S everal .

O ffices c o uld be held but o nce by the s ame individu al s o ,

that every citizen c o uld c o unt upo n serv ing the sta te in
alm o st every office “
P olitics was his regul
. ar o ccupati o n ;
O ffi c e h o lding
-

his re gular business

,
”
The po o rest citizen
.

was eli gible f o r a ny o ffice a nd what is m o re they were p aid

,

f o r their services Such a system m ade f o r a hi gh grade o f

.

intelli genc e devel oped individualism and self asse rti o n made
,
-

it p o ssible f o r man t o pursue interests with o ut interru pti o n

o n the part o f s o me auth o rity su ch as church o r state
,
and ,

m ad e it p o ssible f o r man t o a chieve distincti o n rather th an

t o in her i t it .

A s o cial life o f this o rder demanded a part icular type

Of educati o n and a chara cteri stic trainin g ; and such a c o n
c ep t io n o f the functi o n O f the citizen led t o a p articul a r .

type o f reflective thinking a characteristic phil o s o phy

, .

That type o f thinking is summarized in the d o ctrine o f o ne

o f the f o rem o st thinkers o f h is day Pr o ta go ras that man
,
“
,

i s th e measure o f all thin g s ”

This is the phil o s o phic a l e x
.

pressi o n o f the g r o wi ng individualism in Greek life It .

is quite a di ff erent pr o blem fro m that we firs t menti o ned ,

namel y th at which was c o ncerne d wit h a p ri ncip l

, e in
1 20 A n I n t r o du c tio n t o P hil
o s o hy
p

nature ; yet it is cl o sely related t o it I t diff ers in this th a t

.
,

the f o rm er is c o ncern ed with and directed t owards an

, ,

o u tside w o rld t o the w o rld o f nat u re ; while the latter is

,

c o ncerned with the w o rld insid e the w o rld Of man The

, .

pr o blems then are the s am e but a r e directed t o wards a

, , ,

diff erent subj ect matter We may state the latte r thus : I s
.

there a pri nciple in man whi ch is a biding and perm anent ,

and whic h is c o mm o n t o a l lmen ? The c o nditi o ns o f the a ge

f o rced the ques ti o n ; it grew o u t Of the m as the literature
O f a pe ri o d gr o ws o u t o f it .

o o o o —
The c sm l gical pr ble m t he pr oblem o f the u nivers e
'

d o es no t in o u r time inte res t thinkers as it did in the d a ys

O f the Greeks O ne reas o n is th a t the universe f o r the
.

Gree ks was a l i t tl
e u n i ve r se— the t o p th e sky ; the bo tt o m
, ,

the e a rth I t was the universe o f percepti o n what the o r

.
,

din a r y m a n se e s when he l o o ks abo ut him B u t the universe

.

a s we kn o w it fr o m astr o n o m y is a va stly di ff erent o ne fr o m

that o f the Greeks C o nsequently the c os m o l o gi cal pr o b
.

lem is n o t p r o minen t n o w ; but what o nce went under this

general name we no w c o nsi de r under O nt ol

, o
gy o r B eing
-
.

3. C l a ssifi ca t i on of t h e Pr obl ems of Phil o sophy — We .

m ay acc o rdin gly classify the p r o blem s O f phil o s o phy o n the

p rinciple o f the vari o us ways in which the t w o questi o ns we
have menti o ned abo ve have be en answered o ne the pr o b — ,

lem o f the o ute r w o rld ; the o ther the pr obl em o f the inner
,

w o rld ; o ne m atter o r n ature ; the o ther mind o r s o ul

, ,
.

B o th q u esti o ns we must repeat ar o se necessarily fr o m the

, ,

ve ry c o nditi o ns o f Greek li fe and the fact that they are

,

still questi o ns ar gues f o r their genuineness and depth B u t .

the answers th at have be en given them fr o m time t o time

since the Greeks c o nstitute the hist o ry o f speculative think
in g These a nswers h ave always g r o wn o u t o f c o nditi o ns
.

and circumstances o f the pe ri o d in whic h the answers we re

 The P r o bl
e ms o f P hilo s o h
p y 1 21

—
given ; and it can hardly be o ver exa ggerated th at spec ula
‘

tive thi nking is alw a ys dr a wn fro m the necessities o f the

time that it is a lways practical th a t it always S hifts with
, , “

the inte rests o f the times with the chan ges O f s o cial e c o
, ,

n o mic a nd p o litical c o nditi o ns and finally that it is vain

, , , ,

t o h o pe t o find an e ter na l fix ed and imm u t a bl ,

e system o f
,

p hil o s o phy a n d ,
stil l h o pe f o r pr o gr ess A fixed system .

is ap p lic a ble o nly t o a de a d s o ciety .

I f we beli eve that there is s o mething permanent in the

w o rld s omething that remains fixed amid the ch a n ges that
,

we c o nstantly witnes s we may believe this permanent s o me

,

thing to be either ( a ) M ateri al o r ( b ) I deal either that i s , , , ,

Of the nature Of matter o r o f mind I f we believe ( a ) ou r .

system o f phil o s o phy will be s o me fo rm o f M a t er ia lis m ; if

we believe ( b ) the system wi l lbe s o me f o rm o f I d ea l is m .

O f c o urse it is no t necess ary t o believe that there i s a p e r

manent s o mething at all bu t if it is believed then the result
, ,

will be as we have men ti o ned .

I f we be lieve that there i s s o mething pe rm anent in the u ni

verse w e may believe als o th at it is ( c ) O ne or ( d ) Tw o o r
, , ,

( )
e Many I f. we bel i eve ( c ) we are M o n is t s ; if we b e lieve
( d ) we are D u a l
i s t s ; if we believe ( )
e we are P lu r a lis t s .

Thus a think er m ay be a materialist and at the s ame time

,

a pluralist as was Dem o critus o f the Gree k s ; o r he may be

,

a materialist and at the same time be a m o nist as was

, ,

Thales the first phil o s o p her Of the Greeks who tau ght that
, ,

everythin g c omes fr o m water that water is the princi ple ,

( and m ateri al t oo
) which, all thi n g s in c o mm o n p o ssess and
which is the abiding o ne at the bo tt o m o f all ch a nges S ome .

c o mbin ati o ns w o uld be m o re di fficult t o make alth o u gh ,

stran ge variati o ns have o ccurred in the hist o ry o f phil o s

o p hy .

The above type s of ph il o s op hy h a ve a risen in answer to

1 22 A n I n t r o d u c t i on t o P hil
oso p hy

the p r o blem o f the nature o f th e w o rld i e th e co smo , . .

,

l o ica l O r wha t we S h all call the o n t o l

g , , o
gi c al pr o blem B u t .

there was an o ther questi o n that w o rried the Greeks a s we ,

have seen namely that o f m an o r O f the i nne r w o rld We

, , , .

have sp o ken o f this as the pr oblem o f the Univer s a land the -

P a r ticula r a s the o ther is that o f P er ma nenc e and C han ge

, .

B u t we sh o uld keep it in mind that they are no t t w o d iff er

ent p r oblems but the s ame p r o ble m applied t o di ff erent
,

subj ect matter .

There are several w a ys in which man is the measure o f all

things p r o vi d ed he is t he me as u r e a t a l
, l S o cr a tes and .

Plat o the t w o g reat thinkers and te achers am o ng the

,

Greeks were quic k t o s ee that the d o ctri ne o f Pr o ta g o ras

, ,

the S o phist was one o f fundamental value tha t its implic a

, ,

ti o ns fr o m a s o cial religi o us p o litical ethi cal and s cientific

, , , ,

s t a ndp o int were o f supreme m o ment I S m a n the meas u re .

of t ru t h ? This raises the pr o blem o f l ogi c and ep i s t e

mo l o gy o r o f k now l
, ed ge I s m a n the measure o f r igh t .

and go od ? This in turn raises the pr oblem o f p ol ,

i tic s a nd
,

e t hic s . I s man the measure o f the bea u t ifu l ? This is the

pr o blem o f aes the tic s Thus o u t o f the teachings o f the .
,

S o phists that gr o up o f men w h o r o se t o meet the dem a nds

,

o f the s o cial life O f Greece t o te a ch the y o ung in the art s ,

o f persuasi o n 8 0 that they mi gh t

“
m a ke t h e w o rs e appear
the be tter reas o n came in p art the firs t f o rm ulati o n o f
, , ,

th e interests o r p o ints o f view o r fields within whic h dis

, ,

c u s s io ns o f a phil o s o phical nature w o uld take place Thei r .

teachin g s that is t o s ay g a ve o rigin t o the pr oblems o f

, ,

l o gic and epistem ol o gy ethics and p olitics and aesthetics , ,

.

The p r o blem o f the nature o f bei ng o r the O ntol ogic a lpr ob ,

lem ar o se a s we have seen in the earlier a ctivities o f Gree k

, ,

life Theref o re o u r p r oblems are

.
,

B eing O nt o l o gy o r Metaphysics
, ,

T r u th L o gic Epistem o l o gy o r The o ry o f Kn owl

, , edge ; ,
 The P r o bl
ems o f P hilo s o h
p y 1 23

G ood , Et hi cs , O r P olitics ( in th e br o a d sense of s o cial

life )
Be auty , or z i Es t het ics .
1

The v ari o us meth o ds o f de al ing wit h th es e pr o bl

ems th e ,

emphasis placed o n o ne rather than an o ther a t any parti e n

lar pe ri od a re facts am o ng o thers that determine the type
, , ,

o f specul ative thinking whi ch we witness fr o m time t o time

in th e his t o ry o f phi l o s o phy Realism I dealism Emp ir i .
, ,

c is m ,
—
Ra ti o n a lism in fact the vari o us i sms which o ften ,

seem c o nfusing are j ust ch a racteristic ways o f dealing with

these f u n damental pr oblems Every c o mple t e system o f .

phil o s o phy m ust c o nsider all fo ur o f thes e fund amental

questi o ns menti o ned abo v e Many phil o s o phers h o wever .
, ,

are interested al o ng o ne line o nly ; but it is no t a very s e

ri o u s task t o arrive at a c o nclusi o n a s t o what his a ttitude

w o uld be in o ther fields o nce we kn o w h is p o siti on in a ny ,

o ne S O cl o sely related are these fi el

2
, ds .

1
Th i
ifi ti s f th l
c a ss p bl m f ca
p h i l p h
ony v i m wh t
O e ro e s o oso a r es so e a

f m th t
ro m ti m gi n
a F so x mp l m t p hy i
e es i s m t im ve . or e a e, e a s cs s o e es

t t d
re a e i li g b th nt lgy d p i t m lgy
as nvo v n o o o o an e s e o o .

“
Th h m gi n b lw i i t d d t g i d th
e sc e e ve t d t in q i ing
e o s n en e o u e e s u en ac u r

a voca b l y nd t u ar i t in i t i g him in th p p t nf i n f
, a o a ss s o r en n e a a re n co us o o

s y t m I t h ld n t b m m iz d b t m y b t b mp ly d
s e s . s ou o n e e or e u a es e e o e as a

a id w h n i n d m nd B y th t im th t xt i fi ni h d h h ld
e occas o e a s . e e e e s s e e s ou

h l
a ve d th y t m nd t h i lti n nd hi f h t i ti
e a r ne e s s e s a e r re a o s a c e c a r a c er s cs .

S h m c
f P blm
e eAl l i nv ti g ti ns m y b
o ro e nd t d f m th
s . es a o a e co uc e ro e
( th ree lw i ng p i t
f l '

o f vi w
o o n s o e :

A N t . R l i tya u re, or ea .

B . K now le d ge .

C . C ond u ct .

The f u nd a m ent a lor u l

timate p roblems of each a re :

O f R ea lt , iy
The O nt ol og ca l
, w h ch i i
asks , Wh a t i s t he na t u r e o f rea lt ? An iy
sw er s t o th s u es t on l i q
e a d t o t he f oll i
ow ng th eor e s i i
Pl u ra lsm, w hi ch m a
y be i e t her m a t e r a ls t c o r S
p r t u a lst c ; i i i i ii i i
D u a lsm , w h ch hol i i
d s t o t w o f u nd a me nt a l s, m nd a nd m a t t e r ; i
i i i
M a te r a lsm, w h ch as se rt s tha t there is one p r nc p l e a nd tha t i t is i i
ma te r a l; i
1 24 A n I n t r o du c t io n t o Ph il
os o h
p y

REF EREN C ES

B URNE TT E arly
Greek Phil o s o phy ;
,

D E W EY and T U F TS Ethics Ch apters X I I X I I I ; , , ,

F U LLER TO N G I ntr o ducti o n t o Phil o s o phy P art V

,
.
, ,

HI E BEN J G P r oblems o f Phil o s o p hy ;

, . .
,

JER US ALE M W A n I ntr o ducti o n t o P hil o s o phy trans

, .
, ,

l ated by S a nders 1 7 2 0 ; ,
-

K U L P E O I ntr o ducti o n t o Phil o s o phy 2 1 90

, .
, ,
-

L EI GHT O N J A The Field o f Phil o s o phy ,3 1 4 1

, . .
,
-

PA U L S EN F I ntr o ducti o n t o Phil o s o phy 4 4 5 0 ;

, .
, ,
-

PERRY R B A n A ppr o ach t o Phil o s o phy 1 49 1 8 0

, . .
, ,
-

SELLAR S R W I ntr od ucti o n t o Phil o s o phy

, . .
, .

i sm
I d ea l , w h ch i a so l hol
ds to one p i ip l w hi
r nc e ch is Sp i ri t ua l;
Of K now le d ge ,

Th e na t u r e o f k now le d ge , i
d ff e r ent a nsw ers to w h i ch
gi ve i gi n
or to
R e a li sm , wh ih c a s se r t s th a t k now led ge is a co py of the bj t
o ec ,

I d e a li s m , w hi h c a sse r t s th a t k now led ge i s not a cop y of th bje o ect

bu t i s an i nne r p r o ce s s ;
I nst r u m ent ali sm , wh i ch a ssert s tha t know led ge is an a da
p t i
ve

p roce s s .

The i gi
or n of k now led ge ,
i
d ff e r ent a nsw e r s to wh i ch gi ve i
r se to
E mp i i i r c s m, wh i ch a s s er t s tha t a l k now l
l e d ge com e s f rom s e nse

p e r cep t i on, f r om e x p e r i e nc e ;
R a t i o na l
i sm , w h ch i a sse r t s t h a t t her e a re
p nc
r i ip l es su ch as t he
i
a x om s of m a t h em a t i cs w h ch i a re no t f r om ex p i n
er e ce, bu t a re in
na t e, a nd t ha t r e a s on a nd n o t s e ns e i s t he s ou r ce o f k now le d ge ;
i sm
I nst r u me nt a l , w h i ch a ss e rt s th a t k now ld ge e com e s t o be in a

i
b ol
og i ca lp r oce ss of j
a d u st m e nt a nd a d a p t a t on i .

Of C o nd u c t ,
3

W ha t is the goo d ? The a nsw e r s i

t o thi s g ve r se t o i
ii i i
Ut lt a r an s m, w h ch i a ssert s th a t it i s cond u ct h w i ch br ing s t he

gr e a t e st h a p p ness ; i
I nt u i ti ona li sm ; good i s i nna t e .

Se e D ewe y a nd T u f ts E thics f or abora te cl

el ifi ca t on. i
’
3 a ss
 CHA PTER IX

P L A T ON I C I D EALI SM

1 . Introduction —O n
t h e great syste ms o f p h il o s ophy
e o f
is id ea l is m I t h a s attracted the g re a test minds in the realm
.

o f phil o s o phy a nd in o ne f o rm o r an o ther it h a s be en pr o m

inent fr om the days o f Plat o t o o u r o w n

. I t attempts t o .

give an answer t o the pr oblem o f being and fr o m the nature ,

Of t he answer it O ff ers a the o ry o f kn o wledge o f ethics o f

, , ,

e sthetics
a and o f religi o n The funda mental n o te in ideal
, .

ism o f all kinds is the p r io r i ty of min d The ki nd o f mi nd .

,

whether finite o r infinite univers al O r part icula r makes no

, ,

di ff erence in the fund a mental as s u mpti o n B u t s o me kind o f .

mind spirit o r idea is the pri mal thing in the u nivers e

, , .

A fter the time o f Plat o and until a s l a te a s the thirteenth

and f o urteenth centuries o f o u r era idealism was c a lled r ea l ,

is m meanin g that ide a s a l o ne are re al

,
S O wh a t was o nce .

realism is n o w idealism and the f o rmer term is no w a pplied

,

t o a di ff erent type o f phil o s o phy which we shal l c o nsider

,

later .

2 . Hi st ori ca l S etting of I d ea l i sm — The fact th at the

fundament al n o te in idealism is the pri o rity o f mind s o ul , ,

s p irit o r idea gives o ne at the very o utset a clue t o the in

, ,

t e r e s t s idealism se r ves We have sp o ken earlier O f t he t wo

.

tendencies runnin g thro ugh Greek l ife a n d th ou ght o ne t he , ,

O lympic h ard headed s cientific m a terialistic ; the o ther the

,
-

, , ,

O r p hic tender minded s piri tualistic religi o us mystic

,
-

, , , .

Even m u ch earlier we s aw t h at primitive man interp r ets hi s

125
126 A n I n t r o d u c t io n t o P hil
os o h
p y

w rld in terms
o of o ,
—
s uls dem on s and spirits n a tu re is ani ,

m ated Myths are spiri tualistic thi n g s c o me t o be thr o u gh

.
,

the agency o f go ds her o es devils spirits

, C o nsequently
, , .

idealis m is deeply r o o ted in man s n ature I t w o uld no t be ’

.

a n ex agge rati o n t o s a th a t it is the first phil o s o phy f

y or ,

th o se pri mitive n a ture men w ho firs t reflected o n the ph e

h o men a o f exp erience w h o first attempted t o give an a o
,

c o unt o f h ow thin gs c a me t o be were idealists They spo ke , .

in terms bf spiri t and dem o n explained o n the o nly creative ,

principl e they kn ew n a mely man s ability t o a cc o m p lish

, ,
’

results t o eff ect ch anges t o make t o c o nstruct S O we

, , , .

may s a y that fr o m primitive times t o o u r own d ay it h a s

been the chief phil o s o phy .

O u r chief interes t h o wever is t o Sh o w the c o nditi o ns

, ,

in hist o ri c times which h ave bee n c o nducive t o the ris e and

pr o minenc e o f idealism I n the first pl ace idealis m h as a l
.
,

way s be en a n ally o f religi o n h a s be en the backgr ou nd o f ,

gre a t system s o f c o nduct a n d w a ys o f life G o d and the .

s o ul a r e theme s O f deep signific ance in i deal i sti c phil o s o p hy .

This we might expe ct fr o m the c o nnecti o n o f religi o n with

the O rp hi c mysteries ; and after all i t is th e c o ntinuati o n in
, ,

hist o ric times o f primitive s ou l d o ctrines ; it is th e phil o

s o phi cal S ide the hi ghly c o nsci o us aspe cts o f religi o n and a
,

“ ”
way o f life Thus it is in spiri t a way o f living a meth o d
.
,

by whic h man m ay again be rest o red t o th a t blissful se at

“
.

This being the c ase we sh a ll find it in h ist o ri c times t o be

,

c o nnected with pe ri o ds O f breakd o wn when men are l o oking ,

f o r a r o c k in a weary land and a shelter in the times o f

“
,

the st o rm when O ld landmark s a r e be ing swept away by

”
,

w ars inventi o ns and in sh o rt by th o s e agencies whi c h

, , , ,

figu re in a rec o nstructi o n o f the h abits Of life Wh en the .

p r o blems o f life bec o me t o o seri o us t o o o ve r wh elming ide a l , ,

ism ceases t o be a rati o n a l phi l o s o p h y and bec o mes mystical ,

 Pl
a t oni c I de a l
is m 1 27

a matter o f faith S uch peri o ds have o cc u rr ed at times

.

when men u na bl e t o c o m rehend the chan g es abo ut them

'

, p ,

have given up rati o nalbehavi o r and h a ve yield ed t o the de

mands o f the heart .

We have t o uched o n the marvel o us ch an g es that were

takin g place in Greece abo ut 4 0 0 B C The citizens were . .

ruling that is there w a s dem o cracy and every man t o o k his

, , ,

turn in p o litic a l life p olitics be in g his busines s

,
There .

ar o se a cl a s s o f men the S o phists chief am o ng which were

, ,

Pr o ta go ras and G o rgi as wh ose business it was t o teach

,

y o ung men the art o f speaking well in public f o r thi s was ,

essential t o p o l itical preferment The o r a t o r was the man

.

am ong the Greeks at this time f o r such were the demands

o f p o litical life The ind ivid u a l cou nt ed Theref o re the
. .

d o ctrine o f Pr o ta go ras that m an is the measure O f all t hi ngs

-

wh a tever a m a n c o uld get away wi th was legitima t e

“ ”

struck a sympathetic ch o rd in Greek life .

The S o phists were men wh o had tr a vel l ed extensively ,

knew the cust o ms o f vari o us p e o p les knew that e ach pe o ple ,

had its o w n meth o d o f meeting pr oblems ; and this a l ltended

t o d o away with the ide a o f the sanctity o f law When .

a ws w e r e chan ged fr o m year t o year it is little w onder th at

i

l ,

men sh o uld no t have respect f o r them o r n o t believe th em ,

divine when they knew the meth o ds by which they were

passed I t is no t t o be expe cted th a t their l a ws sh o uld be
.

held s a cred wh en o ne o f their o w n numbe r was selec ted t o be

th e j udge o f them There gradually g rew up a distincti o n
.

be twee n nature and c onventi o n betwe en what is and what ,

o ught t o be The o rdinary laws were the facts o f cust o m

.

and c o nventi o n but bac k o f t h em were the laws o f nature

,

whi ch were abiding .

B u t while l a ws were th ought o f as c o nv enti ons th e se ri o us ,

aspe ct Of things began t o appear when th e sa me attit u de

1 28 A n I n t r o d u c ti o n t o P hil
os o h
p y

w as carried o ver int o m o rality I f laws are merely conven

.

t io ns why n o t m o ral
, ity ? A r e m o ral cus to ms c o nventi o ns ,

t o o ? Y e s this is s o that m o ral c o nventi o ns are n o thing bu t

,

inven ti o ns o f the many t o restrain the few o r o f rulers w ho ,

wish t o chai n their s ubj ects The S o phists o f c o urs e were

.
, , ,

n o t th e c aus e o f thi s change in attitude bu t were merely ,

-

the reflecti o n o f it in t he intellectual life o f t he times Plat o .

a sserted t h at t he wh o le state had turn ed S o phist d u e in , ,

great p a r t t o the rapacity and uns crupul o usness which

,

cha racteriz ed the dealing Of o ne Greek s tate with an o th e r .

“ ”
I f states a re cr o o ked it is ce rt ain th at the tendency will
c o me o u t in the priv a te life o f the pe o ple S uch c o nditi o ns .

as we h ave briefly stat ed determined the p r o blems O f Plat o

but t h e s olu t i ons he o ff e r e dtt o them were determine d largely
by t w o g reat facts n amely his s o cial p o siti o n and the
, , ,

O rphi c strain in Gree k th o ught .

I t w a s S o crates h o wever wh o firs t cha l

, , lenge d the indi
vidu a l is t ic views o f the S o phi sts and w h o was first t o dis ,

cern th a t thei r meth o ds and be liefs w o ul d surely result in

dis aster ; bu t it rem ained f o r his pupil Plat o t o fo rmulate , ,

a definite phil o s o phical the o ry t o the c o ntrary The d emo s .

had c o ndem ned S o crates t o death o n the alleged g r o unds

that he h a d c o r ru pted the y o uth and had taught a stran g e
religi o n Thi s rash act o n the p a rt o f the pe o ple tended t o
.

m ake P l at o m o re bitter t o wa rds them and their ability t o

manag e aff airs He se t abo ut c o nsequently with th e defi n
.
, ,

ite pur p o se o f sh o wing that individu a l ism and cha nge a r e

h il o s o p hic a ll
y u ns ou nd He was especially interested in
p .

the ethic a l the o ry o f the S o phists and the individualists o f

the time and bu sied himself t o S h o w th at a the o ry t o the
,

e ff ect th at mi ght makes ri ght is dis astr o us t o any S t a bl e

“ ”

f o rm o f s o ciety C o nsequently ethi cs is his chief in t erest

.
, ,

the Rep ubl ic h is gr e atest w o r k .

 Pl
a t onic Idea l
is m 1 29

3 . ems Considered b
Pr obl y Plat o —P l
at s ou gh t t o s olve o

certa in pr o blems which he th o ught t o be at the bott om o f

the c o ntr oversy be tween the p e rma nence p a rty and the
c ha nge party between the individualist and the universali st
,
.

He s a w tha t an investi g ati o n int o the n a ture o f bein g was

neces sary if anything lasting was t o be acc o mplished .

There f o re he inquires int o the nature o f that whi ch is be

, ,

lieving that if there is s o mething permanent in the u niverse

the argu ments o f the S o phists w o uld be refuted .

( )
a T h e M e t a h
p y s ic a l P roblem The permanent im .
,

mut able real i ty is id e a , fo r m o r t yp e We see p articular , .

thi ngs men f o r example but they a re n o t t he reality but

, , , ,

r ti ci a t e in t he reality which is the type ma n T h e r ea l

p a
p , , .

is n o t any o f the part icular thin g s O f sense such as we s ee

o r he a r but it is the ide a o r f o rm which c a u s es the p a r t ic u
'

la r thing The real is th e p a ttern aft e r which all p articular

.

thin g s — are m a de The idea,as Plat o used the term idea i s

.
,

fiO t the c o
f k l

mm o ns ense ide a which w e think o f a s s o mething in

the head bu t is o n t he o utside and has existence whether
'

we kn o w anything ab o ut it or no t There is a w o rld o f

'

ideas types fo rm s o r p attern s which exists eternally and

, , , ,

u nchange ably abo ve and be y o nd the w o rld o f sense percep

ti o n This w o rld o f sens e is a po o r c o py o r imitati o n o f the

.

real w o rld o f ideas ; the f o rmer is a w o rld o f c o nstant flux ,

bu t the latter is eternally fixed What the c o mm o n man be .

lieve s t o be real i e the thin g s he sees and h e ars is but a

, .
,

p o o r c o py o f t he real a bad imitati o n O f wh at i s tru e real

,

ity What the S o phist and the dem o c rat believed t o be re al

.
,

Plat o tau ght is o nly appearance Their a rg uments there

, .
,

f o re a r e certai nly faulty f o r no o ne w o uld think o f gi vm g

,

full attenti o n t o the c opy when true reality c o uld be f o und

in c ase due dili gence is given t o the subj ect .

The ide a s themsel ves are in a certain o rder with the idea ,
1 30 A n I nt r o du c tion t o P hil
oso h
p y

o f the Good or G od at t h e h e ad Th u s t h e G o od is t h e
.

c h ief interest o f Plat o Things ea rthly partake o f the go o d

.

in v arying degrees f o r G o d desires as many th ings t o be

,

like H im as p o ssible B u t j u st what the ex act o rder o f the

.

ideal w o rld is can no t be st ated accurately bu t we c a n , ,

th o ught Plat o m ake o u t s ome Of the m and their rela ti o ns

, .

I t is the bu sines s o f s cience o r kn owledge t o investigate thi s

m atter in o rder that an exact statement Of the relati o ns o f
the ideas themselves as well as the precise c o nnecti o ns be
tween ideas and earthly things may be made o u t The im .

p o rtant matter fr o m o u r standp o int is that the real w o rld

is a w o rld o f ideas at the head o f which is the G o o d o r G o d .

I t sh o uld be n o ticed that Plat o finds a place f o r bo t h

perm anence a n d c h ange The perm a nent is the idea the
.
,

ch angeable is the sens e fact the thin g s O f thi s w o rld He

, .

d o es no t deny th at his Op p o nents the dem o crats the c om

, ,

mo n men the S o phists have no cas e at all but he sh ows

, , ,

that thei r cas e is c o ncern ed wit h s o methi ng that is not the

re al He c o uld have denied the re ality o f the things o f sense
.

in every respe ct a s o thers h a ve d o ne but h e t o o k the m u c h

,

wiser c o u rs e o f sh owing h o w the c ase o f his o pp onents c o u ld

be a cc o unted f o r in a hi gh er system I nstead o f s h owing o r
.

attempting t o S h o w that the o pp o nent h a d no case at a l l

—
a h azard o us undertaking Plat o sh owed that t he s u bj ect
m atte r o f their phil o s o phy c ould be a cc ou nted f o r in a
h i gher system as a smallp art o f th at system .

( )
b T he P r o blem o f K n o w l
ed ge o r E p i s t e mology A .

the o ry o f reality and a the o ry o f kn owl edge are cl o sely r e -

lated ; s o it bec a me a p art o f P lat o s duties in case he r e

’

lth e ar gu ments o f the S o phists and individual

f u t ed a l i sts
t o f o rmul ate a the o ry o f kn o wledge which w o uld squ a re with
wh at he c o nside red the real t o be T h e d o ctrine o f his o pp o
.

nent s s u mmarized as w e h ave s aid in the maxi m t h at m a n

, , ,
 Pl
a t onic I de a l
is m

is t h e meas u re o f t hings derives all kn owl edge fr om percep

,

ti o n The real is what y o u s ee hear tas t e and t o uch B u t

.
, ,
.

since it is clear that the senses are Often deceptive we must

h ave a m o re stable f o rm o f kn o wled g e than th at whi ch we
gain in percepti o n I f sense kn owledge be tru e k n o wledge
.
,

a s the S o phists tau ght then o ne man c an be no wiser than

,

any o ther ; and indeed it is imp o ssible f o r man t o be any

wiser than the animal f o r it can see and hear a s well as m an .

Plat o w o nders why it is that Pr o t a go ras the gre at teacher , ,

sh o uld be p aid t o teach pe o ple pr o vided he believed that man

is the measure o f all thin g s f o r if thi s is t ru e any o ne e l
,
se

sh o uld kn o w as much as Pr o ta g o ras .

Plat o s ays in this c o nnecti o n in t h at great di a l

, o gu e o n ,

kn owledge the The aetetus , ,

I a mch a rm ed w i th hi s ( Pr ot a gora s ) do ctr ine that wha t ’

a p p e a r s i s t o e a c h on e bu t I w on d e r th a t h e d id n ot be gin hi s
,

bo ok on Tr u th w i t h t h e d ecl a r a t i on th a t a p i g or a d o g f a ce d -

ba boon or s o m e o t h er y et s tr a n ger m onste r w h i ch h a s s ens a t i on

, ,

i s t he m e a s u r e o f a l lt h i n gs ; t h en h e m i ght h a v e s h o wn a m a g
ni fi c en t c ont e m p t f o r ou r o p i n i on o f h im by i n f or m i n g u s a t t h e
ou t s e t th a t w h i l e w e we r e r ev e r en c i n g him l i k e a go d f or h i s

w i s dom h e w a s no bette r t ha n a t a dp o le n ot to s p e a k o f h i s
f ell ow m en— w ou l d n ot th i s h a v e p r od u ce d a n ove r w h e lm i n g
, ,

e ff e ct ? F o r i f tr u th i s onl y s en s a t i on a nd n o m a n c a n d i sc e rn
,

a noth e r s f e e l i n gs be tt er t h a n he s u p e r i or r i ht t o
’
o r ha s a n
y , g
d eter m i n e w h e th e r h i s o p i n i on i s tr u e or f a lse bu t e a ch a s w e , ,

h a ve s eve ra l ti m es r e p e a t e d i s t o h i m s el f t he s ol e j u d ge a nd
, ,

ev e r y th i n g t h a t h e j u d ge s i s t r u e a n d r i ght wh y m y f r i e nd , , ,

s hou l d P r ota gor a s be p r e f e r r ed t o t he p l a ce o f w i s d om a nd in

s tr u c ti on a n d d e s e rve t o be w ell p a i d a n d w e p o or i gn or a mu ses
, ,

h a ve to go t o h im i f e a ch one i s th e measure o f hi s ow n w i s
,
”
do m P 1

Thus Plat o is no t in sympathy with t h e S o phistic d o c

t ri ne th at kn o wledg e is sens e p ercepti o n He d o es not deny .

that sense percepti o n h a s a p lace in kn o wledge — it s t imu

Pl a t i on
T ra nsl
1
a t o, The aet e t u s, 1 6 1 . Jow et t .
1 32 A n I nt r o du c tion t o P hilo s op hy

l
ates kn owl
to edge but is no t itself k n
, owledge Wh at th en .

is kn owl ed g e ? I t is c o ncerned with the id ea s and n o t wi th ,

c opies o r p articulars I t seemed c lear t o Plat o that there

.

are ide a s which c an never be derived fr o m sense expe ri enc e ,

such as the axi oms O f m a thematics and the fundamental

p remises o f l o gic Equa l ity g reater than di ff erence iden
.
, , ,

tity and s uch as these can never be g ained th o u ght Plat o

, , ,

by sense perce p ti o n Plat o th o u ght th a t by sh owing that

.
,

certai n i de a s such a s we h ave menti o ned c o ul d no t be gained

by sense percepti o n it w o uld gr ea tl y
, w ea k e n the case o f

th o s e who u rge d that a l lkn owled ge is p ercepti o n That is .

,

if c ert ain bits Of k n o wledge can be sh o wn t o have a ny o ther

o rigin t h an thr o u g h percepti o n it m ay be d o ubtful whethe r ,

er q ep t io n h as muc h t o d o wit h kn o wledge at all True

p .

kn o wledge c omes as a result Of the gr asping o f univers als ,

ideas f o rm s types by the s o ul The s o ul is active in o rd e r

, , ,
.

i ng a n d shaping t he materi a lwhich t h e senses supply in

t erms o f the univers als o r typ e s To beh o ld the ide a it is .

necess ary t o get away fr o m eyes and ears and t o put o u r

fai th in r eas o n o nly The bo dy dr a ws the s o ul d o wn int o
“
.

t he r egi o n O f t h e change able where it wanders and is c o n ,

fuse d ; the w o rld spins r o und h er and she i s like a drunk ard
'
’

when u nd er th eir infl u eii ce ” 2

S O the w o rld O f s ens e the
.
,

field o f interest o f th e demo s is a field o f unrea l ity illusi o ns

, , ,

and no t w o rt hy Of th e e ff o rts o f the r ealm a n .

H ow d o es man rea ch the ide a ho w ever get at it since , ,

the b o dy wit h its senses tends t o h o ld man d own t o the w orl d

Of sh ad o ws ? Thi s questi o n l ead s t o
( )
c T he P r oblem of t he S o u l T ru e kn o wledge 1 S o f .

etern alide as ; and kn o wledge is th e hi ghest functi o n o f the

s o ul The s o ulkn o ws thes e unchangeable ideas because it
.

h ad a f o rmer exist ence up s o mewhere in t he real m o f ideas .

’
P haed o, p . 79 . S ee a so l i c pp
R ep u bl , . 515 ff .
 Pl
a t o ni c I de a l
is m 1 33

The s ouldwelt am ong th es e pu re fo rm s wh ere it beh eld them

—
in their perfecti o n there it s aw p e rfect circles p erfect j u s ,

tice perfect types o f all kind Here o n ea rth it r eme mber s

, .

these type s bu t they a re s omew h a t dimmer a n d m o re was h ed

,

o u t in mem o ry than in reality ; and t o be kn o wn a g ain in

their pu r e f o rm requires the gr eatest intellectual e ff o rt o n

the part O f man I n fact this is the g r eatest achievement
.

—
m an is capable o f t o beh old again in pure f o rm the eternal
ideas witnessed in the p eri o d o f f ormer existence Of the
s o ul The very fact that we a re able t o sp eak o f impe rfect
.

things inv o lves a kn owled ge o f that which is pe rfect ; Of

finite thin g s infinity ; o f ba d things go o d Such ideas c o uld
, ,
.

n o t have be en reached in this w o rld where the senses h old

us d o w n t o the thin g s ab o ut us but are p o ssible o nly on the

the o ry o f a f o rmer perfect existence o f the s o ulin a perfect
r ealm .

While the chief virtue o f the s o ul is k n o wledge rati o nal ,

insi ght ability t o c o mprehend the real ; the s o ul o f man is

,

als o sp iri ted that is aff ective em o ti o nal A S the rati o nal
, , , .

s o ul abides in the head and has wisd o m as its virtue the ,

spirited element is f o und in the heart and has c o urage as its ,

virtue There is al . s o an o ther type o f So ul life l ow t o be , ,

sure but present which o ccupies the l o wer parts o f the

, ,

bo dy c o rresp o ndin g t o the passi o ns ; and wh o se virtues are

,

temperance and Obed ience This s o ul t h e o ry i s wel . lw o rked

o u t in

( )
d P l T h 3
’
a t o s e o r
y f
o t he S t a t e The state is the .

indi vidual writ lar ge

“ ”
C o rres p o nding t o the three p arts
.

o f the s o ul Plat o finds th ree kinds O f pe o ple in the st a t e

, ,

namely the ru lers w ho are the hi ghest clas s a nd w ho co r

, ,

resp ond t o the head ; the s oldiers o r gu ardians o f the state ,

wh o c o rres p o nd t o t he h eart ; and th e t raders merchants , ,

8
S ee the ic
R ep u bl .
1 34 A n I nt r o d u c tio n t o P hilo s op hy

a nd l a bo re r s wh o c o rresp o nd t o th e l ower and baser pa s

,

si o ns o f men I t is the busines s o f the head t o rule o f the

.
,

h e art t o pr o tect a n d o f the l o wer part s t o O bey and w o rk

, .

T h e h ead is t he o nly means by which the etern al ideas the ,

immutable reality can be reach ed ; the o nly means o f reach

,

ing the G o o d the hi ghest ide a What c an a ruler d o if h e

, . .

d oe s no t kn o w the hi ghest goo d ? H o w c a n he kn o w it if

he is etern ally mi x ed in pe tty S tri fe in imm ediate battles o f
,

p olitics ? We s ee that Plat o sh o w ed that the d emo s c o ul

”
d
n o t rule a st a te because th ey h ad n o t he a d f o r the purp o se

the y were th o se who were go verned by the baser p assi o ns

-

th o s e who o ught t o o bey and serve no t g o vern We s ee that

, .

Plat o m akes a str ong c a s e agains t the individualis t s and

dem o crats when h e sh o ws tha t they h ave no t intelli genc e
en o u gh t o rule S ince they a r e h eld d o wn by the things o f
,

sense and can no t gain access t o the tr u e G o od but must

,

be blind t o its nat u re The phil .o s o pher is the o nly o ne c a

p ab le o f ru ling f o r he a l
o ne c an get bac k again t o that o rig
inal h ome o f the s oulwhere he can view things as they tr u ly
are w h ere h e can see th e etern aland a bidin g G o o d
, .

W e see in every problem th a t Plat o treated his chief p u r

p o se namely t o ref u te the individu al
, , istic tendencies o f his
times He S h ows th a t there is s o mething p erm anent in the
.

u niverse f o r the p u rp o se Of r efuting the d o min a nt idea o f

change ; h e sh o ws that the chief idea is the G o o d f or the pur

“ ”
p o se o f refuting the mi ght ri ght the o ry ; he emphasizes
-

the pla ce o f kn o wledge t o sh ow that the c o mm o n pe o ple are

incapable o f g over ni ng themselves ; he places them in t he dis
p ara ging p o siti o n O f o ccupying the l o wer regi o ns bel o w the
mid ri ff f o r the purp o se o f S h o wing their in a bility o f d o ing
anything o f hi gher value I n s um mary his m etaphysics hi s
.
, ,

episte mol o gy his psych ol o gy and his p olitic althe o ry are all
, ,

the o u tc o me o f definite s o cialc o nditi o ns which pre va iled in

 Pl
a t on ic I d ea l
is m 1 35

hi s d ay W e may indeed think o f Plat o as a great lawyer

.

w h o was plead ing a case bef o re the bar O f m an s intellect

’
,

the chief p oint at issue bein g permanence ver su s chan ge the ,

o ne ve r s u s the many the universal ver s u s the p articular , .

H is visi o n in behalf o f his client was w rld wide he real

o —
iz ed that an answer inv o lved a c o nsiderati o n o f the fund a
ment al p ro blems o f phil o s o phy .

We sh o uld expect t o find Plat o o n the side o f p ermanence .

He w a s an arist o crat and p o sses sed the time f o r t he c o n

t emp l a t i o n o f the i d ea ; he desired t o s e e his O wn s o cial class

in that p o siti o n o f auth o ri ty which it had f o rm erly o ccupied ,

a nd n o o ne was better a ble t o pass j ud ment o n the defects

g
o f Greek dem o cracy than was Plat o .

The adv o cate o f permanence is he wh o se ri ghts h ave ”

already been established ; the champi o ns o f chan g e a re th o se

wh o are seeking a f o oting in the alre a dy established o rder
o f t h ings Th is principl
. e a pp l lth e interests Of man
ies t o a l .

REF EREN C E S

K
BA E W ELL , S o urce B o o k in A ncient Phil o s o phy , 8 6 1 0 3 ; -

U T
B RNE , H is t o r y o f Greek Phil o s o p hy , 2 0 5 3 5 0 ;
'

D U NNIN G W A Hist ory f P litical The ries 1 48 ;

, . .
,
o o o ,
-

L EI GHT ON J A The Field O f Phi l s phy Chapter V ;

, . .
,
o o ,

PA T ER W Plat and Pl t nism ;

, .
, o a o

PLA T O A P OLO GY C RI T O P H ED O PRO T A G ORA S TH EE TE

, , , Z , ,

TUS and RE PU BLI C translated by J w t t ;

, , o e

RO G ER S A K Student s Hist ry O f Phil s phy 6 7 1 0 1 ;

, . .
,
’
o o o ,
-

TAYLO R A E Pl a t o ;
, . .
,

T H ILLY F Hist o ry o f Phil o s o p hy 4 0 —94

, .
, ,
'

WEBER A Hist o r y O f Phil o s o p h y 5 9 1 1 8

, .
, ,
-

WI N D ELB A ND W Hist o ry o f Phil o s ophy 1 1 6

, ,
-
132 .
 CHA PT ER X

PH I LO S O P H Y F RO M TH E D E C LINE OF G REE K S P E CU LA T I O N T O
TH E RENA I SS AN C E

1 . I ntr od u ct ion—The
p urp o se Of thi s chapter is t o Sh ow
.

t h e main currents o f life fr o m the peri o d which m arks the

death O f A ri st o tle and the decline o f Greek phi l o s o phy t o

the gr eat revival o f th o ught and l ife be ginning abo ut t h e

time Of Des ca rtes ( 1 5 96 W e c an merely indic a te .

s ome o f th e c u rrents o f this peri o d f o r it is very sugges tive

,

in m any ways but o n the wh o le barren o f any great fr ee

, , ,

phil o s o p hic al systems The chapter intends t o serve as a

.

bri dge t o c o nnec t the l o ng peri o d between t h e tw o id ea lis ms ,

P lat o nic and B erkeleyan A s in the f o rmer system we f o und

, .

a cause t o be pleaded a n e mergency t o be met s o in th e

, ,

latter we sh all see definite reas o ns f o r the cel ebrated d o c

“ ”
trine es s e es t p er cip i
,
We m u st kn o w s omethi ng o f the
.

tenden cies o f the times be tween 3 0 0 B C and 1 6 0 0 A D . . . .

t o gain an ad eq uate ide a o f the great flaring u p o f spe cula -

tive thinking begi nning ab o ut the latter d a te .

We h ave n o ticed the g radua lbreakd o wn o f G ree k s o cial

and p oli t ical life d u ri ng the time o f Plat o and o f the a t
tempt o f Plat o t o meet the gr owing individualism and
dem o cracy o f the peri od Hi s a ttempt fail ed f o r G r eec e
.

s oo n be came a subj ect s tate first o f Maced o n and in 1 4 6

B C O f Ro me Man c o uld then find no c o ns olati o n in being
. .
,
.

a me mbe r of a city state o r o f a s o cial o rder that no l o n ger

13 6
 D ecl
ine o f G r eek S p e cula tion t o t he Ren a is s a nc e 1 37

exis t ed ; he c ould no l o n ger find means O f expressi o n in the

duties o f citizenship and a guide o f acti o n in a religi o n whic h
h a d be en supp o rted by a state Man must have s ome
.

pri nciple h o wever a s a guide t o life and t o find such a

, , ,

principle was the task o f phil o s o phy and religi o n f o r several

centuri es after the death o f A rist o tle ‘

2 . Na t ur e of Phi l osop hy a f t er P l a t o and A r i st ot l e

Phil o s o phy came t o be truly a way O f life
“ ” “
Phil o s o phy .

is no t a the o ry f o r p o pular acceptance and desi gned f o r

”
S h o w ; it is no t in w o rds but in dee ds ; but it directs o u r
lives sh o ws what o u ght t o be d o ne and what o u ght t o be
,

left und o ne sits at the helm O f life and guides t he c o urse

,

amid da ngers and tr o ubles When thin g s h a ve go ne be y o nd

.
'

t he c o ntr o l Of man as they h a d in Greek d a ys he may take ,

several po ssible c o urses o f acti o n t o s atisfy the demands o f

li fe ; f o r this is ce rtain that man c ann o t live with o ut s o me
guiding principle s o me ty p e o f phil o s o phy I n the peri o d
, .

j ust after the breakd o wn o f Greek life m an s o u ght a gu id ,

ing p rinciple within himsel f Since the w o rld had go t the

.

better o f him his plan was t o get away fr o m the w o rld o f

,

the obj ect and t o the w o rld o f the subj ect He f o und h e .

c o uld no t c o ntr o l the w o rld o f o bj ects bu t he had the belief

that the w o rld within was his ow n and that he c o uld there
find life abundantly I f life is within th o u ght the man o f
.
,

3 0 0 B C t he w o rld may go her c o urse with o ut disturbing

. .
,

me Thus the phil o s o phy o f t he early p art o f the peri o d

.

afte r Plato attempts t o teach man ho w t o live h appily .

There were di ffere nt meth o ds o f living a life o f happiness ,

a life within and these meth o ds give o ri gin t o the type s o f

,

phi l o s o phy o f the p eri o d These we shal . l examine very

briefly .

( )
a E p i cu r e a nis m A bo ut 3 0 6 B C. E picurus gathered
. .

abo u t him in his garden at A thens a gr o u p o f like— mi nde d

1 38 A n I n t r o duc tion t o P hil
os o h
p y

individuals w ho were interes t ed in findin g a principle t o

guide life in th o s e cha o ti c d a y s Their phil o s o phy th ere .
,

f o re centers ab o ut et hi cs and O f a ty p e which we kn o w as

, ,

he d o ni s m the d o ctrine th at pleasure is the hi ghest go o d

,
1
.

Epicurus h o wever i s careful t o s a y that it is n o t the kind

, ,

O f pleasure that c omes with the u ngo verned exercise o f the

senses f o r this m ay bring evil ; but rather the p lea sures that
,

c o me with friendship and balance Of mind I t is m o re the .

pleasure that results fr o m cal m and quiet the freed o m fr o m ,

p ain w o rry and fea r th at Epi curus h a s in mind Fe ar he

, , .
,

thinks has been the chief s o urc e o f w o rry and dis c o ntent
, .

This is f o r th o se w ho have no t as yet s een the visi o n o f t h e

highest go o d He c o nsequently pr o tests a g ainst religi o n
.

bec ause he be lieves it t o be the s o u rce o f fear the chief ,

s o urce o f w o rr y am o ng men .

Epicureanism mus t have a phil o s o phy a means o f inter ,

r e t in the w o rld o f facts s o that i t s ethics migh t ap ear

p g p
plausible The first principle that Epicuru s needs t o es tab
.

lis h is t o undermine the ide a o f the imm o rt ality O f the s o ul -

f o r this he thinks i s the basis o f religi o us fear ; f o r if the

, ,

s o ul peri shes with the deat h o f the b o dy surely there i s no ,

us e t o w o rry ab o ut the future life The sec o nd po int t h at .

he w ants t o make is t h at th ere ar e no go ds t o reward and

punish m a n t o u pset the c al culati o ns o f life o r t o send
, ,

pl a gues and e arthquakes Thes e p o ints he establishes by .

—
the at o mic hy p o thesis o f D em o cri tus given at o ms and the
sp ace t hey m o ve in then everything c an be explained The
,
.

physical unive rse the s o ul everything are at o ms in m o ti o n

, , .

We sh o uld no t fear de a th and the go ds but sh o uld le a d a

life o f pleasure and calm amid o u r friends This d o ctrine .
,

sim ple direct req uiri n g n o g rea t intellectual eff o r t a p

, , ,

1
Th e va ri ou s typ es of he don smi a re not i nt r od u ced in or d er to a void
conf us on. i
 D ecl
ine o f a tion t o t he Ren a is s a n ce
G r eek S p ecul 1 39

pe aled t o many durin g the peri o d o f unrest a nd instabil ity .

( )
b S t o ic is m A n o
. ther “way o f life ”
was S t o icism ,

f o unded by Z en o ( 3 4 0 2 6 5 B St o icism and Epicurean

-

ism h ave many p o ints in c o mm o n chief am o ng whi ch are the ,

desire t o es cap e fr o m the disturbances and wants that are

c o mm o n t o man and t o dis ci p line the mind t o find h appiness
,

and s atisfacti o n within itself inste a d o f in the w o rld O f a f

fairs B u t the S t o ics devel o pe d a di ff erent metaphysical
.

the o ry as a fo undati o n f o r their beli e fs and desires They .

t o o k the d o ctrine o f S o crates that virtue is the hi ghest go o d ,

denied the at o mi c d o ctri ne o f D em o cri tus and acce p ted the ,

view o f the unity o f natur e “

Reality is an o r g anic wh o le
.
,

an intimate c ombinati o n o f f o r m and m a tter s o ul and b o dy , ,

thr o u gh which o ne universal li fe pulsates ”

Thus c o nf o rm
.
,

ity t o nature is the hi ghest go od B u t c o nf o rmity t o n a ture

.

—
inv o lves a kn owledge o f nature ; and we m a y s a y that virtue
is kn o wl ed g e practical kn o wled g e which gro ws o u t Of the
demands o f c o nduct Kn o wledge is the h i ghest p o wer Of the
.

s o ul and st a nding over ag a inst reas o n o r kn owledge are

,

e m o ti o n and desire and instead O f being as Plat o t au ght

, , ,

p art s O f the s ou l are disease

, s and im p erfecti o ns O f it .

Therefo re the em o ti o ns must be destro yed s o that in the

, , ,

end the ethical ideal is c omplete freed o m fr o m the em o ti o ns

,

—
and feelings a f oll o win g ever o f the lead Of reas o n The
m
.

tru e life is o ne that is free fr o m all em o ti o nal agit a ti o n c o ld ,

t o the w o rld and t o the t hin g s th at l ie abo ut ri g o r o us and ,

stern in the p resence o f all th a t we c o nsider em o ti o nal and

e s t ive and reminding o ne no t a little O f the passive
'

u
gg , ,

unem o ti o nal life o f the A meric an I ndian in the p resence o f

his enemies .Evil o nly is that which we regard as such and ,

th o u gh a thin g may harm the bo dy it can never reach and

distu rb the r ea ls el f that inner man which takes it s o ri gin
,

fro m and has its being in the w o rl d s oul N O j o ys a re .

 A n I nt r o du c tio n t o P hil
oso h
p y

eq u al t o t h o se t h at c o me t o him wh o s e mind is seren e and

s o ber and no o ne c an participa te in thes e supreme j o ys
,

wh o se th o ughts and life a re centered ab o ut the p etty things

o f earth bel o w .

The S t oic d o ctrine o f th e o mnip resenc e Of G od in t he

w o rld its emph asis o n the inner law o f man s n a t u r e a nd
,
’
,

the c o ncept bf self denial are p o ints o f l -

i k eness between it
,

and Ch ristianity simila rities which rendered easier the a c

,

c ep t a n c e O f the d o ct rines o f Jesus whic h were no w c oming ,

a s a rival d o ctrine o f a way o f life B u t S t o icism w a s t o o

.

c o ld and required t o o great an e ff o rt intellectually t o a p

,
'

pe al t o the great maj o rity o f men o f that tim e A d o ctrine .

of expr es si on rather than o ne of r es s ion m akes

su
pp a

str o nge r appe al t o man .

( )
c M y s t i c is m I n the struggle. f o r a fi rm f o undati o n
amid dec ay men m ay give up r a tiona lmeth o ds o f c ontr ol ,

may f o rs ake reas o n a n d res o rt t o f a ith Reas o n which h ad .

h eld a great place in Greek life h ad it s day while the ,

dem a nds O f the heart h ad been in s o m e w ays cas t aside Man .

can no m o re live by kn o wledge alo ne th an he c an by bread ,

and it seems that a pr o pe r balance between kn owledge and

feeling is h ard t o reach O ne age is wh olly r ati o nalistic ;
.

an o ther is r o m a ntic The pendulum always seems t o swing

.

t o extremes When kn o wled ge be c o mes bankrupt when it

.
,

is unable t o devel o p a typ e o f s o ciety in which man is s atis

fi ed when in o ther w o rds m an has re ached the limits o f his
, , ,

a chievements along any line h e may bec o me mystical r o , ,

mantic p oe tic When the situati o n gets the better o f him

, .

h e quits thi nking and be c o mes a p o et r om a n ce r o r mystic ,

.

, .

Man generally bec o mes O rp hic in his tendencies at the p o int

o f l o ss Of c o ntr o l o ver the facts o f hi s s o cial and po litica l

life.

A bou t the be ginnin g O f the firs t century be fo r e Ch ri st

 D ecl
in e f
o a tion t o t he Rena is s an ce
G r eek S p ecu l 1 41

a cl o s e c o nnecti o n was being m ad e between Gree k th o ught

a nd O riental mysticism The drift was t o wa r ds Plat o nism

.

and Pythag o reanism The O rphic traditi o n em p hasizin g

.
,

th e O ld s o ulideas and the evil and inferi o rity o f m a tter ren

,

dered the s o ul o f man the chief t o pic O f phil o s o phic interest ;

and science o nce s o p owerful a fact o r in Greek th o u ght was
,

l o o ked upo n a s o f n o value f o r its subj ect m atter was the

r o o t o f all evil Reality was disc overed no t by r esearch

. ,

n o t by inquiry but by revelati o n fr o m abo ve and by a n

,

ecstatic visi o n thr o u gh the escape o f the s o ul fr o m the evils

o f the flesh . Reality and tru th were n o t t o be fo und by the
meth ods o f S o crates who c o nsidered it hi s business t o giv e
birth t o clear ideas no r by the meth o d Of experi ment no r
, ,

even by the meth o d o f reas o n ; but r eality and t ruth bel o ng

t o him wh o thr o ws his s o ul int o unity with a divine po wer . .

Mysticis m reached it s m o st definite f o rm ulati o n in the

ne o Plat o nis m Of Pl o tinus ( 25 0 A
-

N eo Plat o nism is
.
-

the culminati o n o f the w o rkin g t o gether o f Greek phil o s ophy

and that o f the O rient I t emphasizes the m o ral as a g ainst
.

—
the s cient ifi c it is truly a way O f life made necessary by
“ ”
,

the breakd o wn o f instituti o ns durin g the cent u ries j ust be

fo r e and j ust afte r the birth o f C hrist .

—
St o icism failed t o reach the masses it was a religi on o r
rather an ethi cs f o r the intellectual classes o nly ; and Ep i
c u r e a nis m de g enerated int o the d o ctri ne o f
“
eat drink and , ,

”
be merry which h a s never a p pe aled to a great many men
, .

To meet the need o f the heart neo Plat o nism als o failed be -

cause i t was t o o a bstract it inv olved t o o much the o ry t o be

,

c o me a reli gi o n o f the pe o ple .

The chief c o ncept in ne o Plat o nism is G od o r a s Plat o

-

sp oke o f it the G o o d G o d stands even behind and back o f

, .

t he ideas themselves and is n o t t o be c o ntemplated is no t the ,

O bj ect o f th o u ght but an O bj ect O f mystical appreciati on

, .
1 42 A n I n t r o du c tion t o P hil
os op hy

He is degraded when we limit H im within the c o nfine s Of ou r

finite ideas o f tru th go o dness j ustice and w isd o m We
, , , .

reach Him n o t by c o m p rehensi o n but by feeling Matter is .

a falling away fr o m G o d a nd has n o existence is no t being , .

Pl o tinus the greatest ne o Pl a t o nist was ashamed that he

,
.
-

p o ssessed a bo dy s o much s o indeed that he w o uld never

, , ,

menti o n the name o f his p arents Man s o nly o ccup a ti o n .

’

c o nsists n o t in the attempt t o c o ntr o l the w o rld but t o get

a way fr o m
it and ba ck t o whence he came namely G o d , , .

This h e d o e s by rising ab o ve the finite by penetrating the ,

univers al ideas which underlie the w o rld O f c oncrete things .

Then when the s o ul l o ses all th o ught all desire all activity , , ,

it c o mes int o imm e diate uni o n with G o d

I t is clea r that such a typ e o f speculati o n is p o ssible o nly
when pe o ple have l o st in the battles o f life when the a ff airs ,

o f the w o rld are s o o verp o werin g that instead o f mastering

them thr o u gh intelli gence they fall like the O rient al and the
, ,

p ri mitive m a n bef o re the po wers as a w o rshipper r ather

,

than a s an investigat o r Whe n a n ati o n l o ses its nerv e

.
,

when it brea k s asunder the o nly means it p o ssesses f o r the

c o ntr o l o f nature and life nam ely intelligence it bec o me s
, , ,

pri mitive O rient al O rphic

, , .

( )
d C h ri s t i a ni t y Men were
. interested in a way o f life ,

and no t in a system O f p hi l o s ophy C o nsequently S t o icism .

,

and n eo Pla t o nlsm failed t o meet the vital needs o f t he a ge

-
'

and bo th failed t o be c o me in any sense universal Chris .

t ia nit y o n the o ther hand in it s be gi nn i ngs w a s free fr o m

, ,

all s p ec ulati o ns and o ff ered a S impl e meth o d of s atisfyin g

the demands o f the heart I t ap p ealed t o the p o o r and t o
.

the no n intellectual classes as th e o the r meth o ds o f life did

-

n o t directly d o becaus e o f thei r a bstractness B elief in G o d .

and in th e p ower o f Chri s t in renewin g the l ife o f t he s oul

 D e cl
in e o f a tion t o t he Rena is s a n c e
G reek S p ecu l 1 43

were the fundamental n o tes N o t a bel ief in any set sys t em

.

o f d o ctrines
, but a life o f peace happiness within and right , ,

living were the req uisites

, .

Christianity at a l a ter st a g e h o wever shared m any o f

, , ,

the beliefs o f neo Plat o nism I n the first p lace they are
-
.

bo th reli gi o us phil o s o phies They deal with G o d the nature

.
,

o f s in
, and the way o f s alvati o n They bo th be lieve in re ve .

lati o n as the s o urce o f t ruth rather than re as o n bu t they ,

di ff er in that Chri stianity t au ght a hi st o ric revelati o n a rev ,

—
elati o n o nce f o r all where as the ne o Plat o nist be lieved in
,

individual and partic ula r revelati o ns which c o me t o o ne in

the m o ment o f divine ec stasy B o th religi o ns o r p hil . os o

phies were the o ff sprin g s o f the s ame parents namely the

'

, ,

Pytha go rean Plat o nic and O rphic tendency and b o th in

, , ,

her it ed many o f the characteri stics o f the p arent .

I t was no t l o ng u ntil the new religi o n t o o k o n t he f o rm s

o f the th o u ght o f the d ay I t c o uld n o t expand except as it
.

became identified with the m o des o f thi nking which prevailed

in the intellectual w o rld at that time Th o s e o f the m o re in .

t elle c t u a l classes w h o became c o nverts br o ught their o l d

p r oblems with them and ex p ected a s oluti o n in terms o f the
new religi o n . Th o s e w ho had been St o ics Plat o ni sts and ,

P y tha g o reans came t o the new reli gi o n with the pr o blems

”

o f phil o s o phy demanding s o luti o n ; and i t w a s inevitable

th at changes in the new religi o n fr o m p r imitive ide as t o
a phil o s o phy sh o uld take place Chri stianity had t o be de .

fended in its c ompetiti o n wit h o ther d o ctrines o f the times ,

and this necessitated a f o rmulati o n o f the principles o f the

teachin g s o f Christ such as w o uld appeal t o the intellectual
,

and cultural classes o f the day A s time went o n the ap o s .

t oli c traditi o n had t o be defend ed a g ainst heresies whic h

were c onstant l y a rising Th ese fa ct s, t hen , f or ced t h e new
.
1 44 A n I n t r o du c tio n t o P hil
oso h
p y

rel i gi o n t o ta k e a definite po siti o n o r attitude o n certain

d o ctrines and tended t o render it a fixed a nd inflexible in
s t it u t io n .

The fact th at t h e new d oc tri n e was f o rced t o tak e a

definit e p o siti o n o n the g rea t pr o blems o f the time had p ow
e r f ul influenc e o n later t hi nk ing B y 4 0 0 A D p a rt ly
. . .
,

thr o ugh the e ff o rt s o f the gr eates t o f th e churchmen A u ,

stine the d o ctrines o f the church be came well establish ed

g u , .

Th e n ew d o gmas o r d o ctrines t o bec ome firmly established

'

by A ugustine and o thers be fo re him a re : o ne the freed o m o f ,

the will mu ch emph a siz ed at first by A u gu stine but later

, ,

m o dified s o mewh a t t o fit his th e o ry o f the nature and fun c

ti o n o f the church ; t w o that th ere is s alvati o n o nly th r o ugh
,

the c h urch thus establishing the church as the greatest o f

,

insti tu ti o ns ; three G o d created the w o rld o u t o f n o thing

, ,

yet G o d is abs o lutely distinc t fr o m nature ; f o ur evil is es , .

s ent i a lt o the pe rfecti o n o f the w o rld a s shad o ws are t o the

bea u ty o f the painting a n d it c o mes about as a resul

, t of
m an s free will ; five man h as fallen
’
,
— “
I n A dam s fall we
’

sinned all ”
Man is sinful and h e c an be s av ed o nly by
.

G o d thr o u gh the churc h .

Th e church became th e d o min a nt instituti on o f the middl e

ages Withi n her re al m al
. l thi nking all a cti on o ccurr ed , , .

This fact is easily a cc o unted f o r in view o f the dec adent

state o f s o ciety at the be ginning o f the Christian era The .

ch u rch with its supernaturals ancti o ns w a s able t o appe a l

t o t h e em o ti o nal barbari an o f th e n o rth wh o s e culture w as
muc h less advanced than the decadent culture o f the early
middle ages The quiet di gnity the o ve r wh el ming mystery
.
, ,

the stran geness o f the langu age the stateliness o f the se rv

,

ice th e matchless o r g anizati o n o f t h e church all appe aled

, ,

o we rfully t o the r o mantic Teut o n wh o se life was o ne o f

p
p irating f o raging and figh ting
, , M o re over a l ltru th ha d
. ,
 D ecl
in e o f a tion t o t he Ren a i ss a nc e
G reek S p e cu l 1 45

been r eve a ed l was n o thin g t o d o but t o lea r n What

fl

th e r e
G o d in his mercy h a d already wr o u ght C o nsequently dur .
,

in g the e arly p a r t o f the middle a ges Eur o pe w a s lea r nin g

the less o ns that had been assi gned str o ng in the c o nvicti o n ,

that these less o ns were all the t ru th A s the child d o es n o t .

st o p t o criticis e the material o f his text and the teachin g

o f hi s m asters s o did Eur o pe study u ncritically the less o ns
,

which the p a st h a d a ssigned .

The less o ns were the c o ntent o f the ne o Plat o nic p hil o s -

o h c o mpilati o ns o f ancient s cience the inferi o r c o des o f

p y , ,

the Ro man laws and the literature o f the church fathers

,
.

Al lo f this material was o f the past and the result was tha t ,

the ide a prevailed that all go o d thin g s had already been

d o ne and man s busines s intellectually was t o learn well the
’

less o ns o f the p ast B ut little pr o g res s c o uld o ccur under

.

the d ominati o n o f such an idea but the time c ame when the ,

medi aeval pup il master ed his task and bec ame able t o u s e the
materialf o r the buildin g o f a m o re n oble s cientific and s o cial
w o rld Th at time was the pe ri od o f the Renaissance
. .

REF EREN CE S

A U G U S TI N E , The City o f G o d , es p ecially B k I ;

. .

B ER RY , Sh o rt His t o ry o f A str o n o my ;
U
B RY , Hist o ry o f Freed o m o f Th o u ht ; g
CA J O B I Hist o ry o f Mathematics ;
,

CA M B RI DG E ME D IE VAL HI ST O RY Vol I Chapters I V V , .

, , ,

XX ;
DIO G ENE S L A ERTI U S L ives and O pini o ns o f Eminent Phi
,

l
o s o he r s ;
p
D RA P ER , J W I ntellectual D evel o pment o f Eur o p e VI I
. .
, , ,

I X X XI ; , ,

EN C Y C LO P E D IA B RI T ANNI C A 1 1 t h editi o n articles o n N e o

, ,

Pla t o nism St o icism Epicure anism and Christianity ;

, , ,

EP I CT E T U S G olden S ayin g s ;
,
1 46 A n I n t r odu c t ion t o P hil
osop hy

ER DM ANN , Hist o ry o f Phil o s o phy Vol I P art I I ; , .

,

HARNA C K A Hist o ry o f D o gma ;

, .
,

HI CKS R D S t o ic and Epicurean ;

, . .
,

MAR CUS A U RELI U S Meditati o ns ; ,

M U RRAY The St o ic Phil o s o phy ;

,

PA T ER W Ma rius the Ep icurean ;

, .
,

PA U L S EN F System O f Ethics 6 5 1 1 5 ;
, .
, ,
-

RA MS AY W M The Church in the Ro man Empire ;

, . .
,

RA S H D A L L H Universities in E ur o pe in the Middle A ges ;

, .
,

ROG ER S A K A Student s Hist o ry Of Phil o s o phy 1 1 9 1 97 ;

, . .
,
’
,
-

TAYLO R E A Epicurus ;
, . .
,

TAYLO R H O The Medieval Mind ;

, . .
,

T H ILLY F Hist o ry O f P hil o s o phy 94 1 3 2 ;

,
.
, ,
-

VA UGH AN R A H o urs with the Mystics ;

, . .
,

WEBER A Hist o ry o f Phil o s o phy 1 4 0 923 5 ;

, .
, ,
-

WI ND E L B A ND W H i st ory of P hilosop h y , 1 55 3 3 7
,
-

.
 CHA PTER XI

PH ILO S O PH Y F RO M TH E RENAI SS AN C E TO B ER K ELEY

1 . Int r od u ct ory
.
—The purp se Of the p r eceding c h apter
o

is t o keep intact the c ntinuity f th u ght ; O f the present

o o o

o ne , t furn ish a back g r und f

o o the sec nd type O f ide al
or o

ism namely the subj ective O r B erkeleyan The hist o rical

, , .

back g r o und will make clear the purpo se o f this in many ,

ways extr a o rdina ry type o f th o u ght S O absurd fr o m a c om

, ,

m o n sens e p o int o f view but s o di fficult O f c o ntr a dicti o n

,

fr om a the o retical o ne I t w ill be sh o wn that subj ective

.

idealism is a f o rm O f spe culati o n which in the new g arb o f ,

the time in which it devel o p ed go es back t o the O ld anthr o

,

o m o r p hi c a n d animistic tendencies s o r o o ted in man s na

’
p
ture and that it aris es o u t o f a clash o f tendencies in the
,

interests o f reli gi o n and f o r the p r eservati o n O f the s o ul

which came well ni gh being f o rg o tten in this peri od o f
revival .

D uri n g the latter part o f the middle ages that is begin

.
, ,

ning abo ut 1 1 0 0 and extending t o 1 4 0 0 marked advance ,

w a s made in all lines o f culture Thinkers be g an t o make

.

their o wn c o nt r ibuti o ns t o the w o rks O f the p ast m a sters ,

ancient writin gs were rest o red t o students which were t o be ,

mastered be f o re furt her advance c o uld be m ade A m o ng .

the great centuries O f hist o ry is the thirteenth I t was .

then that the w o rks O f A ri st o tle came int o the hands O f

Eur o pean students makin g it p o ssible f o r the first time f o r
,

the student t o c o me direct ly in c onta ct with the bes t

147
 A n I n t r o d u c tio n t o P hil
os o h
p y

th ught o f Greece N eo Plat o nism and mysticism gave way

o .
-

t o A rist o telia n ism and Chri stianity be c a m e interpreted in

,

term s o f the latter .

I t was abo ut 1 2 0 0 that a distincti o n came t o be m ad e

which has had p owerful influence on late r t h o ught I n fact .

the c o ntro versy is wit h us t o this d a y mo dified t o meet the ,

,

c o ndi ti o ns o f m o dern l ife and th o u ght The distincti o n was .

that be tween the w o rld o f science on the o ne hand and the ,

w o rld o f f a ith o n t h e o th er ; reas o n ver su s revelati on science

'

ver s u s religi o n I n the earlier stages o f the c o ntr o versy it

.

w a s decided that reas o n w a s ha rm o ni o us with faith as far

as reas o n c o uld go but t h at a p o int is reached bey ond wh ich
,

reas o n c o uld no t go ; and a t this p o int faith steps in with

it s m o re ultimate principles 1
Revel ati o n w as abo ve reas o n
.
,

s u pe ri o r t o it and c o ncer ning it reas o n c o uld make no j u dg

,

ments ; but that divisi o n a s A quinas h ad m ade it did no t , ,

l o ng remain: Reas o n insisted o n freed o m fr o m t h e tram

mels o f the ch u rch and a t a much late r peri o d du e t o the ,

c o nquests which reas o n made in the realm o f the physical

s ciences reas o n became supreme and faith t o o k a s u bo r di
,

nate p o siti o n if indeed at times it figu red at a l

, l I n fact the .

general tendency Of this wh ole pe ri o d well up t o the be gin

ning o f the nineteenth century centers abo ut the supremacy
o f re a s o n W e S hall inqu ire int o s o me Of the fa ct o rs which
.

tended t o magnify reas o n at the ex p ense o f faith ; int o s ome

o f the c o nditi o ns s o cial p olitical and phil o s o phical which
, , , ,

—
br o ught abo u t a change in w o rlds th e change that is , ,

fr o m the o the r w o rld t o thi s w o rl d , .

2 I n fl u ences Lea d ing t o th e Br ea k d ow n of Fa ith

.
— We
h ave now t o c onsider s ome o f th e fac t o rs which fi gu red in
1
Thom a s A q in
u as ( 1 295 w ho w a s th e grea t est w r t er of the i
i c Chu rch
C a th ol a nd wh o to t h i s d a y i s its offi c a lp h li i
osop her , f orm u

l
a t e d the d oct r in e wh i ch l
ed t o the de a i Of
“
the t w o f ol
d t ru th
-
.
”
 P hi l
o s op hy fr om the Rena is s a nce t o B er k el
ey 1 49

the s hi ft O f interest fro m the w o rld bey o nd t o this w o rld .

D uri ng the peri o d o f church supremacy man was a pil g rim

“

and a stran ge r here ”

The flesh and matter were sinful .
,

and man s business was t o live s o that he might gain the

’

rewa r ds O f the next w o rld Matter bein g evil s cience which .

,

h as matter as its subj ec t and mundane things h as n o v alue

or significance B u t c o nditi o ns were S haping themselve s
.

f o r a ch ange in w o rlds f o r the fin a l triumph O f s cience o ver ,

fai th S o me O f these c o nditi ons we shall indicate in the

.

fo ll o win g p aragraphs .

a T The crusa d es the h o ly w ars b

( ) he
Cr u s a d es e .
,

tween the Christians and the M oh a mmedans a r e imp o rtant ,

fr o m the standp oint O f phi l o s o phy be cause they res ulted in

the brin gin g back t o the west the learnin g o f the east ,

because o f the ge o graphical interest awakened o f the intro ,

ducti o n o f new cust o ms which p revailed in o ther regi o ns and ,

the resultin g c o nfl ict be tween the ideas O f th e eas t and th o se

o f the west The Christian w est had believed the M o ham
.

medan east t o be a plac e o f ign o rance and darkness but ,

they f o und it t o be far in advance o f Christend o m in science

and phil o s o phy The east h ad in fact ca rried on the o nly
.
, ,

w o rk O f a scientific nature since the time O f the Greeks .

2
The A rabians while in search o f th e elixir Of life a n d the
,

“
O ne of t he i mp o r t a nt r e su l
ts of t he s e a r ch f or the el
ix er vi tae w a s

the e ff e ct s of t he p r nc p l
e i i i mp li it c i n t he a t te m p t , y
na me l , t h a t it i s

p os s ibl t e o re l
ieve d i se a se s by m e a ns of na t u r a lp ro ce sse s . M a gi c bo nes , ,

i
r e lcs; a nd i
f et sh e s w e re th row n as id
m a te r a l m et hod s c a me nt o
e a nd i i
gre a t er p r om inence The . i
d e a o f a n nd w el i i
lng sp r t ga ve w a y t o th a t ii
o f t he i fl
n u ence o f m a t er ia l o n m a te r a l i
Th e p r a ct ce o f m ed c ne i n
. i ii
Chr i ste nd om w a s d one by s a nts i a nd m i ra c e l w or k er s .

“
N othi ng d be m ore d e p l
l co u ora bl e t h a n t he cond t on o f sou th er n ii
E u rop e w he n it rst f e l t t he nt el fi
le ct u a l n u e nce o f th e A ra b a ns i
An i fl i .

O bs er va nce o f ce rt a n ce r em o n a l i
s co nst t u te d a r e li gi ou s lf e A ch p i i i . i
of t he t ru e cr os s, som e i r on fi li g
n s f rom t h e ch a n i of S i
a nt P e ter , a

t ooth or a bone Of a mar ty r, w er e hel

d in i
a d or a t on ; the world was f ul
l
1 50 A n I n t r o du c t ion t o P hil
o s op h
y

phil o s op h e r s s t o n e m a de imp o rtan t dis c o veries in c h em

’
,

is t r y e g the str o ng acid s which laid the f o undati o ns o f

, . .
,

the s cience and gun po wde r which h a d w o nderful s o cial and

,

p o litical results B efo re the time o f Dj afar there was no .

kn o wn a cid str o nger th an vinega r and t o him is given the ,

h o n o r o f havin g firs t desc ribe d a qu a r egia and nitric acid .

.

O ther dis c o veries s uc h a s t he prep arati o n o f alc o h o l , ,

sulphuric a cid and p h o sph o rus were m ade by the s tudents , ,

o f the ea s t We c an best get an idea o f the extent o f learn

.

ing in the e a st by a glance a t the im p o rtant w o rks o f A vi

cenna o ne o f the p r o f o undest thinkers th e east h as p r o
,

d u c ed A m o n g them are : On t h e Utility and A dvanta g e o f

.

S cience O f Health and Remedies C an o ns Of Physic O n A s

, , ,

t r o no m ic a l O bserv ati o ns Mathem atic a l The o rems D em o n , ,

s t r a t i on o f C ollateral L ines on the Sphere A n A br idg ,

ment o f Euclid O n Finity and I nfinity O n Physics a nd , ,

Metaphysics and A n Encycl o p ae dia o f Hum a n Kn o wledge, ,

in 2 0 v olumes Kn o wing the ba rrenness o f Eu ro pe an .

of s t u p e nd ou s i
lcs ha d p e r f orm e d
m r a cl
es ( D
wh i
ra e r ,
p ch t h es e re i .
”

The I ntel ect u a l D e ve l

l op m e nt o f E u r op e , V ol I ,
pp 4 1 3 14 S e e a l
s o, . .
-
.

V ol I I , pp 1 1 2 if )
. Chr st end om h a d be com e a n m st c a nd m thi ca l
. . i , i i i y
ha d l os t i t s gr p on t he w o r l i
d , a nd i t s d e s r e w a s t o g ve u p t h s w orl d i i i
f or a be tt e r o ne be ond y
The a ge o f f a th h a d a p oor se nse o f t he va l
. ue i
of l i
o g c a nd t he na t u r e o f e v d e nce T h s i s w el ll u s t r a t e d i n m ra cl
l e i . i i i
p r oo f s , t r al s b y o r d e a l
,iby ba t t e , a nd a u n ve r s a lbe le f i n s u er n a t u r al
l p i i
a ge nc e s i . I f t he ch a r a ct e r of a pr i nce s s w ere a ss a i ld e , sh e O ff e r e d a

i i f th w i t h i k h w i
ch a m p on ; t if e t h w inc s n s s e as nno c en , s h fl e oa s s e as .

a i t i n w i th t h i l p w
ffi l a o S h f t w l li ll t t t h t yp
e ev f o e rs . uc ac s e u s ra e e e o

m i nd g i t w h i h t h th gh t f t h
a a ns t m T h t th
c w m e ou O e e as ca e . a ere a s r oo

f org t impr ea m t n w il
lq ti d t h i mp
rove m nt d i d
en o o ne u es on, an e r ove e

t k pl
a e in t h g w i g i m p t
a ce f i d e i tifi m th d
ro n o r a nce o sc e nce an sc e n c e o .

Th e ea st h d l th w k f A i t tl Th w t m in t h w i th
a a so e or s o r s o e . e es ca e ou c

th m e n ft
s oo th d n d w h il
a d m i g th m
er t fi t th
e cr u s a e s, a , e co n e n n e a rs , e

c h h
u rc t k th m p d p k f A i t tl
soo n oo th f n e f u an s o e O r s o e as e
“
oreru ne r O

Ch i t
r s .

Th t n i nfl
e e as er n w i vi d nt d i d d ly g in t f ith
ue ce a s, as s e e , ec e a a s a .
 o s op hy fr om
P hil t he Rena is s a nc e t o B er k el
ey 1 51

th o ught at t he t ime we c an re a dily imagine the pr o fo und

influence Of the intr o ducti o n int o Eur o pe O f such kn o wledge .

b
( ) E c o no m ic a nd S o ci a lF a c to r s The g
. r o wth o f t o wns

and cities is o ne o f the strikin g facts o f the latter p art O f

the mi ddle ages The g r o wth o f t o wns and the c o nc o mita nt
.

g ro wth O f tr a de and industry have much to do with cen

teri ng man s interests a bo ut the th in g s O f this w o rld I t
’
.

als o w o rks a g ainst is o lati o n and the sta gnati o n that results
fr o m it L ife and it s interests bec o me transf o rmed g o in g
.
,

fr o m the ecclesiastical t o the secular fr o m the o ther w o rld

,

t o this o ne A we a lthy class cam e int o existence which

.
,

j o ined th e king a g ainst the n o bles and feudal l o rds be c a u s e

such a uni o n was o f decided advanta ges t o trade and indus
try The feudal l o rds were ever j eal o us O f the kin g and
.
,

as c o mm ercial classes came t o pr o minence and influence they

united with the re g a l auth o rities a ga inst the n obility I n
“

this manner a c onnecti o n was f o rm e d between go vernment

and business the e ff ects o f which are still o perative in o u r
,

s o ciety .

Medieval life m ade no p ro visi o ns f o r the individual ; there

was and c o uld be no expressi o n O f individual wants and de
sires f o r all w a s settled man s career was th o r o u ghly and
, ,
’

ri g o r o usly map pe d o u t o nce f o r all B u t the gr o wth o f

.

wealth chan g ed all this ; it made p o ssible the expressi o n O f

such abilities as a man p o ssessed in the business activities
that were rapidly g r o win g at the time Fr o m the individ .

u al i sm that was f o stered by c ommercial life grew the

m o vement t o ward s nati o nalism in direct c o ntradicti o n t o th e

univers al auth o ritative fi na l

, is m o f the church A s the ih .

dividual grew in the face O f pr o blems t o be s olved by

the demands O f a c o mm ercial experience s o did gr o ups and ,

t o wns and fina l

, ly states g r o w t o be rival s in the keen indus
tri al stru ggles which characterized the age I ndividualism .
1 52 A n I n t r o d u c t io n t o P hilo s op hy
“
led to nati o nalism and t o the
, self deter minati on of -

”
pe o ples .

The intellectual as pec t O f the gr owth Of c ommerci a lism

c an h a rdly be exa ggerated .I nventi o ns which increased
wealt h and m ade w o rldly s uccess p o ssible lessened the zeal
f o r reli g i o n but they did m o re than this — they fav o red an
,

empirical attitud e t o wards the a ff airs o f life I nventi o ns .

which are made m o re o r less by the trial and e r r o r meth od ;

activities which are carri ed o n t o meet s o me present need
'

such as surveyin g o r c o unting all lead t o results o f g reatest

,

S ignificance nam ely t o the the o retical interpretati o n Of

, ,

thes e pra ctical a ctivities P ra ctice c omes be f o re the o ry and

.

the o ry can no t c o m e d e no vo bu t is built o u t o f and u p o n

,

th e in terests which practice dictate s C o nsequently we s ee

.
,

that the very life o f the middle a ges especially the latter ,

part o f the peri o d c o ntained the germ which w a s later t o

,

trans fo rm the o utl o o k o n the w o rld and the w o rld itself

,
.

( )
c T h e G r o w t h o f S c ie nc e The. rapid strides in the .

field o f natural s cience t old against faith and tended in gen ,

eral t o a mechanic al interpretati o n O f the u niverse This o f .

,

c o urse was disastr o us t o the ch urch as it was th en c o n

,

c e ive d
, f o r th o se very elements which she c o ndemned were
be ing used t o acc o unt f o r things which S he acc o unted f o r
o n supernatural premises The st ru ggle be tween the ch u rch
.

a n d s cience has been l o ng and bitter and each ha s c o n

,

tributed he r mart yrs .

M o st striking dis c o veries were made I n astr o n omy The .

M o o rs h ad be en interested in this line o f research f o r sev

eral centuries and fr o m them interest in t h e subj ect w a s car
ried t o th e Christian w o rld abo ut the be ginning O f 1 4 0 0 .

I mp r o ved instru ments Of investi g ati o n made p o ssible added

inf o rm ati o n B u t the m o st imp o rtant bit o f w o rk in as
.

t r o no my was that d o ne by C o pernicus a little m o r e than ,

 Phil
o s op hy f r om the Rena is s a nce t o B er k e l
e
y 1 53

fou r hu ndr ed years a go He disc o vered facts which w o uld

.

no t square with t he prevailing the o ry t he Pt o lem aic whi c h , ,

taught th at the earth was the center o f the system o f

planets and Off ered in its stead the hel
,
i o centric the o ry
which had been sugges t ed by s o me Of the ear lier Greek
thinkers n o tably A ristarchus This the o ry ass erts that the
, .

s u n and n o t the earth is the center o f the system o f beav

e nl bo dies I t is pr o bably o ne o f the m o st rev o luti o nary

y .

hypo theses e ver ad vanced f or it changed the wh o le meth o d

,

o f l o o kin g at the w o rld a meth o d which had gr o wn up in

,

the c o urse o f the centuries A l lspeculati o n up t o the t ime

.

o f C o pe rnicus had be en mad e o n the assumpti o n that the

eart h was the center o f the system but when the ea rth was ,

f o und t o be but a small speck in the gr eat system s o me o f

the di gnity th at had fo rmerl y be l o n ged t o it and its i mb a bi
t a nts w a s t aken away The hy p o the sI s o f C o pernicus was
.

m o re carefully and accurately verified by Galile o ; and later

w o rk by N ewt o n a n d L apl ace established the the o ry o f a
dynamic universe .

Ge o g raphical disc overi es were made which tended t o shift ,

th e attenti o n o f pe opl et o new t o pics generated a spirit O f ,

adventure and acquainted Eur o pe with the cust o ms o f p e o

,

ples heret o f o re unkn o wn A ttenti o n came t o be centered o n

.

the thin gs o f this w o rld rather than o n h eavenly matters .

D uring the twelfth thirteenth a n d f o urteenth centuries

, ,

m athematics which t h e A rabs had learned fr o m the Greeks

came int o Eur o pe ; but it was not until abo u t 1 6 3 0 th a t a d
vance was made by the Euro pe ans D escartes devel o p ed .

analytical ge o metry N ewt o n and L ei bnit z the calcul u s and

, , ,

N ewt o n and L aplace mechanics , .

I n the physical s ciences imp o rtant be ginnings were made

which tended t o stren gthen the case o f reas o n S o und li ght .
, ,

magnetism and electricity were ta king imp o rtant p laces in

,
1 54 A n I n t r o d u c t io n t o P hilos op hy

the dis c u ssi o ns O f physical nat u re Pas c a l s w o r k in the

.
’

pressure o f liquids B ayle s in heat N ewt o n s in li ght and

,
’
,
’
, ,

at a later time Galv ani and V o lta ( abo ut 1 77 5 ) w h o w o rked

,

p rincip ally in electricity : all these br o u ght ab o ut an atti

tude t o wards the physical w o rld very di ff erent fr o m tha t
which p revailed in the age o f faith when matter and the
things o f this w o rld we re th o u ght o f as sinful“ ”
.

H arvey s disc o very o f the circulati o n o f the bl o o d ( 1 6 2 8 )

’

and o the r dis c o veries c o ncerning the glands and va ri o us

p arts O f the b o dy o f bo th man and the l o wer a nimals f o rti ,

fi ed th e mech anic al view O f th e nature o f the o rganism A .

m echanical unive rse and a mech anical human and animal

bo dy were vivid ar gu ments against a V iew such as had pre
vailed at an earlier peri o d .

There were m any o ther fa ct o rs inv o lved in the g r owth ‘

fr o m a u th o rity and faith t o reas o n which itself became a

little l ater as auth o ritative and d o gmatic as were medieva l
chu rch d o gm a s but we can d o no m o re t han menti o n them
,

here The revival o f ancient l

. iterature br o u ght t he w o rld
int o c o nnecti o n with the be st th o ught o f the Greeks and ,

students w h o were tired o f the barrenness o f medieval

th o u ght fell eagerly int o the S piri t o f the ancient w o rld .

The Ref o rmati o n while n ot a cause o f the gr o wth o f a new

,

type o f thinking but rathe r the exp ressi o n o n the religi o us

,

sid e O f the s ame f o rces whi ch were o p erating is o f decided ,

interes t t o the student O f phil o s o phy in that it furn ish es

an example o f the wi despread o perati o n o f f o rces O f the ,

e ff ects o f the min gling O f di ff erent pe o ples o f di ff erent

ideals and temper a ments and greatest o f all that meth o ds
, ,

o f l o o kin g at pr o blems and values o f life as well as meth o ds

o f s o lvin g them are fact o rs and facts which v ary fr o m time

t o time I t illust rates the di ffi culty o f finding e ter na lp rin

.
-

cipl es et erna lval

, u es a nd immu t a b
, l
e ideas .
 o s op hy f r o m
P hi l t he Rena is s a nc e t o B er k el
e
y 1 55

3 . Th e Phil osoph ica l Expr e ssi on of the Per i od — The

Ref o rmati o
n is the expressi o n Of the gr o wing individual
ism
and the breakd own o f auth o rity o n the reli gi o us side ; the
remarkable advance in astr o n o my physics chemistry physi , , ,

o l o gy and the s o cial sciences is an expressi o n o f the s a me

, ,

spirit in the w o rld o f s cience ; and vari o us ref o rm m o ve

ments and increased interest in po litics is evidence that the
spirit O f the a g e w a s finding expressi o n in the fields O f law
and go vern ment I n all the a ff airs O f life the attenti o n w a s
.

g radually S hiftin g fr o m the ecclesiastical t o the secular

realm ; and what is m o re the very a ff airs o f life w e r e t hem
, i

‘ l
selves bec o min g secularized I n no department O f a ctivit y
.

is this better seen than in phil o s o phy Francis B ac o n was .

a statesman a nd a lawyer ; H obbes a tea cher ; D es cartes a , ,

s o ldier and a s cientist ; Spin o za a g rinder o f lenses ; and ,

L eibnitz alm o st everythin g— statesman li t erary man dip

, , ,

l o mat mathematician e t cetera

, Heret o f o re phil o s o phy
, .

fl o urished o nly under the d o minati o n O f the church ; and the

very fact that n o n churchmen t o o k part as leaders in the
-

th o u ght O f the day is a vivid example o f the changed atti

tude .

There were interesting m o vements in phil o s o phy during

the eleventh twelfth thi r teenth and f o urteenth centuries
, , , ,

but we shall c o nfine o u r S ketch t o the m o vement which was

inau gu rated with Francis B ac o n B ac o n s chief imp o rtance .
’

f o r u s i s the emphasis o n ex p e rimentati o n as the meth o d by

which k no wledge is obt a ined We must be gin with p a r ticu
.

lars and build up a principle B ac on tau ght and no t d o as , ,

the S ch o lastics h a d d o ne namely t o accept principles o n

, ,

auth o rity and t o deduce fr o m them c o nclusi ons as t o what

the facts must be He tau ght that t h e aim o f phil o s o phy is
.

service f o r the bes t interests o f man and s o ciety an early ,

expressi on Of wh a t is t o day m o re a n d m o re emphasized ,

156 A n I n t r o du c tio n t o P hil
os o h
p y

namely th e s ocia liz a tion o f s cience a nd phil o s ophy B ac o n

, .

rec o gnized the w o rld Of f aith but he taught that reas o n has
a definite j o b t o do and that was service He als o rec o g .

niz ed that if we ever expect t o arrive at true kn o wled ge we

, ,

must rid o urs elves o f all pre p o s sessi o ns and p r ej u dices which
h e called I d ols and tackle problems in free do m fr om all
“ ”
,

trammels We must free o urselves fr o m the I d o ls o f the

.

Tribe th o se fallacies c o mm o n t o man a s man such f o r ex

, , ,

ample as the tenden cy t o interp ret the w o rld in terms o f

'

s o uls and spirits ; and fro m th e I d o ls o f the Cave prej udices ,

due t o educ ati o n and f o rm er expe rience if we wish t o gain ,

a true explan a ti o n o f things We must banish all p r esu p p o

. .

s it io n s and begin with t he facts and fro m these w o rk up t o

,

general principles by g radual steps H o w diff erent this is .

fr o m the attitude o f auth o rity reverence f o r I d ols res p ec t

, ,

f o r general principles which characterized the medieval

,

pe ri o d "
Fr o m B ac o n s d a y o nward emphasis h as been placed o n
’

the me tho d by whi ch laws a n d pri nciples a re reached The .

meth o d o f experimentati o n that is the meth o d o f c o nt r olling

,

the c o nditi o ns under whi c h Observati o n o cc u rs h as been ,

c o nstantly refined and instruments o f va ri o us kinds have

be en devis ed and devel o ped f o r t h e purp o se o f rendering O h
servati o n m o re accur a te a n d m ak ing po ssible a m o re care
ful c o ntr o l o f the dat a o r elements under c o nsider a ti o n I t .

is thr o ugh such a d evel o pment o f an a d equ ate technique th at

s cien ce has be c o me s u ch a fact o r in th e devel o pment O f ou r

civilizati o n ; it is large l y respo nsible f or the gr ow m g 1 m

p o rtance Of reas o n o ver fait h and f o r the c o nquest o f the
w o rldly o ver th e h eavenly The ol der met h o d agai nst
.

whic h B ac o n react ed the meth od o f r evel

, a ti o and au c
t or i t o s dictated in advance what t h e part iculars must be
,
.

Fa ct must squ are wit h a principl e w hi ch w as k n own in a d

 P hilo s op hy fr o m t he Rena is s a nce t o B er k el
ey 1 5?

vance thr o u gh revelati o n o r by auth o rity Th e c omm o n .

st o r y O f the m o nk w ho th o u ght he had disc overed s po ts o ri

the s u n but w h o w a s t old by his superi o r that the sp o ts were
in his eyes a nd no t o n the su n because A ri st o tle had no ,

where sp o ken O f s u n sp o ts illustrates the meth o d O f re g ard

,

—
in g facts that they were already a cc o unted f o r since every
thing w a s kn o wn .

B ac o n w a s instrumental in br inglng t o c o ns ci o usnes s the

meth o d which the s cientis t o f his day empl oyed He sug .

gested a s a re as o n f o r the feeble influence o f s cienc e and

hil o s o phy in his day the lack o f an adequate meth o d The
p .

meth o d heret o f o re had been either empiri cal o r d o gmatic .

“
The f o rmer like ants o nly heap up and u s e their st o re ;
, ,

the latter like spiders spin o u t their o wn web The be e

, , .
,

a mean between bo th extracts matter fr o m the fl o wers o f

,

the g arden and the fields but w o rks and fashi o ns it by its
,

”
o w n e ff o rts. The true meth o d o f phil o s o phy and s cience ,

th o u ght B ac o n resembles that o f the bee f o r it neithe r relies

, ,

wh olly o n the p o wers o f the mind no r lays up in the m em o ry ,

a great many facts but takes materi al and w o r k s it o ver

,

in the understanding .

H obbes an o ther En glishm an was greatly im ,

p ressed with the gr o wth o f science and the certainty O f ,

mathematics He be lieved it t o be p o ssible t o fi nd a prin

. ,

c ip le o r s e t o f principles fr o m which a l lthe fa cts o f the

universe c o uld be deduced in the s ame m anner a s the pr oo fs
of ge o metry f oll ow fr o m the axi o ms Phil o s o phy f o r .

H o bbes w a s by no means the type O f thing which the church

bu t he th o u gh t
“ ”
be lieved it t o be the h a ndmaiden o f faith
, ,

o f it a s t h e re a s o ned k n o wled ge o f e ff ects fr o m causes and

c a u s es fr o m e ff ects This c o ncepti o n o f the business O f

.

p hil o s o hy w a s wh o lly f o rei n t o that view which tied it up

p g
with hidden p o wers final ca u ses and u l
, ti mate realities
, .
1 58 A n I n t r o d u c t io n t o
‘
P hil
os o h
p y

When we c o nsider what was being acc o mplished by

s cience at the tim e o f H obbes we S h o uld n o t be sur p rised
,

t o find that the principle which he thinks explains the w o rld

is m o ti o n I t is re adily seen that this c o ncepti o n leads t o
.

a m aterialistic and mechanical view O f the w o rld The .

s cientists h a d applied the pri ncipl e O f m o ti o n t o the physi

c a l w o rld with such success that H obbe s attem p ted t o
carry it o ver int o life the life O f animals and o f man b o th
, ,

individu al a n d s o cial A l
"
llife is n o thing m o re acc o rding
.
,

t o H o bbe s than m o ti on and t o make his s cheme c o mplete

, ,

he planned t o w o rk o u t the mech a nical principle in the three

fields o f inte rest namely m atter m a n and the st a te o r
, , , , ,

s cience p sych o l o gy and p o litics M atte r had alre a dy be en

, .

treated mechanic ally by the great s cientists o f the time but ,

th e c ontributi o n o f H obbes was that l ife which is m o re in

t e r e s t ing than m atter c a n be treated in precisely t h e s ame
mann er Man and s o ciety that is p sych o l o gy s o ci ol o gy
.
, , , ,

p o litics ec o n o mics e t cetera can be tre a ted mechanically

, , ,

j ust as well a s can m a tter I nterestin g as are all the a t

.

tempts m ade by H obbes t o interpret c o ns ci o usness and s o

c ie t in term s Of m o ti o n we can n o t purs u e them here ; but
y ,

we stay by o u r purp o se O f p o inting o u t that the w o rld O f

reas o n was g radually gaining o ver the w o rld o f faith and
that religi o n was taking a subo rdinat e p o siti o n .

The materialisti c phil o s o phy o f H o bbes was u nabl e to

a cc o unt adequately f o r the s o ul f o r c o ns ci o usness and f o r
, ,

s o ciety I t w o rked well in the realm o f the physical sciences

.

but an a ge which had believed S O th o r o u ghly in rel i gi o n

c o uld no t S O s o o n thr o w o ff the religi o u s vi ew Of the uni

ve rs e and esp o u se o n e s o r adic ally di ff erent A pl ac e must .

be made f o r b o th the s o ul and s cience f o r faith and rea ,

s o n f o r mind and matter f o r G o d and the w o rld

, , This a t .

temp t was made by D es c artes He s h owed that

 Phil
o s op hy fr o m the Rena is s a nc e t o B er kel
ey 1 59

the r e is a bi gger pr obl e m th an th at o f —

science that is t h an ,

th e mechan ical s cientist o f his d a y th o ught O f it He drew .

a sharp distincti o n between the s o ul and the bo dy mind and ,

m atter a di stincti o n which is a reflecti o n Of the mid dl

,
e age
d o ctri ne o f this and the o ther w o rld the temp o ral a nd the ,

spi ritual reas o n and fai th s cience and religi o n He rec og

, , .

niz ed that the sel f is a n imp o rt ant fact o r in any S ituati o n

which is c o ncerned with truth a n d falseh o od B ef o re this .

time the self as an agent in the matter o f truth and f alse

h oo d h a d no t been c o nsidered as Of much imp o rtance ; and ,

c o nsequently when D es c art es rec o gniz ed the individual c on

,

s c io u sne s s as an a g e nt in the truth falseh o o d situ a ti o n he -

exp ressed a d o ctrine which was s o on t o be seized up o n and

put t o a much gre a ter use than D es c artes h ad made o f it .

D es cartes be lieved a s did B ac o n that the mind must be free

fr o m all prej u dices bu t he fu rtherm o re th o u ght that the
,

cle arness a nd distinctness o f the idea is the test o f its tru th ,

“
o r as D es c artes s ays The first rule was never t o receive
, ,

an ything a s a tru th whic h I di d no t clearly k n o w t o be

” 3
such .

D es cart es began h is systematic t h inking by d ou bting

everything that had been taken a s true His p o int w as t o .

find s o me o ne thing at least which no on e c o uld p o s sIbl y

d o ubt and fr o m this o ne certai n principle deduce the w o rld
,

o f experience The res ults o f his e ff o r ts in this directi o n

.

are summed up in th e fam o us principle I think therefo re

“
, ,

”
I am . Whatever else we may d o ubt we can no t d o ubt that
we think C onsci o usness is the m o st certain thing in the
.

universe Th ou ght bec omes a fundamenta lfact Of p hi l

. os o

phy .

B u t th ere are Obj ects there is matter t h ere is a w o rld , , .

D escartes had als o t o acc o unt f o r these fa cts o f experi e nce .

Torrey s ’
t r a ns l
at i on o f the D i scou rse on M ethod p a rt I I p
, , . 46 .
1 60 A n I nt r od uc tio n t o P hil
os op hy

We s h al l not dis c u ss th e detai l

s of —
h is argu ments how h e
gets fr o m his o w n mind t o G o d and the w o rld o u tside but ,

he d o es this t o his o w n s a tisfacti o n at least Wh at is o f .

interes t t o u S is that he finds t w o ultim a tes t w o irred u cibles , ,

namely mind and matter T h e f o rmer a s has bee n sug

, .
,

gested is a s u rvival o f the fa i th side o f the Old c h urch dis

,
.

p u te in t h e latter middle a g es while the lat t er pr ovi des f o r ,

the w o rld Of s cience which was c o nstantly gr owing G o ing .

still farth er back in time the mind side o f the C a rtesian ,

dualism is a survivalOf the O rphic tendencies in early Greek

th o ugh t the matter S ide Of the d u alis m representing the
,

O lympic traditi o n .

D es c a rtes had left a ch a sm between mind and matter t w o ,

radic ally di ff erent thin g s as he c o nceived t h em and the ,

pr obl em Of phil o s o phers immediately s u cceedi ng Des cartes

was t o bri dge the gap between th em H ow these attempts .

were m a de and what was a cc omplished in th at directi o n

bel ong rath er t o the h ist o ry o f phil o s ophy B u t o ne a t .

tempt is es p ecially interesting t o u s and gi ves ris e t o th e

sec ond type O f idea l —
is m th a t of B erk el
ey k n own as S u b ,

j ec tive I dea l
i sm .

R EFEREN CES

B ERR Y , A S h o rt Hist o ry Of A str o n o my 76 40 9 ,

-

B U RY , A Hist o ry o f Freed o m o f Th o u ght ;

C A M B R I DG E M o dern Hist o ry Vol I Chapters XV XVI

, ,
.
, , ,

XVI I ;
DE S S O I R M O utlines Of t h e Hist o ry o f Psych ol o gy ;
, .
,

D R A P ER I ntellect u al D evel o pment o f Eur o p e Vo l I Chap

, , .
,

ter X III and Vol I I Chapters V V III ;

, .
, ,

FO ST ER M L ectures o n the Hist o ry o f Physi ol o gy ;

, .
,

H OF EDI N G H Hist o ry Of M o dern Phil o s o phy Vo l I 3

, .
, , .
,

206 ;
JA C OB S , J Th e S t o ry Of G e o gr ap h ical D isc o very ;
 Philos O p hy from the Rena is sa nce t o B er kel
e
y 1 61

JE N K S , E Sh o rt Hist o ry o f En g lish L aw
.
, A
L E CK Y W E H Hist o ry o f th e Rise and I nfl u ence of Ra
, . . .
,

t io n a l
ism in Eur o pe ;
L IN DS AY T M Hist o ry o f the Refo rm ati on Vol I ;
, . .
, , .

L O DG E S I R O Pi o neers Of S cience ;
, .
,

M U IR M M P Hist o ry Of B i ol o gy
, . . .
,

RO GER S A K S tudent s Hist ory o f Phil o s o phy 2 23 2 5 1

, . .
,
’
,
-

SI DG WI CK The D evel o pment o f Eur opean P o lity ;

,

T H ILLY F Hist o ry o f Phil o s o phy 22 7 250 ;

, .
, ,
-

WH E W ELL Hist o ry o f the I nductive S ciences ;

,

W H I T E A D Hist o ry o f the Warfare o f S cience with

, . .
,

The o l o gy in Ch ristend o m ;
WI N D ELBAN D W Hist o ry o f Phil , o s op h y , trans l
a ted by
.
,

Tu fts , 348 425 -

.
 CH A PTER XI I

SU B J E CT I V E I D EAL IS M

1 . Intr od uct ory .

—
We h ave said t h a t ideal
is m oper a tes on

th e p rinciple o f the pri o rity o f mind s o ul idea o r c o n , , ,

s ci ou s ne s s The di ff erence between the vari o us types lies

.

in t h e m ain in the di fferent c o ncepti o ns o f the nature o f

V
c o nsci o usness F o r s u bj ective idealism c o nsci o usness is that
.

Of the individual y o urs and mm e F o r obj ective ideali sm V

, .

c o ns ci o usnes s is s o mething u nivers al abs olute ; it is a spirit

, ,

mind o r s o ul in the abs o lute and uni versal sense

, O bj ective .

idea l i sm u nivers alizes the individua lc o ns ci o usness Whereas .

in s u bj ective ideali s m a l lthings are the g ont ent o f the in

divid u alc o nsci o u snes s in Obj ective idealism things are the
,

c o ntent o r expressi o n o f an abs o lute o r univers al mi nd B u t .

in bo t h c ases th e pri mary ass u mpti o n i s that mind in s o me ,

f o rm is the chief c o ncept in the u nivers e .

W e S h ould bear in mind that idealism is bo th a th e o ry O f

reality and a the o ry o f kn owl edge bo t h an o nt o l o gical and
,

a n epistem o l o gic althe o ry A s a th e o ry o f reality it asserts

.

tha t th e essence Of thin g s is mind o r spirit and as a the o ry ,

o f k n o wledge it teaches t h at th ings exist o nl y in k n owled ge

o r c o ns ci o usness and that c o ns ci o usnes s is c o nstitutive O f
,

k n o wledge o r things A s t o the o ri gin O f kn o wledge ideal

.

is m may be empirical O r rat io nalisti c o r bo th , .

There is a vast diff erence between the idealism Of P lat o

a n d th a t o f B erkeley b u t there are m any po ints in c o m m
, on

1 62
 S u bj ec t i ve I dea l
is m 1 63

between them N o t the leas t o f thes e is the fact that they

.

bo th have a c o mm o n ances to r the O rp hic tr a diti o n in Greek ,

S p eculati o n Plat o nic idealism grew up t o meet the in divid

.

ual is t ic and m ateri alistic tendencies o f his age as did s u b

i e ideali sm t o meet the demands o f the heart a g ainst
j e c t v

the scientific and materialistic tendencies in the time o f

B erkeley .Plat o c o mbatted the individualistic tendencies ,

as we have seen by the d o ctrine o f universals o r fixed ty p es

,

whi ch se r ve as patterns f o r all the particular things o f this

w o rld Chief o f these Plat o nic types wa s the idea o f the
.

G o o d o r G o d B erkeley was pri marily a m a n o f the church

.
,

and s ou ght t o S h ow that all the achievements Of science

c o uld be acc o unted f o r in terms o f reli gi o n D escartes had .

made the way s o mewhat clear f o r B erkeley f o r the latter ,

had but t o accept o ne aspect o f the Cartesi a n dualism ,

na mely the mentalo r th o u ght S ide t o render his vi ct o ry

, ,

c o mplete The s cientist h owever had been interested o nly

.
, ,

in the matter S ide o f the dualism o f D es ca rtes and the r e ,

sul t o f suc h a pr o cedure wa s t o render materialism and

mec h anism supreme D es cartes had attempted t o find a place
.

f o r bo t h matter and mind but in findin g a place f o r bo th he

, ,
“

created an equally di fficult questi o n a s t o their c o nnecti o n .

W ith a dualistic system a system which be gins with t w o ,

p rinciples mind and matter at least three p o ssibili ties ari se

, ,

in reference t o the relati o n that may Obtain between them .

O ne aspect o f the du al ism may be em p hasized t o th e exclu

si o n Of the o th er that is o ne may be c onsidered t he ulti
, ,

mate and the o ther interpreted in its te r ms Then again

, . ,

bO t h m a y be t ru e ultimates which w o rk t o gether in s o m e

f o rm O f pa r a llelism The third po ssibility is that bo th may
.

be fact o rs in a l arger m o re inclusive wh ole an d that neither

, ,

is an ultima te except f o r purp o ses o f disc u ssi on and f o r the

1 64 A n I nt r odu c tio n t o P hil
os o h
p y

o rgan i z ati o n Of e x peri ence O f t h ese p o ssibilities B erkeley

.

c h o se the mind aspect f or emphasis and interpreted m atte r ,

in term s o f mind .

2
. Ber k el ey s Pr obl
’
em —Th e rapid gr owt h Of the ma
.

t eri a l is t i c c o ncepti o n Of t h e universe due in a large de g ree

by th e c onquests o f s cien ce led t o a rec o nstru cti o n o f r e
,

1igio n . All t h e phil o s o phers Of the early m o de r n peri o d

were interested I n the religi o us pr oblem bu t they c o nsidered ,

it in the ligh t o f reas o n rather than fai th N at u ral r e .

ligi o n whic h tau ght that revelati o n i s in harm o ny with rea

s o n and D eism whic h th o ugh t Of G o d as an intelli g ent cre
,

at o r we r e the prevail ing c o nce p ti o ns in religi o us s p ecul a

ti o ns B u t B erkeley attempted s o methin g quite di ff erent
. .

He attempted t o s h o w that the w or l d is a men t a lo r sp i r i t u a l

wo r l d . I n this m a nner h e go t rid o f matter alt o gether .

We m ay st ate B erkeley s pr oblem thus : H ow can a m a

’

t e r ia l
is t ic s cientifi c w o rld be interp reted in term s o f relig
,

io n ? S cience may pe rf o rm w o nders in the realm o f m atter ,

l

but if it can be sho wn that the very stuff that s cience w o rks
wit h is in its very n ature ment a l then materi alism such a s ,

H obbes adv o cated must fall t o the g r o und .

I t is necess a ry t o k eep befo re u s the fact that fr o m early

Gree k days o nward the mental was the go d like The mental -

was c o nnected wit h the s o ul the spiri t the gh o st the G o o d

, , , ,

with G o d Matter was evil ; it was matter that r esis ted the
.

spirit the s on] th e mental ; it was the bu r den o f creati o n

, , .

—
A rist o tle S O regarded matte r it was r e ca l ci t r a n t resisted ,

the f o rm o r the ide a ; Pl o tinus h a d an extremely p o o r o p i n

io n o f matter ; and in fa ct the g eneral traditi o n o f p h il
, , oso

phy was a dverse t o m atter N o w if matter c an be ex .

,

plained in term s o f mind if that is m atter bec o mes spi ri t

, , ,

u a l then sc i ence bec o mes s p iri t u a l iz ed and all is s aved f o r

-

, ,

reli gi o n o r s o ul The great achievements o f s cience w o uld

.
 S u bj ec tive I de a l
ism 1 65

a fter a l lbe a n expressi o n o f the s o ul o f man a s oulwhich , ,

a s Plat o said had c ome fro m the realm o f perfect f o rms

, ,

perfect j ustice p erfect s cience perfect go o d

, , .

3
. Th e S cie t i st s
n M at er i a l — The s cientis t w o rks with
’
.

de finite stu ff data materi al

,
Certain cate go ries are e s
, .

s ent i a lt o any scientific p r o g ress whatever such as time , ,

sp ace mass and m o ti o n Ge o metry which played such a n

, , .

im p o rtant mi le in determinin g the meth o d o f S cie nce deals ,

with sp a ce ; astr o n o my in which the greatest c o nquests had

,

be en made deals in p art with t i me and mo ti on ; and the ide a

,

o f cause s o es sential in s cience

, was in the early sta ges o f
, ,

s cientific disc o very cl o sely tied up with m as s The centi

, .

meter the gr am and the sec o nd the fundamental catego ri es

, , ,

o r c o ncepts o f o u r present day physics illustrate the space , ,

mass and time needs O f physical s cience Given thes e the

,
.
,

s cientist believe s he c a n c o nstru ct a w o rld D e mo critus .

needed at o ms and the sp ace they m ove in and N ewt o n the ,

”
s am e givens in o rder t o build quite a stately uni verse
, .

F o r the materialistic phil o s o pher o r s cientist phil o s o phy ,

i s the d o ctrine o f the m o ti o n o f bo dies ; but B erkeley be

l ieve d t hat he h ad t aken the f o u ndati o n fr o m the m a teri al
i s t ic structure .

.4 Ber k ele y s S ol u t i on — The briefes t statement o f the

’

s ol u ti o n o f the materi alisti c and atheistic pr o blem i s th a t

the stuff and the cate go ries o f s cience are reduced t o mind ,

they are mental and hence spiritual I f space and matter

, .

are mental then s cience is ment aland no t materi a l f o r s pace

and matter c onstitute the stu ff that scien ce deals with .

B erkeley believed that h is s o luti o n answered a great many

‘

O f the difficulties that had arisen in the speculati o ns O f the

“ ”
p ast such as whether c o rpo real substance can think
, ,

“ ” “
whether matter is infinite ly divisible and h ow i t o per ,

ate s O u spirit ”
He believed t oo that he h ad o verc ome
.
, ,
1 66 A n I n t r o d u c t io n t o P hil
oso h
p y

“
s cepticism So l o ng a s we attribute real existence t o u n
.

thinking things ,
it is n o t o nly imp o ssible f o r us
t o kn o w with evidence the nature o f any real u nthin k ing
thing but even that it exists Hence it is that we s ee phi
, .

l os o h e r s distru s t their senses

p and d o ubt the existence o f ,

h eaven and earth Of everythi ng they s e e and feel even o f

, ,

” 1
their o w n bod ies O f matter which h a s been the materi a l
.

o f t h e s cientist B erkeley further s ays

“
it has be en the main ,

pilla r O f S cepticism and o n it h a ve be en r aised all th e

” “
,

”
i mp i o us s chemes o f A theis m and I rreligi o n He thinks .

“
that if the c o rn erst o ne o f matter can be rem ov ed the wh ole
fabric can no t but ch o o se t o fall t o the gr o und ins o much
that it is no l o n g er w o rth whi le t o be st o w a p articular c o n
sider a ti o n o n the absurdities o f every wretched s ect Of A the
I n t hi s manner d o es B erkeley the adv o cate O f r e
”
ists .
,

l igio n plead a s did Plat o the advo ca t e o f pe rm anence t w o

, , ,

th o usand years bef o re .

H ow d oe s B erkeley go ab o ut t h e s oluti o n ? This i s the

mo st interesting p o rti o n o f hi s w o rk We shall begin with .

space B erkeley antici p ates the O bj ecti o ns which will be

.

raised agains t his arguments a n d c o nsequently answers

“ ” “
them in advance I t will be o bj ected
. he s a id that w e , ,

s ee t h ings actually w ith o ut o r at a distance fr o m us and ,

whic h c o nsequently d o no t exist in the mind ; it be ing absurd

th a t th o s e thin g s whic h we see at the distance o f sever al
” 2
miles s h o uld be a s near t o us a s o u r o w n th ou gh ts
,
.

B erkeley gives t w o answers t o thi s O bj ecti o n The first i s .

that in d reams we seem t o s ee things at a distance when

there is no o utside reality which causes the idea o f the thin g .

T h e sec o nd and m o re imp o rtant answer is that given in his

, ,

‘
A Tr e a t i s e on the P r nc p li i
es Of Huma n K now led ge , Se c 88
. .

“T re a t se
,i S ec . 42 .
 S u bj ec tive I dea l
is m 1 67

New The o ry Visi o n a w o rk which in many respects is

of , , ,

m o de r n i n t one He sh o ws that we d o no t s ee dist a nce at

.

all bu t what we get thr ough the senses are sensati o ns o f

,

c o l o r t o uch and tensi o n When thin g s are said t o be seen

, , .

in the distance we mean s ays B erkeley that in o rder t o , ,

reach the thin g certain musc ular m o vements mus t t ake

place Visi o n is n o thi n g m o re than a si gn by which a c ol o r
.

sensati o n stands f o r a sensati o n o f m ovement .

We d o n o t see sp a c e d is t a nc e but we have o nly sens a

, ,

ti ons which are si gns o f o ther sensati o ns t o be had in the

future Since o u r sensati o ns are ou r s that is withi n us
.
, ,

and no t o utside what we kn o w as S pace is within and no t

,

s o mething o n the o utside .

“
Mat ter the main pillar o f S c ep t icis m is als o sh own t o
'

, ,

be mental The distincti o n be tween p rimary and sec o ndary

.

qualities had already been made es p ecially by J oh n L o cke ,

w ho w o rked abo ut the same time a s B erkeley Sec o ndary .

qua l ities are th o se which depend up o n the o ne perceiving ,

such as c o l o rs O d o rs and tastes I f there were no eyes

, , .
,

there w o uld be no c o l o rs n o ears n o s o unds e t cetera Pri

, , .

mary qualities a re th o se that d o n o t depend u p o n the o ne

perceiving but are th o se that are essential t o the existence
,

O f the Obj ect itself such a s mass extensi o n and m o ti on

, , , .

Primary qu a lities are in the o bj ect ; sec o ndary are in the

subj ect o r depe nd u p o n the subj ect B erkeley be came sus .

ic io u s o f the s o cal
led pri mary qualities He be lieved that
p
-

if sec o nd a ry qu a lities de p end up o n the individual p rim ary

qualities d o als o ; o r rather he questi oned the existence O f
any p rimary qualities at all Rem o ve fr o m a b o dy its quali .

—
ties and there is n o thin g left its c ol o r shape et cetera a r e , , ,

the bo dy and thes e de pe nd u p o n the o ne who is perceiving

, .

L o ck e h ad t au ght that a l lw e k no w comes t h r o u gh th e

1 68 A n I n t r o d u c ti o n t o P hil
oso h
p y

senses bu t h e th o u ght that there is s omething he kne w no t

,

what but which he called s u bs ta nce t o which qu a lities be

,

l o ng C o l o r s o und taste and all sec o ndary qualities are

.
, , , ,

L o cke th o u ght dependent up o n the subj ect and o f c o urs e

, , , ,

a re learned in experi ence Pri mary qualities h o wever while .

, ,

le arn ed thr o ugh ex p eri ence bel o n g t o s o mething they a re in

, ,

s o mething o r on s o m ething s o me back g r o und which h olds ,

qu alities t o g ethe r This ba ckgr o und o r substratum h e

.

c alled s ubs t ance N o w B erkeley als o believed that all o u r

.
,

k n o wled g e c omes thr o u gh the senses and he n aturally r a i sed ,

the questi o n a s t o wh at was the basis o r f o und ati o n f o r the

ide a O f s u bst ance He f o und th a t there is no basis f o r it a t
-
.

all and c o nsequently rej ected it as a ficti o n o f the imagina

ti o n A bstra ct ideas such a s the idea o f substance are t he
.
, ,

s o u rce o f innumerable phil o s o phic w o es th o ught B erkeley , ,

and a c o nsiderati o n O f them led him t o his fam o us st a tement

“
c o ncern ing t he ailment o f phil o s o phers : Up o n the wh o le ,

I am inclined t o think th at the f a r gr e a t e r p a r t if not a l l ,

, ,

o f th o se di fficulties which have hi thert o am u sed p hi l o s o phers ,

and bl o cked up the way t o kn o wledge are entirely o wing t o ,

—
themselves they have firs t raised a dust and then c o mpl a in
”
we can n o t s ee Every idea is a c o ncrete fact a nd if we
.

can n o t find an im age bac k Of the ide a we can be s u re t h at

there is no ide a at a l l .

Thu s there is n o s u ch ide a as s u bs t a nc e f o r qu al ities t o .

bel o ng t o and the result is t hat there are o nly qu a l i ties If

’

the re a re o nly qualities they exist o nl y f o r a perceivi ng

mind That is t o be is t o be p er cei ved This is the bu r
.
, .

den O f B erkeley s dis cuss i o n O f matter

’
ess e est pe rcipi ”
.

He asks u s t o t ry t o t alk abo ut o r t o reas o n abou t m atte r

o r anythin g else ; then when we reas o n abo u t it o r t alk
, ,

a b o ut it we are p,er c ei vi
ng it He a ls o as k s u s t o tell what .
 S u bj ec tive I dea l
ism 1 69

we mean by the e x is tence o f an Obj e ct or matter whi ch is

no t pe rcei v ed o r kn own I f we attempt t o te l
. l what we
mean by the existence o f an O bj ect which is no t kn o wn he ,

can reply th a t the very fact that we are dis cussing it indi
cates that it is in o u r mind .

There c an be n o thi n g o n the o utside that c o r resp o nds t o

o u r ideas ,
n o thing l ike them o n t he o utside o f which they
a re res emblances o r c opies ; f o r there is n o thin g l ik e an ide a
“
excep t an o ther idea A n idea can be like n o thing ; a c o l o r
.

o r fi gure c an be like n o thin g but an o ther c ol o r o r figure If .

we l o o k but never s o little int o o u r ow n th o ughts we shall ,

find it imp o ssible f o r us t o c o nceive a likenes s excep t be

tween O ur ide as .
”
I f thes e s o called extern al things are
-

p e r cei va b le then they are ideas if they are n o t pe rceivable

,

“
I appeal t o any o ne whether it be sense t o assert a c ol o r 1 8
like s o mething whi ch is invisible ; hard o r s o ft like s omething
” 3
intan gible ; and s o Of the rest .

L et us rec o unt briefly what B erk eley believed he had d o ne .

I n the first place alth o ugh we are no t f oll o wing the o rder
,

o f hi s argu ments he f ol
, l o wing L o cke criticises the ide a o f
, ,

su b s t a nc e
,
S h o wing that there is no such idea : f o r there is
no ide a which d o es no t o riginate in the senses I n the nex t .

place he red uces all primary qu alities t o sec o ndary th a t is , ,

p rimary qualities as well as sec o ndary bel o n g t o o r depend

u p o n the individu a l who perceives them Wh at is sp o ken .

Of as matter B erkeley reduces t o qualities which depend

up on a perceivin g kn owin g mind , C o nsequently what .
,

science deals with mass m o ti o n time space are ide as in

, , , , ,

the mi nd ; s o that s cience be c omes spirit u alized dem a t e r i a l ,

iz ed and the pr oblem o f t h e S cientists is a lesser pr oblem o f

,

the religi o u s phil o s oph er S cience is s h own t o be no t all

.
,

'
The Trea t is
e, Sec 8. .
1 70 A n I n t r od u c t i on t o P hil
os o h
p y

no t abl e t o explain the univers e but t o be o ne as p ect o f a ,

larger u niverse o ne p art in a larger wh ole which is t o be

, ,

e x plai ned spiri tu al

ly .

R EF EREN CES

B E R K ELEY Th ree Dial o gu es between Hy las and Philonou s ;

,

FRA S ER A C B erkeley s W o rk s ;
, . .
,
’

H UM E D A n Enquiry C ncerning Human Understandi ng ;

,
.
,
o

JER US ALE M W A n I ntr ducti o n t o Phil s ophy translated

, .
, o o ,
—
by S anders 8 1 83 ; ,

L EI GHT O N J A The Field o f Phil o s o phy 1 78 1 82 ;

, . .
, ,
-

MILL J S A n Examinati o n o f Sir William H amil

, . .
,
’
t on s
Phil o s o phy Chapters X X II I ; ,
-

PERRY R B A n A pp r o a ch t o Phil o s o phy 2 67 3 0 6 ;

, . .
, ,
-

RO G ER S A K M o dern Phil o s o phy 6 1 87 a nd Hist o ry o f

, . .
, ,
-

Phil o s o phy 3 4 6 3 6 5 ; ,
-

RUSS ELL B The P r oblems o f P hil o s o phy Chapt er IV

, .
, ,

T H ILLY F Hist o ry o f Phil o s o phy 3 2 5 3 4 5 ;

, .
, ,
-

WE B ER A , Hist o ry o f P hilos ophy 3 91 3 99

, .
,
-

.
 CHA PT ER X III

OB J E CT I V E I D EALI SM

1 . I ntr od u ct i on —We have seen th at B erk eley red ced u

t he w o rld O f s cience t o s pi ri t o r mind bu t this mind w a s ,

the mind o f the individual kn o wer Such a view which .

mak es the o bj ective w o rld depend up o n t h e individual

kn o wer d oes no t make a p owerfu l appeal t o men f o r a ,

m o re stable and p ermanent w o rld is demanded There was .

a defect in B erkeley s phil o s o phy which was s o o n disc o vered

’
.

by David Hume who immediately succeeded B erkeley in

,

English phil o s o p hy B erkeley had s aid that matter is

.

n o thin g m o re than a series O r gr o up o f sens ati o ns Hume .

ad mitted this but he went o ne step further and said that

,

mind t oo is n o thing but a series o r gr o u p o f sens ati o ns I n

, , .

o ther w o rds Hume did f o r mind precisely what B erkeley did

,

f or m a t t e i i B o th the w o rld o f the spirit and the w o rld o f

.

s cience are left by Hume a s a seri es o f sens e i mpressi o ns ;

“
and if B erkeley rendered a s a d bl o w t o matter the pillar ,

”
Of scepticism Hume rendered an equally s a d on e t o s p irit
, ,

the bulwark O f religi o n Hume s destructive w ork marked

.
’

an ep o ch in Englis h em p iri cal phil o s o phy and made ne c e s ,

sary a rec o nstructi o n O f all that ha d been do ne hithert o in

phil o s ophy When we remembe r that all religi o n and
.

s cience had been reduced t o a seri es O f individual sense im

p ressi o ns we readily s e e that a readj ustment must be made
,

o r phil o s o phy bec o mes bankru pt .

Hume s chief attack a g ainst science is made thr o u gh an

’

analysis o f the idea o f causati o n He assumes that B er ke .

1 71
1 72 A n I n t r od u c tion t o P hil
os op h
y

ley is c o rrect in the the o ry t h a t every idea m u st go back t o “

s o me sense im p re s si o n Every o bj ect o f kn o wled ge is either

.

“
an imp res si o n o r an idea the di ff erence be ing the degrees
,

O f f o rce and liveliness with which they strike up o n the

”
mind . I mpres si o ns are what we call percepti o ns the c o n ,

s ci o u s nes s o f things immediately present whil e ideas are ,

the c o ns ci o usnes s o f things n o t present t o the senses A l l .

ideas go back t o im p res si o ns all kn o wledge o ri ginates in

,

the senses H o w d o es Hume ap p ly this d o ctri ne t o the ide a

.
’

o f cause ? He d o es it by asking us t o tel lthe imp r es si on

which is at the s o urce O f the ide a Can we s ee c ause o r .
,

he a r it o r t a s t e it ? N O what we see i s one thing o r event

, ,

f oll owing o r succe edi ng an o ther bu t the chi ef fa ct o r , ,

namely nec es s a r y c onnec tion we c an never s ee o r in any

, ,

way le a rn t h r o ugh sense pe rcepti o n C aus e theref o re is .

, ,

n o thi ng m o r e than cust o m o r habi t We be c o me a ccus .

t o m ed t o seeing things t o gether o r o th erw ise experi encing

them S imultane o usly o r successively a n d we s ay th a t o ne ,

is the caus e o r the e ffect o f the o ther I n this way o ne o f .

t he fund amental catego ries O f s cience i s destr o yed ne ces ,

sary c o nnecti o n being reduced t o h abitu al as s o ciati o n o f

ideas .

The self s o ul o r spiri t is disp o sed o f in a similar man

, ,

ner He ask s o f us t o p o int o u t the imp r es si o n that gives

.

u s the ide a o f s o n ] spirit o r mind

, Since this can no t be
, .

d o ne but o nly s o me p art icular p ercepti o n s u ch a s h eat o r

,
“

c old li ght o r shade l o ve and hate pain and pleasure

, ,
”
, ,

Hum e c o ncludes that what B erkeley c all “ ” “

s mind o r spirit
is merely a gr ou p o f s u ch pe rcepti o ns C o nsequently the .

w o rld as Hume left it is a s o rry o ne f o r bo th s cience and

rel igi on .

2 .
—
Wha t O bj ect ive Id ea l sm I s We can best understand
i .

wh at Obj ectiv e idealism is by keeping in mind B erkeley s ’

s u bj ective idealism T h e latter

. assert s t h at t he World is
 O bj ec tive I dea l
is m 1 73

the indi vid u als idea that t o be is t o be pe rcei ved by s o me

’ -

mi nd The w o rld is wi thi n ; it is a gr o up o f impressi o ns

.

and ideas O bj ective idealism is intended t o remedy t he de

.

fe e ts o f subj ective idealism by rem o vi ng the w o rld fr o m

the mind o f the individual thinker and m aking it the idea Of
a gre a ter mind a univers al mind a G o d mind The p u r
, , .

—
p o se is the s ame in bo th cases t o sub o r di n a te s cience t o
fai th o r t o interpret materialism i n terms O f spiritualis m ;
,

but where as B erkeley had d one S O with the individual mind ,

O bj ective idealism attempts the s am e thin g on a larger

—
s cale i t u nivers alizes the individual The w o rld is no t my .

idea s a ys O bj ective idealism but is the idea Of a greater

, ,

mind o f whi ch my finite mind in s ome way p artakes A s

, .

art is an ide a o bj e ct ifi ed rendered tangible and visible ; 8 0 ,

is nat u re and the w o rld at large the o bj ectificati o n o f a

di vine o r unive r sal mind A s far as the indi vidual kn o wer .

is c o ncern ed this type O f ideal ism is o bj ective bu t fr o m the ,

o int o f view o f the univers al mind things depend up o n it

p
as they d o in t h e subj ectivistic typ e as represented in
B erkeley .

S peaking in term s o f the o u tline a t t h e end o f Ch apter

'

VI II we may s a y that obj ective ideal

, i sm I S a t h e o ry o f
kn owled g e and als o a the o ry o f reality The real is a s ys .

tem o f ideas which is the pr od uct Of a superhum an creative

intelligence Kn o wledge in o ne sense o f the term is j u st the
.
, ,

pr o cess O f creati o n o f makin g reality Fr o m an o ther p o int

, .

o f view kn o wled g e i s insi ght int o the system o f real ity m ad e

p o ssible by a divine creative mind H u m a n kn o wledge in the . .

Kantian sense is the pr o cess o f c onstructing a w o rld o f

o bj ects o u t o f the raw materi al f u rnis h ed by the senses
1
.

‘
Th e s t u d ent shou l
d u nd ers t a nd t ha t eve r y typ e Of p hi l
o sop h y m u st
ta ke a cco u nt o f a l
lthe p r obl
em s of e x p er i ence . We h a ve not a tt emp t ed ,
f or e x a mp l
e , to st a t e t he t he or y f o cond u ct i nvol
ve d in H obbes ’
m a t er a l i
i st ic p h l
os op h i y , y t
e m a t er i li m
a s ha s i t s
p lt
o ii cs, its re i i
lg on, a nd i ts

eth ic
s,
1 74 A n I nt roduc tion t b P hil
o so h
p y

3 . ems
Pr obl Which ism
Led to Obj ective I deal .
2 —
Wl\A e

s een that Obj ective idealism is the res u lt o f the a tte mpt t o
universalize the mind o f the individual kn ower W hat were .

s o me o f the p r oblems which rendered such a c o urse neces

s ary ?
I n the fi rst place Hume had S h o wn how u ns t able is the
p o siti o n Of empiri cism that when carried t o its l o gi cal c o n -

cl u s io n s it lead s t o S k epticism
3
Y e t there are truths in .

e m iri cis ni that c an n o t be t h r own aside C o nsequen tly

p .
,

emp iri cism must be reck oned wi th in any attempt t o give

-

an adequate view o f the w o rld .

W e remember t oo that fr o m Descartes t o the time o f

, ,

Kant ( fl abo ut r e a s on w a s o ne o f the great fact o rs

.

in life Reas o n had w o n great vict o ries in the realm o f

.

s cience and it be came t h e c o ntr ol ling fact o r in th e p hilo s o~

phy o f the peri o d be tween 1 6 5 0 and 1 7 5 0 in the great s y s ,

—
tems o f L eibnit z and S pin o z a systems o f rati o nalis m
which be ar witnes s t o the p owers o f man s intellect and t o ’
,

the influence o n the mind o f the certainty o f m at h ematics

and Of the achievements o f s cience Reas o n became the .

l o rd and master o f th e u nive rse a nd ma de cl aims w h ich a p ,

3
We ca n not go f a r i nt o t h e d et a l
s i of j
O b ect i ve id i sm I n
ea l i
t h s in

t rod u ct ory t r ea tme nt of t he j

su b ect . We sh a l
lst a te the d octr in b i fl y e r e

as i t i s f ou nd in K a nt s ’
pih l
os op h y , f or t h i s i s the f ou nd a ti n f oll o a

f u t u re d e vel
o m e nt s
p of t h i t yp
s e of i d li mea s . Th e m ost com p l
et e st a te

m ent of it i s f ou nd i n the w or ks of H e ge lw ho fl ou r she d i a bou t 1820 .

K a nt is a n O bj ect i ve i d e a li st only i n a ce rt a i n sense , bu t i na sm u ch as he

m a r k s t h e s t a r t i ng p oi nt o f a l
lt he g e a t i d ea l
i st i c r s yt s e m s , a nd Of t he
i d li t i
ea m ove m e nt w h ch be ga n a bou t t he cl
s c i
o se o f 1 700 , a n u n d e r st a n d

i ng o f th e p r oble m s w h ch he a tt em te d t o sol
p v e a ni
d o f t h e s o l
u t ons h e i
O ff e r e d sh oul
d be p osse ss e d by ever stu d ent o f p h l osop h The r o y i y .

Ina nti cm ove m ent in p h l osop h i

i s a nother o ff shoo t o f t he K a nt a ny i
ph l i y
osop h , bu t i t goe s f a r ba ck t o t he O rp h c t r a d t on a nd to p r mi i ii i
i
t ve a n m sm i i
We sh all h ave t o om t a t re a t ment o f t h s a lt ogethe r
. i i .

y i
We ca n ba rel me nt on tha t it a rose a s one asp ect O f the ge ner a la w a k en
ing w h i ch is re p r es e nt e d on t h e p oli t ica lS i d e by t he F r e nch R e vol
ut i on.
8
T ha t i s, em
p i i i
r c s m as f ormu l a te d b
y t h e e a rl E nglsh t hi n e rs.
y i k
 O bj ec tive I d ea l
is m 1 75

p ea r ed e x travagant t o s ome s u c h as its ability t o reach u l

,

timate and eternal truth The results Of such a tendency

.

mus t be taken up in the new philo s o phy o f idealism launched

by I mmanuel Kant .

Then religi o n and faith came in f o r c o nsiderati o n Re .

l igio n which had o ccupied the attenti o n o f the phil o s o phers

thr o u gh o ut the peri o d fr o m D escart es t o Kant had su ff ered
in the war between it and science but it w o uld n o t d o wn ; ,

and the pr o blems o f G o d Freed o m and I mm o rtality are

, ,

the chief interests f o r the Kanti an ph i l o s o phy A s h as .

been remarked ide a lism is a l w l ln r eli i Of

'

wa ys a on
,
m
g
fl w m ‘ m ,

permanence o f purp o s e o f tel

, eOlo gy ; and with Kant as
,

with B erkeley the ru ling interest is religi o n S o str o n gly

, .

impressed with religi o n was Kant that he was willing t o

sacrifice reas o n f o r faith “
I h a d t o destr o y reas o n I n
.

o rder t o make a place f o r fait h .

The p r oble m o f s cience must als o be c onsidered f o r as ,

we h ave s een s cience the pr o duct o f reas o n had be c ome

, , ,

str o n g and bold I t laid claim t o all creati o n and all dif
.
,

fi cu l t ie s o f whats o ever kind must be tried at the ba r o f re a

s o n by the meth o ds O f s cience The meth o d o f deducti o n as
.

fo und in ge o metry and that o f hyp o thesis as practiced by

the great astr o n o mers d o minated intellectual activity I t .

was essential theref o re t h at the new phil

, , o s ophy find a
place f o r s cience and mathematics .

B riefly the f oll o wing are the chief pr o blems which entered
,

int o the thinking o f Kant in his e ff o rts t o fo rmulate a sys

t em which w oul d give each its pr oper place ; p r oble ms ,

m o re o ver w hic h were fiercely c o nte sted du ring the years

,

bef o re K a nt :
( a ) E mpi ricism — a d o ctri ne as t o t h e o rigin O f kn o wl
ed ge wh ic h asserts that all kn o wled ge c o mes fr o m
,

experience and is based o n sense percepti o n ;

( )b R ati o nalism w h ich
, asserts the supremacy o f reas o n
1 76 A n I n t r odu c tio n t o P hil
oso h
p y

and its ability t o s o lve all the pr oblems O f th e u m

verse ;
( )
0 R eligi on o
, nce supreme but , a t the time o f Kant a n d
be fo re a l o ser in the struggle with reas o n ;
,

( )
d S cience and m athematics — t h e field i n w h ich reas o n
h ad wr o ught its w o nders .

4
. Ka nt s S ol u t ion of These Pr obl ems
’
— Kant s p hil
. os o
’

h
p y is extremely imp o rt ant f o r several reas o ns the ch ief ,

o ne be in
g the stimulati o n t o wards further devel o pments in

phil o s o phic th e o ries A n o ther reas o n f o r the imp o rtance

.

o f his phil o s o phy is its synthetic character ; all the threads

of th o u gh t which had fi gured in the life o f the intellect u a l

Wo rld fr o m the time o f B ac o n and D es c a rtes t o his o w n time

are t a ken up and given a pla ce in his system The Kantian .

system represents in m o dern times what Plat o s did in a n ’

—
cient the synthesis Of a l l the c u rrents which the int el lec

tual l ife o f the peo ple had devel o ped Kant s e ff o rts h ow
.
’
,

ever fared better than P lat o s f o r the m od ern idealist lived

,
’

in a m o re stable s o ciety whic h pe rmitted devel o pment and

criticism which wer e denied the w o rk o f t h e ancient s age .

O f the currents w hich entered Kant s t hinking we h ave

’

menti o ne d e mp i r i c i sm a s u bj ect t o be treated m o re at lengt h

,

in o u r next chapter Here w e ma y s ay that the m ovemen t

.

began with the English m o nks in the latter p art o f the

middle ages and th at o n the wh o le it may be char acteri zed
, , ,

as a the o ry c o ncerning the o ri gin o f kn o wled g e I t asserts .

th at expe rience is fundamental that auth o rity unless based

,

o n experience is a vain and empty S h o w and that kn o wledge ,

is built o u t o f sens e m a teri al gained by observati o n O f the

facts o f nature B u t Hume had sh own ho w fickle is the
.

f o undati o n o f empiricism as this had been treated by it s a d

vo c a t e s. He S h o wed that if em p iricism is true the p o siti o n
Of t h e s o u las well a s th at o f m atter is Sh all ow and unstable .
 O bj ec tive Ideal
ism 1 77

Kant felt the necessity o f a m o re st a ble th e o ry of k n owledge

than emp i r i c i sm O ff ered but he felt als o that empiricism
,

c ontained an element o f truth ; a n d with this in mind he

'

O ff ered his fam o us the o ry o f th e relati o n O f experience t o

kn o wled g e He asserted that all kn o wled ge c o mes no t fr om
.

“
experience bu t thr o u gh o r wi t h expe rience There can be
'

n o d o ubt whatever
”
he says that all o u r kn o wled ge be
“
, ,

gi ns w ith experi e nce B u t alth o u gh all o u r kn o wled ge be

.
,

gins wi th experience it by no means f oll o ws that it all

,

o rigina t es f r om expe rience F or it may well be that ex .

e ri e nc e is itself made up o f t w o elements n received

p o e ,

thr o u gh impressi o ns o f sense and the o ther supplied fr o m ,

itself by o u r faculty o f kn owled ge o n o ccasi o n Of these im

”
pres si o ns Here we find the kernel o f o ne aspect o f Kant s
.
’

thinking There a r e t w o elements in experience o ne that

.
,

which the empiri cists h ad defended and which Kant called ,

th e ma t ter o r s tu fi o f experience and th e o ther the f o rm Of

'

e xpe rience whi ch is furnished by the mind itself

, The for ms .

Of expe rience are the c o ntributi o n which Kant makes t o the

phil o s o phy o f the time L o cke and o thers had taught th at
.

the mind is as a blank piece o f p ape r ; but Kant fo und that

it is a c omple x aff ai r m ade up o f fo rms p atterns o r m olds , ,

whi ch receive and fashi o n the materi al th at is handed t o it

by th e senses I t is a blank as far as kn o wled ge i s c on
.

cerned that is true but it stands ready a s a m ill t o grind

, ,

any grist br o ught t o it by the cust omers w h ich are the sense
o rgans — t o gri nd any grist that is that it has f o r ms , , ,

m o lds o r machinery f o r g rinding ; f o r there m ay be gri sts

,

which it c ann o t grind d u e t o lack o f mac h inery f o r the p u r

po s e
.

K ant finds that there is a kind o f k n o wl ed ge which is inde

pe ndent O f all experience whatever and he calls this a pr io r i ,

kn owled ge t o di stingu ish it f rom a p os teriori kn owledge

1 78 A n I nt r odu c tion t o P hil
os op hy

whi c h h as its s o urce in experience Thus we see t h at th ere .

are t w o s ou rces o f kn o wledge o ne experi ence which answers

,

the demands Of empiricism ; the o ther no t in experience at ,

al l but in the very nature and c o nstit u ti o n o f the mind it

,

self Empi r icism thus finds a place in the Kantian system

.

but it is a s ubo rdinate o ne and is no t the chief fact o r in

kn o wledge as L o cke and o thers had taught .

The rati o nalistic element takes a pr o minent place in the

'

Kantian phi l o s o phy Th at such w o uld be the case is evi

.

dent fr o m the remarkable c o nquests O f reas o n a brief su r ,

vey o f whic h we have o ff ered in an e arlier s ecti o n N ever in .

the hist o ry Of th o ught had rea s o n claimed m o re and never

were its c o nquests greater The systems o f phil o s o phy that
.

ar o s e with L eibn itz and S pin o za the Enlightenmen t which

,

h ad s u ch a str o ng grip o n the life o f England and France ,

and wh ich is s o clearly seen in the literature o f the p eri o d ,

a s in P o pe are all witnesses o f the ex alted o pini o ns c on cern

,

ing th e p o w e r o f reas o n .

Kant a cc o rdingly f o und it essential t o ma k e a place f o r

, ,

reas o n and its resul ts in th a t system w hi c h h e c o nsidered

o f equa limp o rta n ce fr o m the s tandp o int o f phil o s o phy as

wa s the C o pernica n as tr on o my fr o m the stand p o int o f

s cience W heth er the C opernican rev olu ti o n in p hil
.
“ ”
oso

phy h a s be en as S ignificant a s the rea lo ne in astr o n o my

mi gh t be o pen t o questi o n but t his is true th at Kant r e
,

stated the pr o blems o f phil o s o phy and set in m o ti o n fo rces

that are O p erative t o this d a y .

The C r i tiqu e of P u r e Re as on is Kant s chief w o rk In ’

.

this he a ttempts t o answer the p r oblems s et by rati o nalism

by assigning t o reas o n th e limits within which it c o uld su c
ce s s f u l
ly o perate His . meth o d c o nsisted in dis c o vering the

fo r ms o r mo l d s which the mind p o s sesses o f inv o icin g the ,

mind t o arri ve a t a k n owledge o f its st o c k in trade ; a nd

 O bj e c tive I deal
is m 1 79

h a vm g disc overed this o f sh o wing that it c an o pe rate only

,

t o the exte n t o f it s end o wment With o ut go in g int o the

.

detai ls O f his the o ry we may s a y that he finds the mind in

p o ssessi o n o f f o ur sets o f cate go ries o r f o rm s which o pe rate
o n the stu ff furn ished by the senses Thes e fo rms are qua n
.

tity quality relati o n and m o d a lity

, , ,
Thes e c o rresp o nd
.

r o u ghly with the principal parts o f s p eech th o se means we ,

empl o y in o u r thinkin g and c o nversati o n I n the s ame way .

that if we speak o r h o ld a c o nvers ati o n at all we must d o

s o in the pa rts o f spe ech o f o u r l a ngu a ge s o if we think at , ,

all must we use the cate g o ries o r the f o rms O f th o u ght

,
.

That is we c an no t think in terms o f any part o f speech

,

which we d o no t p o ssess but t o think at a llwe must empl o y

,

th o se which we have devel o ped I n the s ame way Kant

.
,

th o u ght that all t hinkin g t o o c cur at all must o ccur in

term s O f thes e f o ur fundamental catego ries o r th o ught fo rms
whi ch are innate in the mind fr o m the beginning and in
, ,

n o way de p endent up o n experience Empiri cism ther e

.
,

f o re is wr ong Kant thinks in asserting that a l

, , , lkn o wledge
is fr o m expe rience and that th e mind is as a blank piece o f
,

p aper Rati o nalism is als o wr o n g in ass erting that reas o n

.

is able t o answer all the pr oblems o f life f o r reas o n can o nly

o pe rate o n the st u ff which the senses brin g t o it and c an ,

then only o pe rate in keeping with the f o rm s o r machi nery

which the understandin g po s sesses The leather s o t o
.
,

speak which go es int o the fact o ry c o mes ou t in the f o rm o f

,

S h o es because the machinery o f the fact o ry is mad e f o r pre

c isel y that pur p o se—the making o f sh o es I n t h e s am e .

m anner the raw stu ff th at c omes in thr o u gh the Senses is

turned o u t in the f o rm o f Obj ects Of kn owledge beca u se the
machinery Of the m ind is kno wl e d ge machinery .

Kant changed th e relati o n tha t had Obtained between

kn owledge and th e Obj ect “
In metaphysica lspe c u lati o ns
.
1 80 A n I nt r odu c tio n to P hil
os o h
p y

it ha s always been as s u med th a t o u r k n ow l e dge must con

f o rm t o O bj ects ; bu t eve ry attempt fr o m this p oint o f view
t o extend o u r kn o wledge o f o bj ects a p ri or i by means o f
c o ncepti o ns had ended in failure The ti m e has now c o me .

t o ask whether be tter pr o gr e ss may no t be made by sup

p o sin g tha t obj e c t s mu s t c onf o r m t o o u r knowledge Em .

i r i c is m had t au ght that o u r ideas are c o pies o f th e o bj ect

p
o u tside but Kant sh o wed that the Obj ect is a pr o duct o f
,

the m ach inery o f —

the mind t ha t we ma k e o r c ons t ru c t o b
The o bj ec t is o u r innate f o rm s pressed o r stam ed
j e c ts .
p
up o n the materi al o f sense O bj ects are ideas in the sens e
.

th at they are c o nst ru cted by th e machinery o f the mind .

N o w it is evident that reas o n can no t o pe rate in the

,

field Of man s g reatest interest namely the field o f reli

’
, ,

gi o n G o d Fre ed o m and I mm o rtality Kan t ur ged are the

.
, , , ,

supreme interests o f man and they can no t be treated fr o m

the p o int o f view o f re as o n f o r reas o n can deal o nly with the
mate rial w h ich the senses furnish and they pr o vide no ma
t e r ia lin the reli gi o us realm A gain th e cate g o ries o f the
.
,

mind are r a tiona lcate go ri es f o rms o f r ea s on such as cause

, ,

and eff ect substance e t cetera

, ,
Theref o re neither the.

senses no r the int el le c t c a n d ea lwi t h t hHP

,
.
eligi o u s pr obl em ,

the pr o blem o f chief inter e st fr o m the Kantia n standp o int .

Reas o n a s we have sugge sted in the hands o f the Enli ghten

, ,

ers the rati o nalists w a s supreme in every sphere Of inter

, ,

e st
,
but Kant limit ed reas on sh o wed what its field is and, ,

in wh a t field it c o ul d o pe rate s uccessful l y in o rder t o make ,

a place f o r f a ith Reas o n can w o rk in the w o rld o f space

.

and time o f cause and e ff ect o f m o ti o n and res t : that is in

, , ,

the w o rld o f s cience bu t i t a s unable t o functi o n in th at

,

hi gher realm the realm o f duty o f m o rality and rel

, , i gi on ,
.

I dealism I n the hands o f Kant takes it s Old p lace as t h e

, ,

defender and ally o f religi o n The O l d stru ggle be tween r e

.
 O bj ec tive Idea l
is m 1 81

scie
nce wa s settled by Kant in favor of the f or
mer wh en reas o n t o o k the subo rdinate p o siti o n o f t h e fac
ul ty which deals with the spatial the temp o ral and the , ,

“ ”
ma t erial The d o ctrine o f the tw o f old truth was s e ttled
.
-

a g ain no t indeed as the earlier thinkers had settled it f o r

, ,

r eas o n and fai th be l o ng f o r Kant t o t w o wh o lly distinct

w o rlds .

Reas o n can no t pr o ve the existence o f G o d as D es cartes

h ad th ought but Kant thinks that even this is an advanta ge
,

f or if reas o n can n o t pr o ve G o d s existence it is als o unable ’

“
t o pr ove that He d o es n o t exist I c ann o t share the o pin .

io n s o frequently ex p ressed by excellent and th o u ghtfulmen

,

who indul ge in a h o pe that the future w o uld

su p ply us with evident dem o nstrati o n o f the t w o cardina l
pr o po siti o ns o f pure reas o n that there is a G o d and th at , ,

there is a future life I am certain o n the c o ntrary th at

.

” 4
this will never be the case B u t o u r m o ral w il
. l ou r p r a c , y
.

tical reas o n demands G o d I t is ne c es s a r y to po stulate

‘ '

, .

t o satisfy t he demands o f the m o ral law .

The go o d f o r Kant is the G oo d Wil l ; and we are t o act in

every case a s if we sh o ul d be w illing tha t o u r a ct bec ome a
univers al law A r e we tempted t o kill ? A sk thi s questi o n
.

and go vern y o u r c o nduct a cc o rdin gly : A r e y o u willing

that every o ne else d o the s ame thi ng ?
Reas o n o pe rates in o ne realm reli gi o n and m o rality in ,

an o ther B y destr o ying reas o n o r li mitin g it Kant l

. imits ,

the field o f s cience — there is a po int be y o nd which reas o n

can no t go B u t why is science in its o w n sphere s o cer
.

tain ? Why the certa inty o f mathematics ? Thes e were

g reat p r oblems f o r mathematics had been the m o del o f
,

p r o cedure D escartes
. b e lieved th at t o be true which was
"

clear and distinct and the axi oms o f ge ometry gre atl
, y im
‘
C r i t iqu e of P ure R ea son . M ul
l ’
a ti on
e r s T r a nsl
p , . 74 1 .
1 82 A n I nt r o du c tion t o P hil
o sop hy

pressed him . Wh y asks Kant th e ce rtainty

, m at h e
, o f
m a t ic s ? H o w is it p o ssible that we c an make j udgments
that are true bey o nd experience ? K a nt s a w th at o n B ac o n s ’

principles o f inducti o n this c o uld no t be the case and he

s o ught t o answer f o r the c ertainty o f mathem a tics and
s cience and f o r the fact th at we are able t o make j ud gments
,

that go bey o nd experi ence He answers it briefly in this .

way the fo rms o f sens e ( spa ce and time ) and understand

.

ing ( t h e c atego ries ) di ctate what the o bj ect must be I n .

o rder t o have any experience what ever it i s necessary that

experience t ake place in the f o rms o f sense and the under

standing M athemati cs is certain and o u r ideas fit nature
.

be ca u se space is a f o rm o f sense we s ee thin g s spatially be

,

caus e space is the c o nditi o n o f o u r se ei ng anything at all .

S o with c ause and e ff ect which Hume h a d reduced t o h abit

o r cust o m Ca u se is a c atego ry o f the understanding and
.

t o h ave ex p erienc e at all means that this expe rience is

‘

gr o u nd ou t thr o ugh the categ o ry o f cause N at u re a n d .

ideas agree no t because ideas are a c op y o f na ture but

, ,

be cause n ature i s made by ideas o r fo rm s C o nsequently .

we can render j udgments which are valid bey o nd expe rience

be caus e t o have any expe ri enc e at a l lmeans that th e e x
e r ienc e wil l be rati o nal and s cientific
p .

S uc h briefly is the meth o d empl o yed by Kant t o meet

, ,

—
the p r oblems which the age had s et f o r him th o s e o f em
i r i c ism r ati o na l
i s m and religi on B u t he makes it cle a r
p , , .

that we never kn o w things as they a re in themselves but ,

kn o w them o nly thr o u gh the glass es o f sp ace time and the , ,

c ateg o ri es o f the understanding What th ings are in them .

selves we can never kn o w f o r t o kn o w means that the ma

,

t e ri a lbec o mes catego ri zed Th e th in g in itself became the

.
- -

center o f much c o ntr oversy and led t o va r io Us interpre t a

ti o ns in the h ands o f l ater idealists I n Hegel s system the .
’
 O bj ec tive I dea l
is m 1 83

universe as we witness it is the p ro d u ct o f an abs ol u te

, ,

—
spirit allobj ects are ideas m a de tangible and visible We .

have theref o re obj ective idealism which assert s that ob

, ,

— i i
j e c t s are the pr o duct o f a mind n Kant in o n e sense it s , ,

the mind o f man in He gel and o thers the mind o f an a b ,

s o lute intelli gence o r s p irit ; but f o r all ty p es o f idea l

ism the
fundamental fa ct must be kept in mind th at c o ns ci o usness ,

spirit s o ul and c o nsequently religi o n are the supreme c ate

, ,

o r ie s o f life
g .

R EF ER ENCES

F ULLE R T O N , G I ntr od u cti on t o P h il os ophy .

,

GREEN , T H , Pr ole g omena t o Ethics ;

—
. .

JE VO N S , F B , Phil o s o phy What is it P, Chap t er II

. .

KAN T , Critique o f Pure Reas o n ;

K U EL P E , O , I ntr od ucti o n t o Phil o s o phy , 1 94 20 7 ;
.
-

PA U L S EN , F , I ntr o ducti o n t o Phil o s o phy , 3 3 4 ff ;

. .

PERRY , R B , A n A ppr o ach t o Phil o s o phy , 3 4 9 3 95 , Th e

. .
-

Present C o nflict o f I deals , Chapter XVI , Present P hil

o so hica lTendencies , 1 1 3 1 97 ;
p
RO G ER S , A K , M o dern Phil o s o phy , 1 3 9 2 2 1 ;
. .

ROY C E , J Spirit o f M o dern Phil o s o phy , 1 0 1

. 228 , -

Pa r t II Ch apters X X I ; ,

T H ILLY F Hist o ry o f Phil o s o phy 3 91 4 3 1 ;

, .
, ,
-

WALLA C E Kant in B lackw o od s Phil o s o phical Classics ;

, ,
’

WA T S O N Selecti o ns fr o m Kant ;
,

,
—
WEBER A Hist o ry o f Ph il o s o p hy 3 4 5 5 8 5 ; , 1
, .

WE N L EY R M A n Ou tline o f Kant s C ritique o f Pure Rea

,
. .
,
’

s on ;
WIN D ELB A N D W Hist o ry , .
, o f Phi l
o s o phy , transla ted by
T u fts 5 2 95 23 , .
 CHA P TER XIV

EM P I R I C I S M

1 Introd u ction
.
— Empiri cism is th e name given t th e o

characteristic th ugh t f t h e Engl

o ish pe ple W e sh uld
o o . o

n t get the impressi n t h at a l

o lEnglish th inkers have been
o

empi ricists in t h e s ense we are using the term but the n te o

that ru ns thr o u gh alm o st all o f the great thinkers of the

English speaking c o untries is t h e empiri cal or the practic a l .

A s s o o n as the c o nditi o ns of t h e times permitted an ex

pres si o n o f t h e trend o f the Englis h mind we witness the
attit u de o f the man who h as a definite thing t o be d o ne in
this w o rl d a p a r ticul
, ar pr oblem t o be s olved and a pra o ,

tical met h o d o f s o lvin g it .

The earliest exp ressi o n of empiri cism is t o be fo u nd in

the attit u de o f the En glish in t h e c o nflict between realism
a nd n omin a lism in t h e latt er p art o f t h e m iddle ages J ohn .

o f S alisbury in the twelft h Ro ger B ac o n in the thirteenth

, ,

and D uns S c o t u s and William o f O akham in the f o urteenth

century express the general trend and bias o f the English
,

“
mind . The re al be ginn i ng o f English phil o s o phy I s t o be
dated fr o m B ac o n s break wit h S c olasticism
’
The S c h o .

lastic phil o s o phy w as no t nati o nal ; it represents the c om

mo n intellectual eff o rt o f C h ristian Eur o pe ” 1 “
The Eng .

lish langu age m ay be s aid t o have bec o me f o r t h e first time

the vehicle o f phil o s o phical literature by the publicati o n o f
B a c on s A d va ncemen t of L ea r ning in 1 6 0 5 Na
’
,

1
S et h E ngl
,
i sh i
Ph l
osop her s a nd S chool
s of i
Ph l
osop h y , p . 10 .

1 84
 Emp ir icis m 1 85

t io na l ch aracteristics are never s o str ongly mark ed in

s cience and phi l o s o phy as in o ther branches o f l iterat u re ,

and their influence takes l o n ger in making itself felt ”

I t is .

tru e t ha t it is m o re di fficult t o mark ch aracteristics in

hil s o phy and science but in the case o f empiricism and
p o ,

En glish specul ati o n the case is not s o diffic u lt as in m a ny

o thers .

Empiri cis m centers ab o ut a the o ry o f k n o wl edge an epi ,

s t em o l while c o ntinental th o ught has usua l ly been m o re

o
gy ;
c oncern ed with the o nt ol ogi cal pr ob lem o r reality We
-

,
.

shall turn t o s ome aspects o f En glish life in o rder t o f o r m

a better n o ti o n o f the empirical attitude .

2
.
—
Engli sh A ct ivi ti es Pr a ct ical A brief glance at t h e
meth o d o f meeting pr o blems will suffice t o illustrate the type
of pe o p le wh o se characteri stic phil o s o phy is empiricism .

The refo rm ati o n m o vement which swept Eu r o pe during the

fifteenth and sixteenth cent u ries was met in England in the
manner characteristic o f the pe ople There was n o radi cal
.

breakin g away n o thr o win g aside o f past ex p eri ence bu t

, ,

a gr a dual bending o f the ol d t o meet the new The En glish

.

s ch o lars s o u ght by a c arefulstu dy o f the N ew Testament

and o f the early Christian writers the tru e meanin g and
char a cter o f the ch u rch s o that e r ro r might be av o ided
,

and m o dified habits o f acti o n set u p I n the matter o f the

.

f o rmati o n o f the Ch u rch o f England als o they act ed wh olly

, ,

—
in resp o nse t o t h e practical aspects o f the sit u ati on Henry
V II I desired t o pe rpetuate his line with a m ale heir a nd ,

s o u ght a div o rce and when this was denied by the p o p e par ,

l “
i a ment pr o claimed the king the o nly Supreme Head o n
Earth o f the Church o f England .
”
The p ractical rati o nal,

is t ic meth o d of l ife a s agai nst a supern aturalistic and mys

“
tical is well exemplified in the o rdinance C o ncerning the
,

Times o f A ssemblin g at Church ,

”
wri tten under the infl u
1 86 A n I n t r o du c t ion t o P hil
o s op hy

ence o f C a l vi n Th at th e templ es be cl
“
o sed e x cept

d u ring the h o urs o f servi ce in o rder t h at no o ne sh a ll ente r

,

t he r eln o u t o f h o urs impe lled theret o by supe rstiti on ; and

,

if any o ne be f o und engaged in any spe cial act o f w o rshi p

therein o r nearby he shall be adm o nished ; if it be f ou nd t o
,
‘

be o f a s u p erstiti o us n a t u re i
then h e sh a ll be f

”
c h a s t iz ed .

The Englis h pe ople devel o ped int o a nati o n of s ai l o rs in

their struggles a ga m st the n aval p o wer o f Spain B e c om . -

ing accust o med t o s ea life they devel o pe d int o great tr a ders

with f o reign pe o ples o rgani z ed great c o rp o rati ons o r c om
,

p ani cs s u ch as the E as t I ndia C ompany f or c o mmercial

, ,

p u rp o ses made p o ssible t h e return o f the gold that had

,

been f o r t w o th o us and ye ars fl owing o u t o f Eur o p e t o O ri en

tal c o untri es and became leaders in the expl o rati o n and set
,

tle ment o f the Western c o ntinent S uch a life o f t rade made

.

necess ary by the nature o f the c o untry f o stered the ten

d en cie s already p res ent in the pe ople tendencies which were ,

present when the ea rly seamen o f the n o rthland ventured

fr o m their n ati ve h o mes and t ook up th eir ab o de o n the
island t o t h e westward .

I n m atters o f go vernment t h e s ame p ractic a lnat u re is

“
present The d o ctri ne o f divin e right " never h ad qu ite
.
’

th e h old o n England that it h a d in c o ntinentalc ou ntries .

They p refer red t o d evel o p a go vernment o n an empiri c al

rather than o n an abs olut e basis ; and the pr o gress t o wa r ds
dem o cra cy in th at c o untry is m arked by the grad u al e x
tensi o n t o o th er c l asses generally if no t always the l o wer
,

classes o f ri ghts whi ch in their o rigins applied o nly t o

,

hi gher classes I t is t ru e t h a t the idea o f divine ri ght

.
“ ”

w a s h el d by s o m e o f the English s o vereigns n o tably the ,

S t u arts but the pe o ple apparently did no t tak e the ide a

,

very se ri o u sly f o r u nder Cr o mwell they p u t t h e king t o

,
 Empi r ic is m 1 87

deat h a nd fi na l
, ly invited W illiam and M ary t o c o me as

rulers under the banner P r o r el

, i gi one e t li ber t a t e .The”

idea o f divine ri ght having died in the rev o luti o n o f

“ ” “ ”

“ ”
1 6 8 8 the m o narchy was dep rived o f its
, divine s ancti o n ,

and thi s fact g ave rise t o a sch o o l o f practical phil o s o phers

wh o s o u ght t o explain and j ustify the new the o ries o f civil

go vernment which had f o und expressi o n in the B ill o f Ri ghts

which w a s re affirmed at the cr owning o f William and Mary .

3
. Fa ct or s Con d it i oni ng Emp ir i ci sm W e h ave no w t o
.
-

inquire int o s ome o f the c o nditi o ns which are and have been
o perative in t h e pr o ducti o n o f the typ e o f thinking cal led
empiricism o r practic al phil o s ophy What are s o me o f the
, .

fact o rs whic h have entered int o the life o f the En glish

pe o ple which determ ine in pa rt their type o f p hi l o s o phical
,

“
inqui r ies ? I t is a p o o r explanati o n t o assert that the
genius o f a pe o ple is such and such o r that their natural
”
,
“

makeup impels them t o a certain type o f th o u ght ; f o r s u c h

”

statements do no t s olve a pr oblem but s et an o ther o ne .

Pe ople d o have tendencies t o act which have be en inherited

,

in the l o ng race hist o ry o f stru ggle and the meth o ds by

,

whi ch these tendencies are s atisfied vary with c o nditi o ns .

The early pe ople o f En gland were r o vers o f the sea d ar ,

ing and advent u r o us l oving excitement and n o velty The

, , .

c o untry bein g an island o ff ered o pp o rtunities f o r the further

devel o pment o f this nature in chann els o f tr ade and c om
merce Such a life brin g s pe o ple in t o uch with rem o te cus
.

t o ms keeps w o rn o ff the r o u gh ed g es due t o is olati o n ren

, ,

ders their experience m o re o r less o f an adventure makes f o r ,

o pp o rtunism and individ u alism , but tends t o wards a c o m

m o n sympathy due t o c o mm o n tasks t o be acc o mplished .

That the island was rem o te fr o m the seat o f auth o r ity

bo th religi o us and p o litical had c o nsiderable be ari n g o n
s h apin g the character o f the pe o ple Whil . e a Roman pr ov
1 88 A n In t r odu c tio n t o P hil
o s op h
y

ince it wa s mo re o r les s indepen dent be ca u se l ittle o r no

supervisi o n c o u l d be exercised Far f r o m Ro me the s eat o f
.
,

religi o us auth o rity the pe o p le c o uld be free t o a gre ater de

,

gree th a n wa s p o ssible in th o se c o untries nearby The ge o .

graphical l o cati o n o f t h e c ou ntry c o upled with th e tenden

cies o f the o rigin alr o vers are by no means s mal lfact o rs in
the devel o pment o f the c h aracteri stic p hil o s op h y o f the
pe o ple.

4
. Gener alCha r a ct er ist i cs of Emp iri cism — I n its limited
sens e empiricism is a term applied t o that t h e o ry o f kn o wl
edge whic h asserts that there is n o thing in the intellect
“

”
which wa s n o t f o rmerly in sense bu t in a m o re general way
it signifies the practical attit u de which we have briefly
sketched I t me ans t o be th e o pp o nent o f all auth o rity fr o m
.

an o utside s o u rce ; it st arts with the d emand that all I d o ls ,

as B ac o n was a ccust o med t o c alling o u r prej udices be dis ,

mis sed and that we start with an o pen and frank mind t o
,

the fa cts o f n at u re O bservati o n a n d expe rimentat io n are

.

the o nly s o u rces o f k n o wled ge f or a s was u rged by th o s e

, ,

wh o o pp o sed t h e a p r ior is ti c o r inna t e the o ry o f kn o wled ge

as this was held by D es cartes and o ther thinkers o f his type ,

t h e a p r ior is tic innate o r auth o ri tative view was the chief

, ,

—
s o urce and s upp o rt o f bad instituti o ns s o ci al p ol itic al , ,

religi o us ed u cati o n al The idea o f the seat o f au t h o rity i s

, .

u p p erm o s t in the em p irical phil o s o phy I nnate ideas th o se

.
,

bo rn with u s o r planted in us in the be ginnin g by a benefi

cent creat o r p ermit o f no refo rm o r m o dificati o n
, They .

are there o nce f o r all We remember that D escartes h ad

.

s aid that the test o f the reality o f the o bj ect is the clearness
o f the id e a , and th a t Kant h ad tau ght th a t the mind is eu
d o wed with a set o f catego ri es th at determine in a dvance
wh at o u r w o rld must be O n the o ther hand the empiricist
.

u rged t h at n o m o vements tending t o w a rds ref o rm c o u ld ever

 Emp i ri cis m 1 89

fru ctify on s u c h a th e ory J oh n S t u art Millwr o te h is l . o ic

g
as a s o cial d o cument a significant fact which sh o ws vividly
-

ho w the o ries even apparently rem o te fr o m life influence o u r

behavi o r I n this c o nnecti o n Mill s ays T h e S y s t em of
.
“
,

L ogi c sup p lies what was much wanted a text b o o k o f the ,

o p o site d o ctrine o the German io r i vi ew o f hu

p ( t or a
p r ,

man kn o wled ge and o f human faculties ) that whi ch d e

,
—
r 1 ves a l lkn o wled ge fr o m experience and all m o ral and in ,

t el le c t u a lqualities pri ncipally fr o m the directi o n given t o

"
ass o ciati o ns . The n o ti o n that truths extern al
6

t o the mind may be kn o wn by intuiti o n o r c o ns ci o usness in ,

dependently o f observati o n and experience is I am per , ,

s u a d ed , in these times th e great intellectual supp o r t o f ,

false d o ctrines and ba d instituti o ns There .

neve r was such an instrument devised f o r c o nsecrating all

” 2
deep se ated prej udices .

Empiricism is the d o ctri ne o f the s ch o olo f L o c k e and

B entham as o pp o sed t o German trans cendentalism ; it is the
d o ctrine o f the s o ci a l izin g o f s cience o f p olitical and s o cial ,

refo rm and o f testing thin g s by their u se a nd e fficacy in the

,

pr oblems o f s cience religi o n and p olitics I t was B ac o n

, , .

w h o emphasized the s o cial aspects o f s cience a nd w h o a t .

tempted t o m ake it useful Kn owled ge is p o wer ; it gives .

us c o ntr o l o ver the elements o f the situati o n s o that they

may be di rected ; and intelligence the best available o u ght , ,

t o be a p p lied t o the s o cialo rder “

'
There is an o ther great .

and po werful cause why the s c1 en ce s have made but littl e

pr o gress which is this : I t is no t p o ssible t o ru n a c o urse
,

a ri ght when the go al itself has no t been rightly plac ed ” 3

.

The scientist th o u ght B ac o n sees o nly t o the end o f his

, ,

o w n n o se and fail s t o sense the s o cial directi o ns and bear

’
A u tobiogr ap hy p , . 925 .

’
N ovu m O r ga nu m, i , 81 .
 A n I n t r o d u c tio n t o P hil
oso h
p y

ings o f hi s researches L o ck e B entham the Mil.

, ls and many , ,

s o cial a n d p o litical ref o rm ers o f En gland f o unded their

e ff o rts o n the empirical phil o s o phy a n d that typ e o f p sy
'

ch o l w h i ch h a r m o ni z es with it namely ass ci ati nism

o
gy o o, , .

Utilitari anism the ethical as p ec t o f empiricism assert e d

, ,

th at the gre atest g o o d t o the greatest n um ber and every

“

o ne t o c o unt a s o ne
”
is the principle whi ch w o ul d s o lve the
s o cial p r oblems o f the times .

Emp 1 r1 c1 sm a s is readily s een is the phil o s o phy o f a pr a o

, ,

tic al pe ople in their e ff o rts t o s o lve t he p r a ct ic a lp r oblems

which c o nfr o nted them I t is no t a cl o istered phi l o s o phy
.

f o r pr o fes s o rs and f o r the s o cially elite but i t is a weap o n ,

o f s o cia lbe tterment ; it I S n o t a system f o r etern al c o n

t emp l a t io n but a weap o n o f o ff ense and defense ; it is a

,

phil o s o phy o f the pe ople in their e ff o rts t o secure the

“
gre ates t happiness f o r the greates t number .

5
. m
E p r c sm a d t e P l osop ca lD sc pl
i i i n h h i hi i i ines — The
pr oblems o f p h il o s o phy a s we have o bserv ed are generally
, ,

gr o upe d under the he a dings o f the o ry o f reality the o ry o f ,

kn o wled g e t he o ry o f c o nduct and the o ry o f bea u ty We

, , .

h ave dis cussed idealis m a s a the o ry o f reality and a s a

the o ry o f kn o wled ge but we have o mitted the the o ry o f
,

c o nduct inv olved in it We have n ow t o c onsider empiri cis m

.

as it w o rks o u t in the fields o f reality kn o wledge and c o n , ,

duct W e shall o mit the the o ry o f be auty f o r this h as never

.

figured s o p r o minently in phil o s o phy a s the o ther three .

( )a E m p i r i c i s m a nd R e a l
i t y Empiricism in the. early
stages e g in B ac o n and L o cke di ff ers fr o m l ater em
, . .
, ,

i r i c is m a s t o the natu r e o f reality F o r the f o rmer reality

p .
,

i s the c o mm o nsens e o bj ective w o rld whic h we s e e and hear ;

“ ”
it is a given st atic w o rld ru led by laws the dis c o very o f
, ,

which is the missi o n o f s cience We sh o uld remembe r that .

it w a s a di fficult m a tter t o su rrender the ide a o f a u tho ri ty

 Emp ir ic is m 1 91

whi c h al lpast th inking and livin g had accepted A lth o u gh .

B a c o n and o ther empiri cists f o u ght bravely a g ainst the

idea o f auth o rity they failed t o s ee that they were s u bst i
,

tuting o ne f o rm o f it f o r an o ther The o lder auth o rity had

.

its seat in a n o ther w o rld and the empiri cists have the h o n o r
,

o f at leas t rem o ving the seat o f auth o rity t o this w o rld .

I nstead o f a divine o r heavenl y o rder which dictates o u r

“ ”
earthly p o licies they substituted obj ective nature which
,

has the same p ower o f c o mpulsi o n and o ccupies the s ame

p o siti o n a s a dictat o r o f o u r th o ughts and life The di ff er .

ence is that the fo rmer is invisible and intan gible while the ,

latter can at least be seen and handled The real f o r the

.
.

phil o s o pher o f the church and the Plat o nist is no t the w o rld
o f c o mm o n sens e here be l o w bu t the w o rld bey o nd the skies ;
,

the re alw o rld is n o t the scene o f o u r acti o ns here be l o w f o r

this w o rld be l o w is but a p o o r imi t ati o n o r sec o nd hand
c o py o f that eternal reality that exists s o mewhere in that
mysteri o us re alm o f perfect f o rms where all is harm o ny and
under the d omin a ti o n o f the G o o d ; the r eal f o r o bj ective
idealism is the I de a that eternal s cr oll which is unr o lling
,

itself in the life and instituti o ns o f man th at Great A uth o r ,

ity ( a ma gnificati o n o f Kin g s and Kaisers ) whi c h plays the ,

c o s mic d r a m a which p o o r humble man be h o lds as a c h armed

‘

spectat o r F o r empiricism h o wever the re a l is the w o rld

. , ,

o f bl o o d and gri me o f sweat and t o il

, o f stick and clay
,

c o mm o n indeed s o much s o that it is o ften passed o ver in

,

phil o s o phy as unw o rthy o f co nsiderati o n in th o u ghts c o n

cernin g the nature o f
“ ”
ultimate reality The real f or em
.

i r ic is m is the w o rld in which man is active but it is a

p ,

w o rld o f c o mpulsi o n and auth o r ity nevertheles s ; f o r man

had bec o me s o habituated t o the acceptance o f s omething
whi ch must dictate Matter o r n ature is the dictat o r t o
.

whic h ideas m u st c onfo rm and o f which they a re c o pies ;

,
1 92 A n I n t r o d u c t io n t o P hil
os o h
p y

but t h e dictat o r is earthl y it is m o r e dem o cratic f o r it r e

,

sides a t least in m an s w o rld o f space and time

’
.

This w o rld o f o bj ects be haves in a definite way it acts in ,

a cc o rd ance with laws and it is the bu sines s o f s cience a c

, ,

c o rding t o the teaching o f empiri cism t o disc o ver thes e ,

habitualways o f the behavi o r o f o bj ects Empiri cism had .

a definite way o r meth o d o f disc o vering the nature o f reality

— that is reality a s the c o mm o n w o rld o f man s interests
,
’
.

'

O bj ects are o perating in a system ruled by natural law and ,

the laws o f the beh avi o r o f obj ects can be disc o vered n o t ,

by the auth o ritative meth o ds o f the S ch o lastics no r by the

deductive meth o ds o f D es cartes and the idealists but by t he ,

hum a n meth o ds o f tri al and err o r o f hyp o thesis o f exp e ri

, ,

mentati o n o f inducti o n The empiricists th o u ght o f de du c

, .

ti o n a s the meth o d o f auth o rity a reflecti o n o f d o gmatic

,

days when man expe cted a principle o r mo dus op er a nd i t o

be v o uchsafed him by s o me miracul o us dispensati o n o f
P r o vidence o r by s o me p o wer wh o s e a uth o rity c o uld n o t be
questi o ned B u t inducti o n the meth o d o f one s eeking in
.
,

f o rm ati o n fr o m the facts the meth o d o f the c o mm o n m an

,

in his d a ily a ctivities a s well a s o f the s cientis t in the m o st

rec o ndite experiment a l investi g ati o ns is t he meth o d o f the ,

dem o crat and ref o rm er C o nsequentl y we s ee B ac o n em

.
,

h a s iz in the meth od of dis c o vering h o w things act so

p g
that s o ciety will pr o fit s o that p e o p le willbe benefited in
,

their endeav o rs ; and l ate r we s e e J o hn Stuart Mill perfo rm ~

ing f o r empiricism what A rist o tle did f o r auth o rity pe r ,

~

f o rm in g f o r inducti o n that is t o s ay wh at A rist o tle di d

, ,

“
f o r deducti o n . A s the A ri st o telian l o gic st ates the meth
o d s o f ar gumentati o n Mill s l o gic states the meth o d o f ex
’
,

peri mentati o n the meth o d o f determi nin g the causes and

,
”

e ff ects o f phen omena This is wh at s cience is f o r the em

.

i r i ci s t — the dis c o very o f the caus al relati o ns ; and when

p
 Emp ir icis m 1 93

we kn o w th ese relati o ns we k n ow how t o be ha ve in the pres

ence o f the phen o mena .

The realw o rld f o r the empiricist is j ust this w o rld o f

c atal o gued things this w o rld o f causally determined thin g s
,
.

He di sc o vers c auses by l o o king f o r them j ust as he d is c ov

ers anything else ; bu t he l ooks under con t r ol led c ondi t io ns .

J ohn Stuart Mill stated the me th ods o f resea rch the ih ,

d u c t ive meth o ds and sh o ws h o w the s cientist t h e man w h o

, ,

d i s c o vers what reality is has al ,

ways empl oyed them in all
his investi g ati o ns .

F o r the later empiricists espe ci ally after D arwin the

, ,

nature o f reality di ff ered fr o m t h e c o ncepti o n which p re

vai led am o ng the earlier leaders o f the m o vement such as ,

B ac o n L o cke and Hume

, ,
L o cke th o u ght o f the real as
.

the o bj ective c o mm o n sense w o rld ; Hume f oll o wing t o their ,

l o gi cal c o nclusi o ns the d o ctrines o f ideas as held by L o c k e

and B erkeley reduced reality m aterial and spiritual t o
, , ,

gr o ups o f sensati o ns ; bu t with the later em p iri cists r eality

be came a series o f chan ges which c o uld be explained natur
ally A genetic treatment o f the w o rld be came po ssible
.
‘

a treatment m o re o ver whi ch is natural a nd which seeks

, , ,

t o av o id the pitfalls o f su p e r n a turalism which by its very ,

nature precludes t he applicati o n o f s cientific meth o d Re

, .

ality 1 S ln c o nstant change an idea much akin t o the early

,

c o ncepti o n o f H er a cleit u s o f the Greeks and o f A rist o tle in ,

his genetic treatment o f the pr oblems o f psych o l o gy and

bi ol o gy The c o ncepti o n o f ch a n ge o f gr o wth o f evol
.
, u ,

ti o n has been the m o st p o werful fact o r in the intellectual

life o f the last half century a c o nce p ti o n which resulted
-

fr o m an a p plicati o n o f the meth o ds o f research t o the prae

tical a ff airs o f t his w o rld .

E r icis m a nd K n o w l l
( )
b mp i e d ge o r E p is t emo ogy Fr o m .

the time o f B ac o n t o o u r o w n empiricism has regarded ,

1 94 A n I nt r o d u c tio n t o P hil
os o h
p y

kn o w l
edge as fo r s o mething Kn o wledge is po wer a n d .
“
,

is n o t a luxury added t o man that he m a y c o ntemplate th e

O f J o hn S tuart Mill L o rd M o r
“ ”
etern al plan o f thi ngs .
,

“
ley has s aid that he rec o gnized the s o cialdestinati o n o f
kn o wled ge and kept the elevati o n o f the great a rt o f s o cial
,

existence eve r be fo re h im as th e u l timate end o f a l, ls p e cu

lative activity .

B u t as h as been s aid empiri cism is pri marily a the o ry o f

o i
the rig n extent and validity of kn owledge it is an epi
, ,
—
s t em o lo ic a lthe o ry
g W here d o es k n o wled
. g e c o me fr o m h ow ,

is it gained t o w h at d o es it apply and wh at valid a tes

, ,

kn o wledge ? These are pr oblems which empiricis m seeks t o

answer and thes e answers determine its name Descart es
, .

had s a id that the mind p o s sesses innate ideas ideas bo rn ,

wit h u s and in no way depe nding up o n experience f o r their

o ri gin S uc h f o r example are the axi o ms o f ge o metry the
.
, , ,

ide a o f c a use o f existence o f self e t cetera Fr o m the tim e

, , , .

of L o ck e 6 9 the dat e o f the publi c ati o n o f h is chief

( 1 0 ,

w o rk E s say C o ncernin g Human Understanding ) the ep is t e

, ,

m ol o gi c a l pr oblem h as be en o f c entral interest in phi l o s o phy .

The empirical the o ry o f k n o wled g e is bes t stated by

L o c k e in the Ess a y and we shallc o nfine o u r treatment t o
,

this There is o ne aim h o wever that r uns thr o ugh a l

.
, lo f ,

L o cke s w o r k— the L etters o n T o lerati on The Tre a ti ses o n

’
,

G overnment Th o u ghts o n Educ ati o n Th e Reas o nablenes s

, ,

of Chri sti a nity and t he E ssay —

,
t o sh o w the emptiness in
th e idle f oll o wing o f traditi o nal o pini o ns and assumpti o ns
whi ch take the place o f h o nest inte llectu ale ffo rt and inves
t iga t io n Al l his w o rks t o o sh o w that phil o s ophy is an
.
, ,

u ndertaking f o r the g o o d o f s o ciety and no t a far fetch ed -

s cheme f o r the delight o f subtl e minds They a r e an a t ‘

.

ta ck o u traditi o n o n auth o rity and mysticism in relig o n

, , ,

go ve rnment and k n owled ge L o cke was a man in th e w o rld

,
.
 Emp ir ic is 1 95

o fa ff ai rs active in the li fe o f his time and interested in the

, ,

s o luti o n o f t he pr o blems o f his a g e H e was n o t the tr a .

d it io n a l S ch o l a stic far fr o m the interests o f the w o rld

, ,

“ ”
w h o viewed it under the f o rm o f eternity but like alm o st ,

all his nati o n a plain practical man w ho sees 1 11 phil o s o phy

, ,

a meth o d o f making a better w o rld .

What is the s o urce o f kn o wled g e ? H o w f a r d o e s it

reach ? What are the cri teria f o r distin guishing real kn o wl
ed gefr o m that which i s illus o ry ? These are fundamental
questi o ns in the epistem o l o gy o f empiri cism and in fac t o f , ,

all th eo ries o f kn o wl edge A s t o the s o urce o r o ri gin o f

.

k n o wled ge L o ck e is sure that it is no t in innate ideas He .

call s this the la z y man s meth o d o f a cc o unting f o r the o rigin

’

o f any bit o f kn o wled g e that c o uld n o t b e d o ub t ed a s s o o n

as underst o o d such as the axi o ms o f ge o metry

,
“
When .

men h ave f o und s o me general pr o p o siti o n tha t c ould no t be

d o ubted a s s o o n as underst o o d it w a s a sh o r t and easy way
,

to c o nclude the m innate This be ing o nce received it

.
,

eased the l azy fr o m the p ains o f search and st o pped the ,

inquiry o f the d o ubtful c o ncerning all that was o nce styled

innate N o r is it a small p o wer i t gi ves o ne m an
'

o ver an o ther t o have the auth o rity t o be the dictat o r o f

,

pri nci p les and teacher o f unquesti o n a ble truths ; and t o

make a m an swall o w tha t f o r an innate principle which may
s erv e t o his purp o se w ho te acheth them ” 4
F o r L o cke as .

f o r Mill later innat e ideas are the s o urce o f deep s eated

,

prej udices and ba d instituti o ns Pr a ctically theref o re as .

, ,

well a s the o retically it is o f g reat value t o determine the

status o f s o called innate ideas L o cke is str o n gly a g ainst
-

them and o ff ers many ar guments in supp o rt o f his p o siti o n .

“
He takes such su p po sed exam p les o f innate ide a s as it is
”
im p o ssible f o r a thing t o be and no t t o be and argu es that
‘
Ess y B k 1 Ch IV 94
a , .
, .
, .
1 96 A n I n t r o d u c tio n t o P hil
os o h
p y

“
they a r e no t innate f o r it is evident that a l l children and
idi o ts have n o t the le ast apprehensi o n o r th o u ght o f them ;
and the want o f that is en o u gh t o destr o y that u nlve r s a l
assent which mus t needs be the necess ary c o nc o mitant o f all
O n e w o uld think L o cke assert s th a t chil
”
innate tru ths .
, ,

dren and s ava g es w ho a re leas t c o rrupted by cust o m o r

b o rr o wed opini o ns w o uld sh o w t h e existence o f s u ch ideas
m o re cle a rly than any o ne else ; but as a matter o f fact
they are no t f o und in them at all L o cke claims th a t there .

a re no inn ate practica lo r m o r alp rinciples eithe r —that is ,

n o ne whi c h i s u niversally received Every m o ral cust o m O f .

o ne time and place mi ght be vi o lated in an o ther Univers al .

ity the criteri o n empl o yed by L o cke in determining the ex

,

is t ence o f innate ideas is wanting in the c ase o f every axi om

,

o f s cienc e o r m o ral ity .

S ince there a r e n o innate ideas t h e questi o n naturally

c omes W h ere and ho w d o we get kn o wledge ? Every m an
,
'

is c o ns ci o u s t hat h e thinks and that wh a t he thinks abo ut

and wit h are ideas and the questi o n 1 s H o w did they get
, ,

there ? “
L et us then sup p o s e th e mind t o be white p ape r
-

rid o f a l lc h a racters with o ut any ide as ; h o w c o mes it t o be

,

furnished ? To this I answer in o ne w o rd fr o m ,

e xperience ; i n t h at a l lo u r k n o wled ge i s f o unded and fr o m ,

” 5
that i t u ltimatel y deri ves itself The s o urce o f o u r
.

kn owled g e o f externalo bj ects is sens ati o n but there is a n ,

o the r f o untain namely reflecti o n the percepti o n O f the

, , ,

Oper ati o n o f o u r mind a s it is empl o yed abo ut th e ideas it

h as gained fr o m sensati o n “
Thes e when we h a ve taken a
.
,

fullsu r vey o f them and th eir several m o des c o mbinati o ns

, ,

and relati o n s we shal lfind t o c o ntain a l lo u r wh ole st o c k o f

” 6
ide a s .

Essa y, B k I I , Ch I , 1 , 2
t‘
. . .

y
Essa , B k 11, C h XI , 1 7
. . .
 Emp ir ic is m 1 97
’

Having dis c o vered the o rigin o f ide as in experience L o cke ,

seeks t o answer the sec o nd questi o n namely the ex t ent o f

, ,

kn o wled ge Why is it essential tha t such a questi o n he a n

.

s w e r ed ? I t must be answered be c ause it will indicate the

li mits o f o u r ability t o kn o w ; the answer will make it clear
that we are limited in o u r ability t o kn o w We can kn o w .

ab o ut th in g s which ex p erience v o uches f o r and c o ncernin g ,

wh at is bey o nd experience if suc h there be it is idle t o

, ,

speculate We are c o nversant o nly with ideas and thes e

.
,

ul timately c o me thr o u gh sensati o n C o nsequently all o f

.
,

o u r k n o wled g e c o nsists o f relati o ns betwee n sens ati o ns a n d

idea s g ained by reflecti o n o n the m ate r ial furnished by the

—
senses kn o wledge go es a s far as experience go es and no
farther .

There are many criticisms t o be ur ged a g a inst L o cke s ’

the o ry o f kn owled ge s o me o f them fatal but it is no t o u r

, ,

purp o s e t o O ff er cri ticisms but t o state facts The essen .

ti al thin g is that this the o ry is an attempt t o make p hil oso

phy practical t o take it fr o m the dusty walls and m ake it

,

a f o rce in the w o rld o f a ff airs t o sh o w that all ref o rms are

,

based ultimately o n s o me the o ry O f life and that ins t it u ,

ti o ns are always fo unded o n s o me the o ry o f values The .

immediate mo tif o f L o cke here is t o find a phil o s o p hical j us

t ifi ca t io n f o r libe ralism in g o vern ment and t o lerati o n in
religi o n ; and t o acc om p lish his purp o ses he feels that it is
necessary t o go t o the b o tt o m o f the pr o blem o f kn o wledge
f o r a statement O f it s o ri gin extent and certainty
, , .

( )
c E mp i ri c is m a n
d C o nd u ct The t
. hi rd fie l
d the o thers ,

being the nature o f reality and o f kn owled ge is c o nduct o r ,

ethics We h ave taken L o ck e as an ex a mple in o u r di s

.

e ussi o ns o f kn o wled g e , and f o r t he purp o se o f the the o r y o f

c o nduct whic h w as devel o p ed by the empiricists we sh al l
c o nsider th e Utilitari ans Util . itarianis m is the ethic alas
1 98 A n I n t r o du c tio n t o P hil
os o h
p y

“ ”
p e ct othef p ractical phil o s o phy I t did n o t take its .

o rigin as such with the earlier empiricists that is with B a ,

c o n and L o cke bu t c ame at a l a ter time

,
—the time o f B en
th am and the Mills during the first half o f th e nineteenth
, ,

century L o cke and Hum e each had an ethical the o ry in

.

which pleasure p a in and symp athy figu red respe ctively ;

, ,

“
but whe n we c o me t o the B enthamites o r the Phil o s o phical
Radicals ”a s the Utilitarians are s o metimes called w e see ,

the ethical interest the chief o n e F o r Jeremy B entha m .

ethi cs i s a means o f s o cialref o rm it is a platf o rm a do c , ,

trine a g o spel B entham wa s interested primarily in three

, .

ref o rm m o vements n amely that o f the law O f the meth o ds

, , ,

o f punishment and o f the En glish c o nstituti o n

, His watch .

w o rd w a s u til i ty o r the greatest h appiness t o the greatest

,

n u mber and it is t o h is credit lar g ely that the Ref o rm B ill

,

o f 1 83 2 w a s p as sed B entham th o ught that the pri n ciple o f

.

utility sh o uld apply no t merely t o a l o ca lco mmunity but

—
that i t sh o uld apply u niversally that every man o f any land
s h o ul d c o me in f o r eq u a lc o nsiderati o n with every o ther m a n .

F o r B entham what is the standard O f m o rality ? What

,

determines whether an a ct is g o o d o r bad ? B entham a n

s w er s that the g eneral h appines s is the stand ard and th a t ,

the m o ra lquality o f any a ct is determ ine d by its pleasant

“

o r p ai nful c o nsequences s o far as thes e enter int o t he in,

tenti o n o f the agent Th e m o tive h as n o thing t o d o with the

.

” 7
m o rality o f the a cti o n and is in all cases self interest , .

The thing that c o unts in acti o n is the result the c o u se ,

“
n and n o t the intent f o r the r o ad t o hell is p aved
q u e c es ,

with g o o d intenti o ns ”
I t is by their fru its t hat ye shall
.

kn o w them and B entham w o uld gladly subs cribe t o the

,

text t o th e eff ect that faith with o ut w o rks is de ad .

B entham als o added t o the hed o nistic o r happines s ethi cs

S eth Engl
,
ish Philosophe rs p 942 , . .
 Empi ri cis m 1 99

the s o -

c a lled h ed onic calcul

“
us
—th e necessity ”
o f an exact

calculati o n o f the res u lts o f acti o ns as a guide t o ri ght c o n

duct We must wei gh pleasures and pains and always act
.

s o that the resultant will b e a surplus o f pleasure o ver p ain ,

ple asure and p ain bein g the t w o great masters o f man s ’

life We must take int o acc o unt the intensity the durati o n
.
, ,

the certainty the nearnes s o r rem o teness the barrenn es s in

, ,

p ainful results and the fru itfulness in further pleasures o f

, ,

every a ct s o that the surplus O f pleasure m ay always be

maintained The a s sumpti o n is that all pleasures are O f the
.

s ame quality and that they di ff er o nly in quantity o r

am o unt The ri ght act in every case is that which will bring
.

the greatest am ou nt o f pleasure the kind being the same in ,

all cases .

B u t it is in the writing o f J o hn Stu art Mill that we find

the be st st atements o f the ethics o f utility Mill admired .

B entham po ssibly because O f the meth o ds o f the latter

,

“
rather than f o r his d o ctri nes He s ays o f B entham I t i s
.
,

by his me tho d chie fly that B entham j ustly ea rned a p o siti o n

in m o ral s cience anal o g o u s t o that O f B ac o n in physic al .

I t is bec a use he was the firs t t o enter int o the ri ght m o de o f

w o rking ethical pr o blems th o u gh he w o rked m any o f them
, ,

” 8
a s did B ac o n in physical o n insu fficient data
, Mill and .

B entham a g ree o n the general principle o f utility The .

fundament al p rinciple o f m o rality is t o be f o und in utility ,

o r the influence o f acti o n o n happ iness Mill h o wever dif .

, ,

fers fr o m B entham in many respects S elf interest is the .

m o tive f o rce O f c o nduct fr o m B entham s stand p o int an ide a ’

,

impressed u po n him by the s o cial and p o litical life o f hi s

“ ”
day ; but Mill thinks c o m mence a man s desire t o be c o n ,
’

sistent with himself f o r the sake Of his o w n c o nscience is

, ,

a f o rce which impels t o acti o n Utility is indeed the ul

. ti , ,

D i sse rt a ti ons , ii , 46 2 .
200 A n I n t r od u c tion t o ,
P hil
os op hy

mate appe alin a let hi calqu esti ons ,

l “
bu t it mu s t be u til
ity
in th e larg es t sens e gr ou nded on , the pe rm anent interests o f
ma n as a pr o gressive being .

Mill draws a distincti o n be twee n pl eas u res w hich B enth am ,

did no t make They a re qua li t a tivel

.
y di ff erent n o t merely ,

qu antitatively di ff erent Thi s di stincti o n h a d l o ng a go

.

be en m a d e by P lat o and o ther Gree k m o r ali sts and Mill ,

takes the s ame p o siti o n as did Plat o that the pleas u res o f ,

the mind are su p eri o r t o th o s e o f the bo dy .

I t will be remembered that B entham th o u ght that c o n

sequences al o ne c o unt ; bu t Mi l lbe lieved that t h ere is a n in
te rnals ancti o n o f right c o nd u ct namely th e sense o f duty , , .

Res u lts a l o ne must be s u pp lemented by the sense Of duty o r

Obli gati o n .

That Mill believed t h e eth ics o f u til ity in h a rm o ny with

the bes t m o ralt eachings o f the p ast is evident fr o m such
statements : A s be tween hi s o wn h appines s and that o f
“

o thers u tilita r i an ism requires t h e individual t o be a s strictly

,

imp artial as a be nev o lent and disinterested spectat o r I n .

the go lden rule o f Je sus o f N a z aret h we read the c o mplet e

spirit O f the ethics o f utility To d o as y o u w o u ld be d o ne .

by and t o l
, o ve y o ur neighbo r as y o urself c o nstitute the

” 9
ide al pe rfecti o n o f utilitari an m o rality Mill believes .

th a t u tilita r ianism teaches th at a m an may and even must

s acrifice h i s o wn greates t go o d f o r the gre a test go o d o f
o thers .

Utilitari anism made str ong appea lt o th e pe o pl e o f the

ea rly half O f the nineteenth c entury due in p art t o its a p
p arent simplicity I t t o o k n o g reat intellectu al e ff o rt t o
.

c o mprehend the d o ctrine a s is the case with m any ethical

the o ries That the general happiness is desirable s eemed t o
.

be a self evident truth and can no t be explai n ed except

-

°
" u ot e d f m S eth, Op
ro . cit .
, p . 2 56 .
 Enzp u i cis m 20 1

M il lsa y s “ th at eac h pe rs on s o far as h e bel

, ieves it t o be
,
”
attainable desires his o w n happiness
,
He believed it a p .
,

pe ars that if each pers o n desires his o w n h a ppiness th a t a l

, l
pers o ns will desire the general happiness The apparent .

self evidence o f the principle o f utility made it the p o werf ul

-

we a p o n it was in the pr o blems o f s o cial and p oli tical life .

The utilitarians t o repeat were men o f a ff a irs membe rs o f

, , ,

p a rliament o fficers and ref o rmers during the firs t part o f

, ,

the last century .

6
. Emp ir ici sm in S cience — The s cientific m ovement .

which we have sketched in earlier secti o ns i s directly c o n

ne c t e d with em p iri cism and the practical I n this c o nnec .

ti o n h o wever we wish t o indicate s o me o f the eff ects o f

, ,

empiricism no t o n the physical s ciences but o n the bio

,
“
,

l o gical Men first begi n the investi g ati o n o f nature and

.

s u bj ect it t o laws Thi s happe ned in Greek phil o s o phy

.

where the thinkers o f the early days were investigat o rs o f

physical phen o mena L ater they be cam e inte r ested in m a n
.

and in thin g s al ive A fter the renaissance we find a simi

.

—
lar m o vement the p hysic a l sciences c am e first in astr o n o my
a nd hysics and later the s o cial s ciences received their
p ,

sh a re o f attenti o n The s o cia ls ciences h a ve been r a ther

.

sl o w in making their appearance and in securin g t o them ,

selves a definite subj ect matter and meth o d The inductive .

and experiment al meth o ds were applied t o the Obj ective

w o rld l o n g be f o re they d ominated the s o cial s ciences Mind .

and s o ciety have been the last O f the s cie n ces t o be treated
inductively and experi mentally and o f the t w o s o ciety as ,

treated in s o ci ol o gy is the last I n the s ciences that deal .

with life es p ecially psych o l o gy and s o ci ol o gy the meth o d

, ,

“ —
c o nsisted in deducin g fr o m s ome self evident p rinciple a
”
.

“ ”
s e t o f c o nclusi o ns which c o nstituted clas sified kn o wledge
o r s cience .
2 02 A n I n t r o d u c t io n t o P hil
oso h
p y

Empiri cism h as its cha racteri stic psych ol ogy as it h as

its ethics l ogic religi o n a nd the o ry Of reality
, , , I t is j u st .

s u ch a ps yc h o l o gy as w o uld be needed f o r the general sp 1 r 1 t

o f the re v o lt a g ainst auth o rity and f o r the establishin g o f
,

a dem o cracy in go vernment industry and o ther interests , ,

.

This psych o l o gy is called a s s o cia tio nis m o r the a s s o cia tion ,

psych o l o gy I t o ri ginated with A rist o tle a little m o re than

.

three hundred years be f o re Christ but it did n o t be c o me a

—
p o werful so cial f o rce until much later until the time o f
H obbe s L o cke Hartley Hume James and J ohn S tuart
, , , , ,

Mill The substance o f the d o ct rine is that the mind be gins

.

as a b lank that all it has c o mes thr o u gh the sense o rga ns

, ,

and by means O f the laws o f ass o ci ati o n o f ideas c o nti gu -

,
—
ity similarity e t ceter a all the c o mplex mental pr o cesses
,

c an be acc o unted f o r .

Fr o m the s o cial p o int o f view this psych o l o gical d o ctrine ,

as an i nstrument o f ref o rm means that a l lmen are created

,

equal that is they a l

, lbe gin life m ent a l
,
l
y a s a blank and f

that it is p o ssible t o make o f p e o p le p recisely wh at is de

sired since wha t they kn o w c omes thr o ugh the senses and
, ,

i s c o mbined in definitely kn o wn ways i e ac c o rdin g t o the , .

laws O f ass o ciati o n I f we w o uld have pe o ple kn o w the g o o d

.
,

f o r example it is o nly necess ary that they be placed in

,

s u ch an envir o nment where ideas o f this kind will be the o nly

o nes they can ever g ain in experience I n educati o n like .
,

wise this the o ry o ff ers great p o ssibilities and w a s empl o yed

, ,

by it s adv o cates in their e ff o rt s at educati o nal r e c o ns t r u c

ti o n and ref o rm .

B u t it is in the real m o f bi o l o gy that e m p 1 r1 c 1 sm s c o red

it s greates t success The results o f empirical meth ods di
.

r e c t e d t o wards bi o l o gy h av e be e n o f g reates t si gnificance in

the devel o pment o f recent th o u ght and acti o n The r evo l u .

ti o n in the th o ught w o rld wr o ught by the applicati o n o f the

 Empi r ic is m 203

ind u ctive meth o ds t o the field o f life is s o mewhat like the

rev oluti o n that o ccurred after C o pe rnicus and the hel io ce n
tric astr o n o my We sh all next c o nsider the d o ctrine o f evo
.

lu t io n and its infl uence o n m o dern th o ught .

REF EREN CE S

AI K I N S H A Th Phil s phy f Hume ;

, . .
, e o o o

B EN TH A M J Principles f M rals and L egislati o n ;

, o o

D E V EY J B ac n s N vum O rg anum ;
, o
’
o

D R A P ER J W The I ntellectual D evel pment o f Eur p

, . .
,
o o e,

Ch a pters I X X X I ; , ,

F U LLER T O N G I ntr o ducti o n t o Phil o s o phy Chap ter XV ;

, .
, ,
-

HO B H O U S E L T M o rals in Ev o luti o n ;
, . .
,

H OF F D I N G H Hist o ry O f M o dern Phil o s o phy Vol I 3 7 5

, .
, , .
,

4 49 ;
H UM E Enquiry C o ncerning Human Understanding ;
,

KNI GHT W Hume ; , .

,

K U E L P E O I ntr od ucti o n t o Phil o s o p h y 1 8 7 2 0 7 ;

,
.
, ,
-

L O C KE Ess ay C o nce rnin g Human Underst anding ;

,

MILL JA M E S A n a lysis O f the Human Mind ;

, ,

MILL J S L o gic and Utilitarianism ;

, . .
, ,

PA U L S EN F I ntr o ducti o n t o Phil o s o phy 3 8 4 3 8 9 ;

, .
, ,
-

ROBER TS O N G C H o bbe s ; , . .
,

RO G ER S A K M o dern Philo s op hy 8 7 1 2 9 ;
,
. .
, ,
-

RU SS ELL J E The Phil o s o p hy o f L o cke ;

, . .
,

T H ILLY F Hist o ry o f Phil o s o phy 2 5 5 2 69 3 0 7 3 6 1

, .
, ,
-

,
-

, 516
5 47
WEA LE , B . L . P .
, The C o nflict o f C ol
ou r , I ntr o d u cti o n .
 CH A PTER XV

TH E D O CT R I NE OF E VO LU T IO N

1 . Introd uct i on —The d o ctrin e of e volu ti on is an ou t

gr o wth o f the s cientific empiri cal attitude which has char

,

a c t e ri z ed the th o ught o f the English pe o ple I t c o uld fl

o ur
.

ish o nly o n a s o il which ha d been prep ar ed by c rI t icism a nd

s cientific research f o r it represents a tempe r s o wh o lly
,

f o rei gn t o the ide a o f auth o rity which prevailed earlier

that even if the d o ctrine h a d been pr o p o sed at the time o f
B ac o n and H o bbes it is pr o bable tha t it w o ul d have fai led
f o r want O f a su ffi cient backgr o und A lth o ugh the evo l
. u

t io na r y idea had be en pr o p o sed at a much e arlier time than

that o f W a llace and D arwin it S hared the fate O f many
,

o ther ideas which have app e a red bef o re the time w a s ripe
f o r ca rrying them int o practice and f o r validating the m ex
e r i m e nt a l
l The idea f d evel o pment w as present i n the
p y . o

thinking o f s o me o f the r o mantic ide a lists O f the latter part

o f the ei ghteent h cent ury but it is t o D arw in and Wa l
,
lace
that we tra ce the main thread O f t h e d o ctri ne The w o rk .

O f D arwin c overed the field o f bi ol o gy but o nce h aving em, ,

pl o yed the meth o d in the bi o l o gical field it is a sh o rt step,

t o m ake use o f the s ame meth o ds in all the d ep artments o f

human interest I f devel o pment o ccurs in the animal king
d o m if nature weeds o u t animals and plants t o meet the
,

needs Of the c o nditi o ns a g a inst w h ich they have t o stru ggle

and in which they must live why can no t the s ame be tru e o f
,

instit u ti o ns o f religi o ns o f m o ral and eth ica lthe o ri es a nd

, , ,
 The D o c t r ine o f E vo l
u t i on 205

o f systems o f phil o s o phy ? D arw in s g reat co ntributi o n f o r

i
’

the s t u dent o f phil o s o p hy is his emphasis o n the hI s t o ric a l

meth o d o f attacking pr o blems The earlier thi nkers were.

interested merely in wh a t is ; time me an t little o r n o thing t o

them but they desired t o see thin g s in their eternal as p ects
,
.

Al th o u gh N ewt o n dealt with the phen o mena o f this w o rld he

dealt with them mechanically s o that time meant n o thing
m o re than eternal ch an ge in the s ame phen omen a which did
n o t change . D a rwin o n the o ther hand emph a sized the
, ,

chan g e in the p hen o men a themselves There is a vast di ff er .

ence be tween chan ge which takes place acc o rdin g t o me

cha mical laws and that chan g e which while it o ccurs a cc o rd ,

in g t o laws dis p lays the s ubj ect matter itself a s u nder

,

go ing m o dificati o n Chan g e in the D arwini an sens e means

.

chan g e o f the latter kind The n a t u r alis t I c and int el

. l
e ctu

al is t ic attitude o f mind that characterized the thinking o f

the En glish pe o ple fr o m the time o f B ac o n t o the present
w a s devel o ped in cl o se t o uch with the facts o f nature and o f
mind in the practical c o mm o n sense meaning o f t hese
, ,

term s ; but it w a s a nature o f the fixed kind o ne given o nce

.
,

f o r all and there t o be kn o wn O r c o pied by a mi nd whi ch

,

w a s equally given and fixed N ature became th e dictat o r

.
,

nature t o o k the place o f a fixed church and a fixed S t a te ;

and j ust as the humble w o rshippe r fell bef o re the di gni ta ries
o f the church in his quest f o r the remissi o n o f h is S ins or a s ,

the subj ect fell be fo re the thr o ne o f his k ing t o beg his
fav o rs s o d id the phil o s o pher s cientist yield h o mage t o his
,
-

l o rd and master matter o r nature B u t as w a s the c ase in

, .

the days o f the S o phists when thin g s began t o chan g e man

, ,

in a measure l o st his respe ct f o r them and ceased t o pay

h oma g e t o them and what is m o re imp o rtan t h e began
, , ,

t o c o ntr o l them .When D arwi n tau ght that things have a

hist o ry h e expl o ded the idea o f an a u t h o rit a tive n at u re t h a t
206 A n I n t r o d u c t io n t o P hil
oso h
p y

dictat es t o man his meth o ds O f a cti o n ; he taught u s t o c on

tr o l nature n o t t o O bey her ; no t t o fall a tremblin g su p pli
,

cant be f o re he r alta r but t o steal up o n her unaw a res s o t o

, ,

speak and direct her c o urs e s o th at thin g s w o uld c o me

'

abo ut a s a result o f c o ns ci o us and purpo sive directing o f

her f o rces in a sh o rt time whi c h o therw ise in the pr o di , ,

g al it y o f nat ure w o uld , require a g es .

2
. H i st or y of Evol u t on i — The w o rd evol u t i o n is o n e in

c o mm o n ri s e and this fa ct renders it s meanin g m o re o r less

ambigu o us We shall u s e it t o include the general d o ctri ne
.

o f chan g e and gr o wth a s well a s I n the n arr o wer b i olo gical

sen s e A s i s usually the case with m o s t o f o u r ideas we find

.
‘

the c o ncept O f devel o pment in Greek th o ught I t w a s Her a .

cleitus s o metimes c al
,
“
led the fl o wing phil o s o p her ”
who ,

tau gh t in devel o pmental terms back in the S ixth century

befo re Christ He is c alled the ch ampi o n o f change the
.
,

great pr oblem o f his a g e bein g th a t o f permanence ve r s u s

chan g e “
Y o u can n o t S tep t wI c e int o t h e s ame river
.
”
,

s ays H e r a cl e it u s
“
f o r fresh waters a r e ever fl o win g in up o n
,

” “
y ou . O f hi mself he s ays I wa s o nce shrub fi sh
,
girl and , ,

”
bo y . B u t as I S well kn o wn the Greeks had n o means Of
, ,

testing o u t their the o ries ; they lacked the ma chinery o f s ci

e nt i fi c investi g ati o n and t he idea o f devel o pment perished
,

thr o u gh want o f verificati o n by experi mental inquiry .

A ri st o tle ( 3 8 6 3 2 2 B C ) w a s next t o make devel o pment

-

. .

a fundamental c ate g o ry O f s cience and phil o s o phy but h e ,

applied the ide a m o re t o the gr o wth and dec ay o f existin g

thi ngs A n o a k t ree f o r example is a series O f gr o wth s
.
, ,

and decays ; but there is n o attempt at an ex p lan ati o n o f the '

o rigin o f t h e tree The r e a lf o r A rist o tle is a gr aded seri es

.

O f real thing s but each membe r o f th e series is fixed cut

, ,

O ff as with a sharp knife fr o m all the rest .

A fter A rist o tle and the decline o f G reek th o ugh t n o th ing

 The D o c t ri ne o f E vo l
u t i on 207

m o re came o f the devel o pment ide a u ntil the rise Of the

r o m a ntic m o vement at the clo s e O f the ei ghteenth and in
the early part o f the ni neteenth centuri es Fro m 1 8 0 0 t o .

1 8 3 5 m a ny w o rks were pr o duced which greatly stimulated

the hist o ri cal meth o d “
Genera lliterature Ro man law
.
, ,

medieval trad iti o ns and instituti o ns cl a s sical phil o l o gy

, , ,

o riental literature c o mparative phil o l o gy and at last Chris

, ,

tian the o l o gy itself a re assailed after the hist o rical

,

” 1
fashi o n a nd o ne research leads t o an o ther
, Such
researches as we r e made in the fields abo ve menti o ned
emphasized the fa ct that thin g s g r o w in resp o nse t o fa ct o rs
—
such a s we h a ve enumerated in o u r e arlier chapter s f o o d ,

war climate e t cetera They indicated the fact which is

, , .

finding expressi o n in o u r instituti o ns t o day that civiliz ati o n

is an achievement that instituti o ns have been w o n at the
,

c o st o f innumerable sacri fices that lan gu a g e is n o t s o me

,

thing whi ch has been handed o ver by a be ne fi cent creat o r as

a gift t o man but is s o mething that has a hist o ry that
, ,

states d o no t c ome abo ut a s a re sult o f a rati o nal c o ntract

by which men a gree t o surrender s o me libe rties s o that they
may be m o re secure in o thers but that they are the result o f
,

st ru ggle and c o mpr o mise O f much bl o o d and little brain

,

in sh o rt that thin g s h ave c ome t o be what they are and

, ,

that the past is wrappe d up vitally with a l lthat we are and

p o ssess
.

I n s cience as well the ev o luti o nary attitude was bec o min g

manifest Ge ol o g y in the hands o f L yell g reatly cleared
.

the way f o r the D arwinian m ovement I nste a d o f catas .

t r op he s which the o lder ge ol o gists empl o yed t o acc o unt f o r

the earth s surface L yell substituted p r o cesses O f a less
’

startlin g but o f a m o re pe rsistent nature He sh o wed that .

the c rust o f the earth has had a hist o ry as Kant and L a

‘
R oyce Sp i ri t o f M od ern Phil
, osop hy
p , .
208 A n I n t r o du c t io n t o P hil
o s op hy

place h ad S h own in reference t o the s o lar system Wh en we .

remember that ge o l o gy attempts t o explai n what bo th p r e

“

s c ien t ifi c and even intellectual men h a ve in mind when they

s pea k o f cre ati o n we get an idea O f the imp o rtance o f the

”

applicati o n o f s cientific meth o d t o this field Creati o n in .

cluded the earth a s the habitat O f man o f beas t and O f , ,

plant Thes e pr o blems have always been the c erit e r o f in

.

t e r es t and have been the subj ect o f reli gi o us speculati o n a nd

,

explan at io n fr o m the earl iest times t o the present The .

dram a o f c reati o n plays an Imp o r tant r Ol e in o u r the o

l o g ical speculati o ns and f o rms the basis o f a l o ng and inter

esting series o f myt h s ; and wh en these matters h eret o f o re ,

c o nsidere d as within the c o nfines o f the ol o gy are submitt ed ,

t o a ma t u r a lis t ic expl anati o n we can re a dily imagine the

,

disturbances that w o uld result in the intellectual w o rld .

Fr o m the time o f Plat o s pec i es were th o u ght O f as fixed

'

classes were established and ideas o r fo rm s created o nce f o r

,

al .l The churc h t o o k up the ide a o f fi xity emphasiz ed the ,

real ity and permanence o f univers als type s o r s p ecies and

, , ,

the result was tha t the D a r WI m a n c o ncepti o n m et o p po si

ti o n fr o m the church especially in th e early d ays o f the
,

m o vement The attitude o f the church t o w a rds the rea l

. ity
o f universals and the fi x it
y O f species o r f o rms is well i l
lus

t r a t ed in the struggle between re al is m and n o minalism dur

ing the latter part o f the middle ages The n o minalisti c.

S ide was champi o ned by the En glish ch u rchmen and in thes e ,

early S t r uggles we g et a glimpse at the practical attitude o f

the En glish mind When spe cie s were S h ow n by D arwin t o
.

h ave a hist o ry th e intellect u alrev ol u ti o n w as alm o st c om

p l
et e .

In ther fields o f s cienc e dis c ove ries w er e made and h yp oth

o

eses advan ced which rendered m o re plausible the D arwin

ian hypo thesis The Mal
. th usian p ri ncipl e th at p op ulati o n
 The D oc trine o f Evo l
u t ion 20 9

Incre ases m ore rapidly than th e f o o d supply had its be a rin g

in bringing t o the attenti o n o f th o u ghtful men the ide a o f
S tru ggle in the life o f pe o ple f o r f o o d a n d c o nsequently f o r
existence Vo n B a er s investi g ati o ns in embr y ol o gy sh o w ed
.
’

the cl o se relati onship that exists between the hum an embry o

in its vari o us S ta ges o f existence and devel o pment and the
types o f animals in the as cendin g s cale thr o u gh the piscan
,

, ,

the amphibi an et cetera t o m a n The cl

, ,
a s s ifi c a t o r
.
y w o rk

o f A gassi z S h o wed the cl o s e relati o nship that exi sts between

the l ower and the hi gher fo rms o f animallife especially ,

fr o m the stand p o ints o f skeletal f o rm ati o ns a nd o rgans o f

the bo dy These researches all tended t o stren gth en a n at u
.

ral is t ic interpret ati o n o f the facts o f o rganic l ife and sug ,

gested a simila r meth o d f o r s o cial phen ome na .

3. Da r w in s Th eory
’
— D arwin attempted t o find a true
.

cause a ver a c au s a f o r the facts which had be en explained

, ,

o r acc o u nted f o r o n reli i o u s and supernaturalistic bases

g .

I n o ther w o rd s he s o u ght a s cientific explanati o n a natural ,

chain o f causes which c o uld be verified expe r imentally and ,

which w o uld make reas o nable all the fa cts which he labo red
wit h He was interested in bi o l o gy that field which was e s
.
,

p e c i al l
y difficu lt t o handle s ci entificall
y and whic , h h ad been
the speci al field o f su p ernatural interests .

D a rw in was impressed with the idea o f S truggle in the

p olitic a l ec o n o my O f Malthus and with the facts o f selecti o n
,

in the bre eding o f better and di fferent types o f animals I t .

o ccurred t o D arwin th at if man is able t o select certain

traits o r characteri stics and make them d o minant by c are

ful bre edin g o f animals which p o ssess the desired traits th a t ,

it is p o ssible that n ature o n a larger s cale selects such traits

as are es senti a l in meeting the c o nditi ons a g ainst which th e
o r g anism must stru ggle in o rder t o live Since m o re ani
.

ma ls and plants are p r o duced th an the envir o nment will

21 0 A n I nt r odu c tion t o P hil
o s op hy

suppo r t s o m e of them mus t of necessity be weeded o u t w hil

, e
o thers will su r vive in the strug gle th at necessarily ensues .

Th o s e that are be s t fitted t o meet th e demands o f the eu

vi r o nm e nt wi ll s urvive a s a m atter o f c o u rs e and will repr o
duce their kind while the weake r o r less fit o nes will pe ri sh
, .

S u ch a chai n o f th o u ght led D a rwin t o three o f the essen

tial principles o f his d o ctri ne namely struggle sel ecti o n
, , , ,

and survival o f the fittest There are o ther essentials ho w

.
,

ever o ne o f which is v ari a ti o n H ow d o es it ha ppen th a t

, .

o rganisms diff er in the firs t pla ce ? D arwin s a w t h at every

o r g anism even th o se o f the s ame S pe cies di ff ers fr o m ever
y
o ther o ne Why this i s s o is no t so im p o rt ant as th e fa ct
.

that it is s o I n th ese vari ati o ns s o me o f the s pecies will be

.

better equipped t o c o p e wi th life and its p r oblems than are

o thers a n d wills urvi ve and hand d own t o the future genera
,

ti o ns successfulvariati o ns B u t in explaining h ow vari a

.

ti o ns o c cur D arw i n is no t S O much interested He begins .

wit h vari ati o ns as a fact o f ex p erience and su g gests that

.

they a re the r esult o f chance Th u s cha nc e va r ia tions f o rm

.

an o ther essential element in the D arwinian hy p o thesis A o .

c id e nt a lva riati o ns a s is readily seen are very es sential f o r

, , ,

if they did no t o c cur there w o uld be n o thing f o r nature t o

select fr o m .

S ummarizing t h e c hief po ints in the D a rwinian th e o ry we

ma y s a y that in the first place variati o ns mus t o ccur ; s e c
o nd , there mus t be a struggle between individu als o f the
species and between di ff e rent species f o r survival ; third that ,

nature selects th o s e o f the species that are able t o c o pe wit h

her that are able t o a dj ust t o the demands o f the envir o n
,

ment ; and f o urth that th o se characteristics which h ave

,

pr o ved v aluable are h anded d own t o the o ff spring o f the

s u ccess ful c o m p etit o rs in the struggle f o r existence .

Thus we o bse rve D arwin furnish ed a me thod by whi c h

, ,
 The D oc tri ne o f Evol
u tion 211

ev o luti o n had a ctually taken place L yell a nd o thers ha d.

S h own that it i s a fact that it actually d oe s o ccur but th ere ,

is a vast diff erence o bvi o usly between the fact that ev oluti o n
has taken place and the meth o d by whi ch it has taken place .

I t I S no t o u r purp o se t o criticis e the meth od alth o u gh many

bi ol o gists whi le they rec o gnize the general principle o f evo
,

lu t io n a re no t in sympathy with the meth o d p r o p o sed by

,

D arwin I t is di ffi c u lt t o deny the facts such f o r example

.
, , ,

as the S imilariti es in skeleta lstructure p o inted o u t by

A g assiz ; o r the existence o f vesti gial o rg ans such as the a p
e ndix a nd th e hundred o ther ap p a rently useles s p o rti o ns
p
o f the b o dy ; o r the facts o f embry o l o y which S h o w that the
g
vertebrate embry o recapitulates the pr o cess o f animal evo
lu t io n ; and the facts o f pale o nt o l o gy an example o f w hi ch
,

is the w o rk o f Huxley in sketchin g the S tages th ro u gh whi c h

the present h o rse h a s p a s s ed While these facts are admit
. .

ted the meth o d by which they came t o be what they are is in

questi o n B u t this much remains and this is the im p o rt ant
.

matter f o r the student o f phil o s o phy namely that develo p , ,

m ent o r ev o luti o n has o ccurred

d s —W e have seen t hat D a r
.

4. Evol u t ion in O th er F iel

w inis m is a the o ry o f bi o lo gical ev o luti o n I t w a s no t l o ng
.
,

h owever after the public ati o n o f the O rigin o f Spe cies in

,
“ ”

1 8 5 9 that the ev oluti o n ary meth o d was applied t o o ther

,

interests Thin g s began t o be tested by their u s e in meet

.

ing the pr oblems and c onditi o ns against which t h ey were

set ; instituti o ns were tre ated a s means o f meeting p r oblems
hist o ry be came a study no t o f bare events chiefly o f a w ar
like nature but o f instituti o ns and a ctivities as exp ressi o ns
,

and manifestati o ns o f the nee ds and purp o ses Of the a ge in

which they fl o urished ; and in every departme nt o f interest ,

in s o ci o lo gy in ec o n omics in go vernment and even in re

, , ,

ligion itself the ev o luti o nary meth o d was applied and st a rt

,
21 2 A n I nt r odu c tion t o P hil
os op h
y

ling res ults f ol lo wed Phi l o s o p hy di d no t l

. o ng remain u n

t o uched by the ev o luti o nary d o ctrine I t was n a tur a l that .

much criticism sh o uld aris e a s a r esult o f treating time h o n -

o red instit u ti o ns and d o gmas as m eans o f adj usting m a n a nd

his s u rr o undings whether s o cial o r physical S o me ty p es o f

, .

phi l o s o phy came f o rth in their ete r nal as p e cts t o o verthr o w

the new d o ctrin e bu t it w a s no t l o n g u ntil thes e very typ es
,

which claimed t o dis c u ss things in t heir pe rmanent and a bs o

lute aspe cts were s u bm itted t o the ev o luti o nary o p erati o n
with the resul t th at they th emselve s wer e S h own t o po sses s
man y an cient appendices which Sh o uld in the in t eres ts o f ,

the o rg an ism be rem o ved ; and by her o ic th o ugh by s o me

, ,

ti mes fatal s u r gery phil o s o phy cam e o u t purified and t o o k

,

her pla ce a s o ne o f t h e means o f maki ng th i s life m o re val u

able a nd n o ble .

The ev o luti o nary met h o d was applied t o the vari ou s phil

o s o hic a linterests which we have sp o k en o f namely epi
p , ,

s t em ol o y
g reality
,
et h ics and ,aesthetics These interests
, .

were am o ng the l ast t o be attac k ed by the meth o d bu t n ow ,

pr o blems o f this type a s well a s th o se o f the o the r s o cial

s cienc e s are usually if no t al ways a tta cked fr o m t he evolu

ti o na r y stand p o int .

I n o u r succeeding ch a pters we shall f o ll o w t h e t endency

t o s ol ve certain pr o blems o f the s o cial s ciences o ne o f which ,

is phil o s o phy by the ev ol u ti o na ry meth od

, .

R EFEREN C ES

B A I LEY L
, . H .
,
The S urvi val of the Unlike Ch a pte r s ,
II ,
X IX ;
GL O DD , E .
,
The S t o ry o f C re ati o n and Pi o neers in Evol
,
u

ti o n ;
DAR W IN O rigin o f Species and D es cent
, ,
o f Ma n ;
DEN I K ER J The Races o f M a n ;
,
 The D o c t rine o f vol
E u tio n 213

V
II O F F DI N G , HThe I nfluence o f the C o ncepti o n o f Evol
.
u

ti o n o n M o de r n Phil o s o phy in D a rwin a nd M odern ,

S cience edited by S eward ; ,

JO NE S F W A rbo real Man Chapter I ;

, . .
,
-

KELLO GG V D arw inism To day ;

, .
,
-

L ECO N T E J Ev oluti o n and its Rel a ti o n t o Religi o us

,

Th o u ght ;
LU L L R S The Ev ol u ti on Of the Earth and its I n
, . .
,

h abitants ;
SE WA R D A C D arwin and M od e rn S cience especially
, . .
, ,

p apers o f C B o u gl e C Ll o yd M o rg an H o ff d ing P
.
, .
, , .

N Wa g gett Jan e E Harri s o n P Gile J B B ury

.
, .
, .
, . .
,

and J G Fraser ; . .

WR I GHT G F O rigin and A nti quity o f Man Ch a pter

, . .
, ,

X I II .
 CHA PTER XVI

E V O L UT I O N I N D I SC I P LINE S RELA T E D TO PH ILO SO P HY

1 . I ntr od u ct ion — Th e
ev ol u ti onary d o ctrine has as we ,

ha ve said enter ed every field o f intelle ctual interest and the

, ,

st u dent Of recent a n d c o ntem p o rary th o u ght c an no t c om

prehend s u c h ende av o rs except in terms o f the ev oluti o nary
hyp o thesis I t is es se ntial als o t o be ar in mind that this
.

c o ncepti o n I s pri marily a res u lt o f the empirical mind and

t h e empiric al meth o ds o f th o ught which we h ave emp h a
sized in ea rlier chapters We h a ve attempted t o emph a siz e
.

the empiri cal a ttit u de f o r it se ems evident that it is the

m o s t fr u itfulo f all types o f phil o s o phy N o t th at classical
.

em ir I c ls m a s f o rmulated by B ac o n and L o cke w rked t

p o o u
-

‘ ,

by H um e and later taken up by B entham and the Mills is

, ,

a phil o s o phy which is no t o pen t o seri o us criticism fr o m a

technica lp o int o f view ; bu t the attitud e o f t he empiricist
/

is we be l
, ieve the m o st frui tful f o r the s o l
, u t io n o f pr o blems

whi ch are valu a ble in man s expe ri ence Empiricism is val u

’
.

a ble no t s o m u c h f o r the f o rm al the o ry w hi c h h as been

adv o c a ted by its adhe rents but f o r the stimulati o n o f recent

st u dents t o o ther type s o f thinking cl o sely related in spiri t
t o it Thes e relat ed type s o f th o u ght av o id many o f the
.

t e chn ic al diffic u lties o f the o lder empiri cism and a t the s ame
time retain the valuable a s pe cts o f it I n the e arlier days
.

of ‘the empirical m o vement there was a gr o pin after pri n

g
c ip les which h ave since been m o re clearly defined m o re elab ,

o r a t el
y w o r ked o u t and m o re carefully systematized
, .

O ne o f the chief diffic ul ties which haunted the e arl ier em

21 4
 E vo l i ne s Rel
u tion in D is cip l a ted t o P hil
o s op hy 215

p i ri cis t and whic h he never c o mpletely s o lved was the

o ne

p r oblem o f the relati o n o f mind and m atter left t o phil o s

o h by D escartes E mpiricism was never able t o O ff er an
p y .

adequate s oluti o n Of the relati o n between the t w o apparently

di ff erent thin g s but usually sp oke O f mi nd as c o pying things
,

o r nature which was given and fixed o nce f o r all I deas it .

,

th o u ght and tau ght were c o pies o f things Thus emp iri
, .

c i s m left t w o w o rlds
— that o f ide as and that o f thi ngs
standing o ne a g ainst the o ther with little o r no c o nnecti o n
between them This di fficulty a r o se as a re sult o f the habit
.

O f mind o f c o nsidering s omethin g as an a u t ho ri ty Emp iri .

c is m it will be remembe red i s dem o cratic and t o o k its o rigin

, ,

in a rev o lt a g ains t the auth o rity o f S ch olastic reas o nin g O f

the middle a ges ag ai nst fixed principles and in fact
, , , ,

agains t all f o rms O f auth o r ity B u t in s o d o ing it be came

.

tan gled wit h an o the r f o rm o f auth o rity in the nature o f

matter and S tru ggle as it w o uld it c o uld never free itself
,

fr o m the c o mpulsi o n O f its master B u t empiricism needed .

thi s di fficulty c o rrected and a c o rrecti o n o f thi s l

, ed t o o ne

o f the pr o f o und devel o pments o f recent phi l o s o phy Evol u .

ti o n in the bi o l o gical sens e is an o ff sh o o t o f empiri cism in

the realm o f s cience as Utilit arianism is in the field o f eth ics ,

and o u r pu rpo se now is t o indicate the influence o f ev o luti o n

o n ce r tain o f the dis ci lines cl o sely related t o phil o s o phy
p .

We sha l lno t attempt an elabo rate treatment but select a

field o r tw o m o re f o r the purp o ses o f examples .

2. Evol u t ion a nd Psy ch ol ogy The d o ctrine o f ev oluti o n

.
-

had a pr o fo und e ff ect o n p sych o l o gy in at l east t w o dir e c

ti o ns namely in the sc ope o r extent o f the subj ect m a t ter
, ,

o f the science a n d in the n ature o f the subj ect matter

,

itself The animalmind came in f o r its share in p sy chol

. o
g
~

ic al discussi o ns and the n ew science o f c omparative p sy

ch o l came int existence
o
gy o .

The ev o luti o na r y d o ctrine had emphasized the cl o se physi

216 A n I n t r o d u c tio n t o P hil
os o h
p y

ca lrelati o nship that exists be tween man and t h e l

o wer a ni

m als a n d the questi o n naturally o ccurred t o D arwin a nd

especially t o psych o l o gists f oll o wing h im A r e they alike ,

p sych ol o gi cally ? They have similar sense o rg a ns a nd since ,

the sense o rg ans are a cc o rdin g t o the Old empiric a lthe o ry

,

o f kn o wled g e the g ateways o f all kn o wled ge is it n o t nec e s

, ,

s ary that man and the l o wer animals h ave in c omm o n many
mental traits ? I n the D escent o f Man D arw
“ ”
in c o nsiders
the sever a l instincts the em o ti o ns and the higher pr o cesses
, ,

such a s reas o ning and beliefs even o f a religi o us nat u r e and

, ,

affi r ms that thes e a r e c o mm o n alike t o m an and t o m any o f

the l o wer animals He sh ows that l o ve and hate fear j ea l
.
, ,

o nsy , c o u rage c u ri o sity sympathy reverence fidel

, , i ty at
, , ,

tenti on mem o ry ima ginati o n reas o ning pr o gre ssive de

, , , ,

vel o m en t
p self
, c o nsci o usness
-

l
anguage and, t h e sense o f ,

beauty are c o mm o n p o ssessi o ns o f man and many o f t h e

lo wer animals I t is evident that s u c h c oncl
. u si o ns w o uld
stimulate re s e arc h o n the pa rt o f m en interested in t h e evo
lu t io na r th e o ry and its psyc h o l o gica l be arings ; and t h e
y
c o nclusi o ns reached by D arwin h ave been t h e subj ect mat
ter o f many an expe rimentalinqu iry S ince his day Da r .

win s gene ralizati o ns in many cases h ave be en f o und t o o

’

swee ping and f ou nded on insufficient evidence .

A cl o ser defi niti o n o f the term s o f psych ol o gy h as c o me

abo ut as a res ult o f the D a r winian m ovement F o r exam .

ple the t erm in tel

, ligenc e has u ndergo ne ca reful a nd s crn
,

l o u s st u dy wit h a view t o determin ing criteri a f o r it s

,

p u

presenc e D arw in was far t o o anth r o po m o r p hi c in h is in

.

terpretati o ns o f anim al behavi o r Thi s is o ne o f the seri o us

.

di fficulties even t o d ay ; f o r th e tendency t o interp ret m a t

ters in terms o f man s o w n experienc es is as we h ave seen
’
, ,

dee ply r o o t ed in his n ature C o nsequent l y in the beginnings

.
,

o f new S ciences we t end t o interpre t p h en omena in term s Of

,
 Evol
u tio n in D is ci line Rel
a t ed t o P hil
oso h 21 7
p s
p y

what is best kn o wn t o us namely o u r o w n beh a vI o r o u r own

, , ,

desires l o n gin g s pur p o ses and a spir a ti o ns Such term s as

, , , .

em o ti o n instinct will intelli gence feelin g k n o wing and in

, , , , , , ,

sh o rt the wh ole v o cabulary o f p sych ol o gy h as undergo ne

,

refinement and revisi o n .

Human psych ol o gy has pr o fited greatly fro m t h e D ar

wi nia n m o vement O nce the s cience was defined as the
.

“
s cience o f th e s o ul o r the s cience o f c o nsci o usness as
” “
,

such ; but th e ev oluti o na ry meth o d chan ged this manner o f

”

stating the nature o f human psych ol ogy I nstead o f a .

stru cturalView a s o rt o f anat o my o f the mind the chief

,
“ ”
,

purp o se o f which was t o des cri be an alyze and build up o u t , ,

“
o f the elements which analysis displayed a s cience o f men
”
tal activities the ev oluti o nary meth o d attacked the p r o b
,

lems rather fr om a functi o nal viewp o int fr o m the S ide o f ,

“ ”
the physi ol o gy o f the mind rather than fr o m the a na t omi
cal I nste a d o f des cri bi ng the new h yp o th esis rendered the
.

business Of the s cience a s that o f t el ling the u s e of the

“
mind w o rking o n the c o rrect ass umpti o n th a t a thin g is
”
,

what it d oes .

N o t s o m u c h attenti o n is now given t o what the mind “

c ontains bu t much mo re t o what it is go o d f o r ; no t s o

,

muc h attenti o n is now given t o the analysis o f an em o ti o n ,

but m o re is given t o the search f o r meth o ds o f their c o ntr o l

and p ro per o rdering Percepti o n mem o ry ima gi nati o n as
.
, , ,

s o ciati o n j udgment and reas oning are a l

, , ltreated no t a s
“
faculties Of a mysteri o us and secluded entity c al
”
led the
” “ ”
mind but as instruments f o r guiding acti o n The mind
,
.

as a resul t o f the D arwinian the o ry be c omes a fu ncti o nal

a n d no t a stru ctural a ff air I t is s omething t h at aids in
.

meeting the p r oblems o f the o rganism in a dj usting the en

vi r o nm ent t o itself a nd itself t o th e en vi r o nment A s h ands .
,

h oofs h o rns fins nails tails and teeth h ave c ome t o be in

, , , , ,
21 8 A n I n t r od u c tion t o P hilo s op hy

the pl ay o f the o rganism and the envir o nment ; s o h a s th e

“ ”
mind , and no t as has be en taught as a lux u ry given t o
m an f or the purp o se o f eternal c o ntemplati o n o f the mys
t er ies and beauties o f the uni vers e I t is there f o r us e and
.

i s n o t a d o n a ti o n but an a chievement wrested fr o m nat u re

in the mutual play o f naturalf o rces .

The meth o d o f treatment o f the subj ect m att er o f p sy

ch o l o h a s likewise be en rev o luti o ni z ed G e net i is a w rd
gy c o
.

used t o indicate th a t the subj ect matter o f p sych ol o gy has a

—
hist o ry bo th that o f the individua land o f s o cie t y The .

individ u al begins l ife with a g r o up o r syste m o f p athways

in the nerv o us syste m already f o rmed Wh en these are .

stimulated the individual is said t o react instinctively ; and

we h a ve lea rned t o treat the hi gher fo rm s o f beh a vi o r as
bas ed u p o n and gr o wing o u t o f thes e fundamenta l race
h a bits which the individual inheri ts in the f o rm o f prefo rm ed
nerv o us p athways D a r w in ga ve but s c ant attenti o n t o the
.
’

instincts but later p sych ol o gi sts m a k e them fundamental in

the l i fe o f the individualand o f s o ciety S o cial psych ol o gy
.
,

an o th er s cience which i s l argely the result o f D arwin s ’

w o rk m akes o f the instincts the f o untain sp rings o f all o u r

,

elab o rate behavi o r C u ri o sity fli ght pugnacity self abase

.
, , ,
-

ment self elati on the p arenta l instinct and rep ulsi on

,
-

, ,

these s ay s a modern s o cial p sych ol o gist are at th e r o o t

,
1
,

of a l l o u r c omple x m odes o f acti o n Thr o ugh a u t omatic

.
,

reflex and i ns tinc t ive behavi o r we co me h ist o rically t o a

“ ”
type which we may call c o nsci o us using c o nsci o us as an
,

adj ective t o des cribe th a t type o f a cti o n which o cc u rs when

the o ther t ype s fail t o meet the needs o f the o rganism and ,

whic h is fu rth er characterized by del ay in th e resp o nse t o

th e stim u l us which cal ls it fo rt h .

D arwinism it is evident h as s o infl u enced p syc h ol

, , ogy th a t

McDou gal
l, S oci alP sy chol
ogy
1
.
 u tion in Discip l
Evol ine s Rel
a t ed to P hil
osop hy 21 9

”
wh ereas it wa s on ce the s cien ce of the soul it now t akes
“
,

its p lace am ong th e c o mm on earthly t hings as th e science “

”
o f behavi o r .

3
. Evol ut ion in Pol iti ca lTh eory — Every phil o s op hi cal
.

the o ry inv o lves a the o ry o f the state and fr o m Plat o s day ’

'

t o o u r Ow n the great thinkers h a ve us u ally stated the type

o f t he o ry o f the state which f o ll o ws fr o m the n a ture o f their

spec u lati o n F o r A rist o tle indeed ethics is subo rdina t e t o

.
, ,

p o litics and Plat o made p o litical the o ry the m o st imp o rtant

,

side o f his spe culati o ns His g reatest w o rk is t h e Rep u bl

. ic ,

a bo o k which has influenced p o litical th o u ght m o re th a n any

“ ” “
o ther which has ever been written Ut o pias . I deal S o ,

cieties and Cities o f G o d have en g aged the attenti o n o f

,
” “ ”

t h e keenest intellects the w o rld ha s pr o duced The N ew A t .

la n tis o f B a c o n the L evia tha n o f H o bbe s the C ivilG o ve r n

, ,

ment o f L o cke a re w o rks which have c ome fro m t he h ands

o f empiri cists in the realm o f p o liti cal the o ry I t is evident .

that a the o ry o f the state its nature a nd functi o ns i s

, ,

h i ghly signific a nt and imp o rtant f o r man lives and has h is

existence in s o me f o rm o f p olitical o rganizati o n Peace c on .

f erences and leagu es o f nati o ns are the m o s t recent expres

si o ns o f wh at men think o f states and their fun cti o ns .

O u r immediate purp o s e is t o sh o w the influence o f the d o c

trine o f ev oluti o n o n p olitical the o r y Many v olumes have .

been written o n this t o pic a nd we can but indic ate s om e o f

the mai n phases S ince D a rwin s time there has been a c o n
.
’

stant revisi on and restatement o f the nature o f the influence

o f ev o luti o n o n p o litics Th e first impo rtant treatment o f
.

t his subj ect fr om the ev ol uti o nary p o int o f view came fro m
Herbert Spencer w h o w o rked f o r ab o ut f o rty years on his
,

“
Synthetic Phil o s o phy ”
. S pencer th o u ght th a t he ha d dis
c overed th e general principle o r f o rmula o f ev ol u ti on and ,

h aving dis c overed it he gr o u ped abou t it a l

, lthe in t e l lect u al
2 20 A n I ntr odu c tio n t o P hilos op hy

a ch ieve ments a nd i nt erests of man S ociol ogy p ol iti cs et h ic s

.
, , ,

ps ych ol ogy et cetera

, a re a l lexpressi o ns o f this u nivers a l
,

f o rmula They al . lillustrat e a s S pe ncer tri es t o sh o w the

, ,

o perati o n o f the eneral f o rm u la wh ich s o unds f o rmi dabl e

g
bu t whic h is simple when underst o o d S pencer s de finiti o n o r
.
’

f o r mula o f ev oluti o n is : Ev o luti o n is an integr ati o n o f mat

“

ter and c onc omitant dissipati o n of mo ti o n ; during whic h

the m a tte r p asses fr o m an indefinite inc oh erent h om o geneity ,

t o a d e finite c oh erent h eter o geneity ; and d u ring whic h the

,

retained mo ti o n u ndergo es a p a rallel transfo rmati o n 2

It
is bu t litt l e w o nder that u po n reading t h e definiti o n f o r t h e
,

firs t time we symp athi z e wit h the sentiment o f th e st u de nt

,

w h o su ggested that the universe must hav e heaved a sigh o f

relief w h en it h eard fr o m the l ip s o f Spencer the meth o d bv

whic h it c ame t o be wh at it is ; but after a l lthe essenc e o f
the f o rm ul a is that devel o pment has o cc u r red thro ugh in
c reasing diversity a nd interde p endence o f stru ctu r e a nd
fu ncti o n The o rganism breaks up int o sm aller part s f u nc
.

t io na l ly and struct u rally b u t thes e part s are m o re a n d m o re

,

dependent one o n the o ther as th ey brea k u p or d iff erentiate .

With the general f o rmula befo re u s th e f o rmul a dis cov ,

er ed S pencer thi n k s inductively an att empt is m ade t o e x

, , ,

bibit it deductively t o sh o w th at is t o s ay th at e very

, , ,

ev o lving phen o men o n exhibits three c h ar acte ri sti c feat u res ,

namely integrati o n di ff erentiati o n a nd determi nati o n

, , , .

Sinc e t hi s is the way ev ol u ti o n ha s o cc u rred wh at th e o ry o f ,

the state f ol l ows fr o m it ? I t is evident that if the pri n ,

ci l is tr u e s o ciety i s a gr o wth and the st a te is s o meth ing

p e , ,

that ha s c ome t o be S pencer finds t h at a milita ry era came

.

early and this has been s u cceeded by t he industrial The

,
.

mi l ita ry era th e er a o f a u t h ority , s h ou l

,
d th erefo re , give ,

3
F i rst p ri nci pl es p 396 , . .
 Evo l i ne s Rel
u ti on in Dis cip l a t ed to P hilo s op hy 22 1

way to the ind u stri a l ; a nd fr om this t h e c oncl u si on is

reac h ed th at t h e state sh ould no t interfere in the life o f its
citi z ens I f the state o r any o ther extern a l auth o ri ty inter
.

feres the rights o f the individual are t aken away and his
,

eq u al chance is go ne S pencer th o ught t hat every individual

.

has ri ghts limited o nly by the equal freed o m o f o thers and

that any interference o n the part o f the state w o uld li mit
th e ri ghts o f the individual His d o ctrine there f o re is
.
, ,

kn o wn a s the l a is s ez fa i r e d o ctri ne o f the state — the hands

o ff o r let al o ne the o ry a s o rt o f M o nr o e D o ctri ne applied t o
,

the state itself .

We m u st no t f o rget that the Utilitarian s w o rked f o r

freed om and ag a ins t the a u t h o rity o f the state bu t Spencer ,

fo u nd what appe a re d t o him a phi l o s o phical j u stificati o n o f

th e d o ctrine o f non i nterf erence Freed o m o f spe ec h o f a s
-

.
,

s emb ly t h
, e repe al o f ancient laws a g ainst the labo re r were
demanded as essential t o the na t u r a ldevel o pment o f s o ciety .

D a r win emphasi z ed na tu ralselecti o n a s o ne o f th e elements

in the determ inati o n o f present f o rm s ; a nd a s the state i s
c o nstitu ted Spencer u rges it is no t na tu r a lbut an artifici a l
, , ,

c o nstr u ct wh ich actually p r events the free play o f natural

f o rces The st ate S pe ncer th o u ght s h o uld f o ll o w natural
.
, ,

lines t h a t is sh ould l
, , e t al o ne N at u re is t h warted wh en
.

artifici alregul ati o ns are mad e which li mit the n aturalten

d encie s o f man Turn pe o pl
. e lo o se and n a ture will d o the

rest f o r them give t h e m fr e e play and nat ure willsee t o it

,

th at things will t u rn o u t wel l; f o r if nat u re is able t o p r o

d u ce man by th e pl ay o f h er fo rces she is abl e t o ta k e c are
o f him afte r h e is p r o d u ced if man will but all o w h er t o ru n

h er c ou rs e I f each m an in s o ciety exert ed his full natural

.

ri ghts if a l
, lre stricti o ns were thr o wn o ff then a Ha rmo ny ,

beneficialt o al lw oul d be inevitable ; f o r n a t u re willselect

2 22 A n I n t r od u c tio n t o P hil
o s op h
y

t h o s e best abl e t o c o pe wit h h er and all w o uld then be the

,

pr o duct o f natural a n d no t o f artificial c o nditi o ns such as

we find in th e st a te a s n o w o rg a nized .

Justice the chief c o ncept in Plat o s Rep u bl

,
’
ic means f o r ,

S pencer ad j u stment equi l , ibrium and balancing be tween the

,

—
individual and o the rs I n s u b h u m an j u stice there is an in
.

—
evitable c o incidence o f benefits and merits aggressi o ns are
immediately p u nish ed as in revenge E a ch animal is sub .

j e c t t o i t s o w n nat u re and t o the res ults o f its o w n c o nd uct .

T h e r e is a dded in h u man c ondu ct t h e pri nciple th a t we

ou ght t o refrain fr o m s o interferi ng with the c o nduc t o f

o thers that the balance between nature and c o nsequences is

disturbe d tha t is t o s a y nat u re s h ou ld t ake he r c o urs e and

, ,

the s tate s h ould no t i nterfere ed uc ati o nally o r o therwis e .

Pl at o f ou nd j u s tice t o c o ns is t in o rder betw een classes but ,

t o this Spencer adds harmo ny between nat u re a nd the indi

vidu aland s o ciety .

I t is eviden t that m ech anicalf o rces are greatly stressed

by Spencer While he d oes intr o duce such terms as benev
.
“

ol en ce
”
and symp athy it is cl
“ ”
, ea r that since these are ,

the res ul t o f mechani cal f o rces mechanism o r the blind

,

f o rces o f nature play an alt o gether t o o signi ficant r ole in

the p olitic al l ife o f the race Thinke rs w ho s ucceeded Speu
.

cer were quick t o discern t h e e rr o rs inv olved in his t o o me

,

ch a nic a lc o ncepti o n , and set abo u t t o give a m o re adequate

interp retati o n o f the spiri t o f the ev oluti o nary d o ctrin e .

O thers o n the c o ntrary carried the D arw inian the o ry o f

, ,

stru ggl e t o e x tremes t o l ,

imits no t c ontemplated by the
spirit o f th e the o ry in the devel o pment o f a d o ctrine which
,

h as been extremely imp o rt ant in o u r day namely the do c , ,

tri ne that ri ght is the wi ll o f the str o ngest I n such a de .

vel o m ent
p the very spirit of the ev o luti o nary the o ry is

killed ; dem oc racy the equ al o pp o rtunity o f one with all the
, ,
 ine s Rel
u tio n in D is cip l
Evo l a t ed t o P hil
o s op h
y 2 23

t ru e spirit o f the ev ol u ti o nary d o ctrine is regarded as the ,

the o ry o f weaklings ; Christian ity the religi o n o f the c o n ,

trite heart the spirit o f Utilitari anis m as Mill put it the

, ,

3
religi o n o f the dem o crat is the reli gi o n o f sl a ves
, B u t it is .

no t ou r purpo se to trace the ev o luti o nary d o ctrine as it was

w o rked o u t in such e x treme fo rms du e t o an err o ne o us c o n

cepti o n o f it but t o c o nfine o urselves t o the p o litical thi nk
,

e rs who attempted t o interpret the the o ry in its true spirit

— t o th o se that is w ho make c onsci o u sness o r intelligence a
, ,

fact o r in ev o luti o n .

Th o mas Huxley c ombats the fals e o ptimi sm th at is in

v olved in a the o ry that teaches that nature will tak e c are
o f her o w n that blind fo rces will pr o duce if u nm olested an
,

ideal s o ciety in which harm o ny and j ustice will rule supreme .

M o re in the t rue spirit he believ ed that c o nsci o usness is f o r

,

s o mething I t is a t o olf o r the fi ghtin g o f the very f o rces

.

which S pencer th o u ght w o uld pr o duce the ideal N ature is .

in p art evil ; we all p o s sess s o me o f the ti ger and the ape ;

strife evil are c old hard facts ; and the business o f man is
, ,

no t t o s it idly by a nd wait f o r nature t o d o what he m a y

d o m o re quickly We mus t fight the very w o rld o rder itself

.

—
"

the eviland strife in it and must no t rest c o ntent with th e

d o ctri ne that asserts that G o d s in his h eaven all s well
“ ’
,
’

wit h the w o rld o r that nature pr o v ides a way

” “
,
”
S uch a .

d o ctrine is f o r the lazy man f or n ature has p r o vided u s w ith

means f o r helping her f o r directing her fo rces f o r ai ding
, ,

the ev ol u ti o nary pr o cess by substituting f o r na tu ra lse l ec

ti o n an artificial type based up o n intelligent fo resigh t I n .

sh o r t i ntel
,
ligenc e is i ts elf cr ea tive I ntelligence must see .

that equal Oppo rtunities are o pen t o all I t is i r o ny t hi nks .

,

H u xley t o s ay t here is a free field f o r all u nl

, ess the handi
‘
S ee N i etz sche , Wil
l to P ow er , B eyond Good a nd E vil H is . i
ch e f

wor ks a p p e a re d betwee n 1 873 a nd 1 889 .

224 A n I ntr odu c tion t o P hil
o s op hy

caps o f c hildren are rem o ved ; and one o f the fu ncti o ns o f

t he s tate is t o rep res s all anti s o cial tendencies s o t h at the -

benefi cent desires a n d capacities o f citi z e ns m ay be fu r

thered The st ate then instead o f bein g a detriment is ne ce s
.

s a ry t o freed om f o r it re p resents intelligence a s a f o rce in ,

ev o luti on as a fact o r in the stru ggle f o r e x istenc e and

,
‘

t h ence t o freed om 4
.

REF ER ENCES

A N G ELL , J R P syc h ol o gy ; . .
,

B AL T Z ELL W J Hist o ry o f Mu sic I ntr o d u cti on ;

, .
,

B U RY J B Hist o ry o f Freed o m o f Th o u ght ;

, . .
,

CO L V IN and B A G LEY Human B eh avi o r ; ,

D E W EY J H ow We Thin k ;,

D U R K H EI M L a divisi on du travai ls o cial; ,

G no ss n T h e B eginnings o f A rt ;
,

HA LL G S A d ol , es cen ce ; . .
,

‘
D arwi nism p rovoked a gre at d e alof discussi on of a p ol iticalna tu re .

We have ba rely i ndi ca ted some of the d octri nes Davi d R i tchie Thom a s .
,

H ill G ree n a nd P ri nce K r op otki n ha ve d one i nteresti ng work in t hi s

,

field K rop otki n empha siz es mu tua la id a s a f a ctor in evolu tion F rom
. .

the be g nn ng i i of i
lf e, he beleve s, i co op e ra t on a nd sel
-
i
f s ac rifi ce -
ha ve oc

cu rred ou t he p a rt o f t he u a lf or t h e gr ou p i nd ivi d
A s w e h a ve ndi c a te d . i
y i izi
in a n e a rl ch a p t er these f a ctor s h a ve t end ed t ow a r d s s oc a l ng m a n .

D w i ni m h b n th b i
ar s f m h di
as i n in li gi n I t w
ee e as s o uc scu ss o re o . as

i n thi fi l d t h t t h d t i n m t it fi t
s e a i p p it i
e oc r B t i e e s rs s e r ou s o os o n. u s nce

b th
o i gi n d th
l re o l t i n y hyp th i h
an b m b tt
e e vo u nd o ar o es s a ve e co e e er u er

t d th
s oo pp i
e t i n i n
O t hi d i t i n
os h l g y l o b id d s r ec o as ar e su s e .

Th l t i n y th
e e vo u y h l b n w k d t i n d t i n nd t
o ar eor as a so ee or e ou e u ca o , a o

d y
a d
ou r e t i n lth u cai f nd d n th
o al ti n y b i
eor es a re ou e o e evo u o ar a s s.

E n th m t
ve th i t t i
e f th s i n
os h auyi ld d t th
or a l ve o e c e ce s a ve e e o e e vo u

t i n y h yp t h i
o ar On tho i m f m th m t i
e s s. d th ce lld e ax o s o a e a cs an e s o ca -
e

lw
a s f t h ght
o i gn d th m t lm nt l nd h ng bl n
ou re e as e os e e e a a u nc a ea e co

ce p t ; b t t thi t im t h m t d n d w k i n m th m t i
s u a s e i bi g
e os a va ce or a e a cs s e n

a cco mp l i h d in vi i n f th i m nd n fi t t m th m t i i n
s e a re s o o e ax o s, a o rs -
ra e a e a c a

li m
c a bj t i v v l
s o i d ity f th m Th lw f th ght
ec e a g d d
or e . e a s o ou a re re ar e

n w
o f n ti n l n p t
as u c m thods f h ndl
o a i ng thi ng in p
co ce s, a s e o a s a roce ss

of gr o wth .
 i ne s Rel
u tion in D is cip l
Evol a ted to P hil
os op hy 22 5

JER U S A L E M , W I ntr oducti o n t o P hil

o s ophy 2 76 2 8 5 ;
.
, ,
-

M C D O UG ALL W B o dy and Mind ; , .

,

MARE TT R R A nthr o p o l o gy ;
, . .
,

MEA D G H The Meanin g O f the Psych ic al;

, . .
,

MOORE O ri gin and N at u re Of L ife ;

,

O S H EA M V D ynamic Fact o rs in Educati o n ;

"
, . .
,

PARRY The Ev oluti o n o f the A rt O f Music ;

,

PERRY R B A n A pp r o ach t o Phil o s ophy 5 3 1 1 4

, . .
, ,
-
4

REINA C H S A p oll o Chapter I ;

,
.
, ,

RIB O T Th The Psych o l o gy o f the Em o ti o ns ;

, .
,

S M ALL A W The Meanin g Of S o cial S cience ;

, . .
,

S P EN C ER H S o ci o l ogy ;
, .
,

T H ORN D I K E E L A nimal I ntelligence and Ed u cati o nal

, . .
, ,

Psych o l o gy ;
WA SH B U RN M F A nimal Mind ; , . .
,

WA T S O N J B B eh avi o r A n I ntr o d u cti on t o C omp arative

, . .
, ,

Psyc h ol ogy .
 CHA PT ER XVII

E V OL UT IO N A N D TH E D I S C I P LINE S OF PH ILO S O P H Y

1 . I ntr od u ct ion — W e
. h ave
c onsider t h e influence
n ow to
O f the ev o luti onary hyp o thesis o n the vari o us di sciplines
which go t o make up phil o s o phy p r o p er namely ethics o r , ,
,

c o nduct ae stheti c s O r be auty epistem o l o gy o r kn owl ed g e and

, , ,

reality P sych ol ogy s o ci o l o gy and p olitics wh ile o nce

.
, , ,

in c luded in phil o s o phy pr o pe r have br o k en fr o m the par

,

en t a lties and have set u p h o usekeeping f o r themselves ; but

the c ontinuity and interdependence O f experience is such
that a qu esti o n in any o f t he fi elds o f interest inv o lves a
the o ry in every o the r field I t m ay require a l onge r time
.

f o r the e ff ects o f specul ati o n and research t o be felt in s o me

,

fiel d s t ha n 1 11 o thers bu t in due seas o n a l

, li nterests reflect
the changed n o te discerned in a m er e sus ceptible field F o r .

exa mple the ev o luti o nary d o ctrine w as felt very early in r e

,

ligio n but it was a l

,
o ng time bef o re t he spirit o f the d o c

t rine wa s carried o ver int o l o gical th eo ry I n fact it is .

d o ubtful whether o r n o t it has be en carried o ver a t all by a

great many c o ntemp o rary phil o s o phers Habits o f th o u ght
’

c o ntinue a s d o o thers l o ng a fter we d o lip s e rvme t o newer

meth o ds and c o nditi o ns Men h a d bec o me t o o a ccust omed
.

t o speak in te rms o f fi xit and finality o f abs o lute and

y ,

etern al — f oll owin g the abs olute idealism o f t h e G er man phi

los o
p h e r s — t o adj u st t o a phil o s o phy o f c h ange o f exp e r i ,

ment o f h azard Of s omething t o be d on e by t h e c omm o n

, ,

ma n . When empiri cis m c ame t o fu l lfruitage in th e evol u

226
 Evol
u t ion an d t he D iscip l
ines f
o P hilo s o h
p y 2 27

t io n a r yand instru m ental phil o s o p hy even th ou gh it has a ,

hi st o ry reachi ng fr om th e latte r part o f th e middle ages ,

a n d ind e ed even fr o m the Greeks it f o und a lar ge part o f

, ,

the intell e ctu al w o rld st il

lh olding t o s ome f o rm o f the d o c
trine o f auth o rity : s ome t o a xi o ms based on intuiti on
“ ” “ ”
,

“ ”
s ome t o divine right t o ru le o r abs olu tism in government ,

“ ”
s o me t o fixed and immutable laws o f n a ture s ome t o fixed ,

“
laws o f th o ught s ome t o an unchan geable in reli gi o n
”
,
“ ”
.

These fav o ri te phant oms o f u nchan geability and auth o rity

sti l
lha u nt the intellectu al life o f many o f o u r pe o ple We .

have j ust witnessed the physical o verthr o w O f o ne f o rm O f

abs olutism and finality that in go vernment and th e c o ns e
, ,

n ce s o f the d ownfall o f finality in thi s field wil ld o ubtless

q u e

be reflected and felt in o th er f o rms o f intellectual a nd s o cial

2 . Evol u t ion
a nd — Ev luti n h as infl enced
Cond uct o o u

ethi cs that type O f h uman c nduct which i th u ght f as

or o s o o

g d
oo bad ri ght
or wr ng especially in t w directi ns
, or o , o o :

in the meth d Of dealin g with m ral pr blems and in bring

o o o ,

ing ab ut change in the meanin g f g d and bad ri ght

o a o oo ,

and Wrong A s t o meth o d o f study the hist o ri c a l o r genetic

.

ha s taken the place o f the o lder meth o d o f analyzing c o n

c ep t s and determ inin g fr o m t he analysis what o ne sh o uld

do . G o o d is s o mething a cc o rding t o the Older idea which

, ,

is disc o vere d by a visi o n Fr o m the ev o luti onary standp o int

.

the chief interest is t o determ ine how such c oncepts as go od

and bad came t o be th e c o nditi o ns which gav e t h e m birth
,
.

The ev oluti o nist believes that if he can determ ine c o nditi ons
in the life o f m o ral be ings which g ave si gnificance t o suc h
,
'

c o ncepts we can make use o f kn owled ge s o gained in the

,

s ol u ti o n o f o u r o w n m o ral and s o cial p r oblems .

“ ”
I nstead o f a m o ral sense planted in man a t the be
g inning w h ich dictates acti on t h e e vol
u
, ti o nist seeks t o find
2 28 A n I n t r o d u c t io n t o os
P hil op hy

the c o nditi o ns whi ch when o perative res u lt in the f o u nd a

, ,

ti o n o f suc h an i de a ; instead o f c o ns cience

“ ” “
that l ittle ,

sp ark in the bre as t whic h we are c a uti o ned t o keep alive

”
,

as a thing u nique and u nitary the ev o luti o nist attem p ts t o

,

a cc o unt f o r the facts o n the basis o f c o nditi o ns which the

'

race had t o face in the stru ggle which resulted in the a chiew
ing o f va l ues I t a cc o unts f o r intuitive j ud gm ents o n the
.
“ ”

basis o f r ace habits whi c h have been built up i n the c o urse

o f the a g es bef o re the reflective type o f c o ns ci o usnes s b e

came e ff ective in the rem o valo f difficulties Reflective c on .

s cio u s ne s s that is t o s ay that type o f c o ns ci o usness whic h is

, ,

inv o lved in j ud gin g and reas o nin g is a late r devel o pment ;

,

and l o ng be f o r eit appeared the rac e a cted o n l o wer levels

O f mental ity s u ch a s the refle x o r the instinctive Thus
, .

“ ”
intu itive j ud gments are frequently c o rrect beca u s e the
la rger p a r t O f t h e years o f the race l ies back o f them The .

Older meth o d w a s analytic and deductive ; t he newe r h is ,

t o ri c a land empiri c a l To k n o w a t h ing t he new d o ctrine

.
,

teac h es we m u st k n o w h ow it came t o be
,
“
I t was no t a l
”
.

“ ”
w ays and it m a y be s omething else t o m o rr o w O rigi n and .

va l id i ty c a n n o t be sep a rated .

The best w ay t o be c o me acquainted with th e meth o d o f

the ev o luti o n a ry phi l o s oph er is t o take an example L et u s .

take suc h an ide a as j ustice The Olde r meth od o f getting

.

’
at this n o ti o n is well illustrated in o ne O f Plat o s dial o gu es .

Ju stice w as c o ns idered a s a gift fr o m the g o ds Man ha d .

been cre a ted in c o mm o n with a l l creatures and t o e a ch

species was given s o me means O f getting o n in the w o rld .

To the birds were given wings f o r fli ght t o cert ain animal , s ,

h o rns and feet t o o thers a keen sense o f smel

, ,
l t o o thers , ,

swiftness o f f oo t and s o o n ; but when the g o ds came t o men

,
"
,

alm o st all th e gifts h ad be en given o ver and it t o o k seri

“ ”
,

o u s t hi n k ing t o find s o mething left wh ich c o u ld b e i ven m a n

g
 Evol
u tio n a nd the D is cip l
ine s o f P hilo s o h
p y 229

so t h at he c o ul d ge t o n in the w o rld I n a happy m o ment

.
,

after l o n g and seri o us meditati o n Z eus the father O f g od s

, ,

and men hit u p o n the idea o f gi vin g m a n the sense O f j us

,

tice Th o u gh man w a s weak in c o mparis o n with o ther a ni

.

mals this the m o st p o werful o f a llweap o ns w o uld render

, , ,

him able t o c o p e with all the vicissitudes o f hi s s urr o undings .

Thus j ustice is a gift O f the go ds .

B u t the ev o luti o nary thinker w ishes t o gi ve an int e r p r e

t a t ion based o n natural c o nditi o ns believin g that such an in
,

t er p r e t a t io n will magnify the c o ncepti o n a nd render it m o re

valuable I n the first sta ge o f it s devel o pment it is neither
.

m o ralno r s o cial but purely reflex and instinctive I t is the .

immedi a te resp onse that an individual makes when attacked

o r inj u red This is the s ta g e O f reven ge a seemin g p ar a ;
.
,

d o xic a lstarting p o int f o r the sense O f j us t ice The sec o nd .

sta ge c o rrespo nds t o revenge deferred t o s o me later ti m e .

In the first stage the reacti o n is immedi a te a bl o w a kick , , ,

or s o me f o r m o f act which rest o res equilibrium o r balance

be tween th e parties ; bu t in the sec ond stage due t o the in ,

t e r vent io n O f a hi gher f o rm o f c o nsci o usn e s s getting even

“ ”
,

is delayed and it frequently takes the f o rm of c o mmunity

,

retaliati o n o r bl o o d feud This sta ge is wh a t we may call

.

the sta ge f equ iva l

o e nc e— a n eye f o r an eye a nd a t oo th f o r ,

a t o o th Examples a re t o be f o und in the O l

. d Testament ,

in the c o de o f Hammurabi and in the expe ri ences o f children

,

and o f pe o ples o f l o w c ulture t o day .

I n fact abo ut the interpretati o n Of the w o rd equ iva l

, enc e

c o uld be written a l a r g e part o f t he hist o ry O f th e gr o wth o f

j ustice To be gi n with as we h ave seen it means l
.
, ike f o r
,

like bl o w f o r bl o w and t o o th f o r t o o th ; but it came t o be

, ,

later that ins t ead O f like f o r like a n ex a ct equivalence sub

,
'

s t it u t io n c o uld be made such as wer gel

, d o r a p rice paid in
cases o f h omicide T od ay if a m an c ommi ts a crime
.
2 30 A n I nt r odu c tion t o P hilos op hy

agains t the peac e and di gnity o f the state he may s atisfy ”

,

the demands o f the state a g ainst him by th e p a yment o f a

fine The pe n a l c o des O f ou r states a r e lar gely made up O f
.

a c a tal o g o f the o ff enses against t he sta te a n d t he am o unt

o f m o ney that it t a kes t o a ppeas e the o utraged o pul a ce
p .

I ns urance c o mp anies h ave s e t v al ues o n eyes legs feet , , ,

“
h a nds e t cetera with the result that o ne may cash in a l
,
”

mo st a ny o r g an th a t may happe n t o be l o st o r inj ured in

,

the c o urs e o f life D amages in civil cas es well illust rate the
.

ide a o f equivalence ; but with the di ff erence that in m odern

life a standard o f measure namely m o ney is used
, , , .

B u t equally interesting is t he gr o wth O f the ide a O f the

pers o ns and clas ses t o wh o m j ustice is t o be rendered I n .

e a r l s o ciet a m n had n o j ustice o utsid e o f hi s o w n gr o up

y y a ,

being an o utl a w fr o m the standp o int O f all o ther gr o ups .

W ithin his ow n gr oup he is treat ed s o mewhat as an indi

vidua lbu t as be twe e n gr o ups there prev a iled the s ame no
ti o ns t h at prev a il t o day am o ng na t io ns the nati o n as a é

wh ol e is resp o nsible f o r acts o f its p e o ple a n d gu ilty and ,

inn o cent su ff er alike Justice that is in e a rly s o ciety was

—
, ,
.

a j oint o r gr o up m atter all su ff ered o r benefited by the

ac ts o f t h e individuals o f the g r o up and the individua lgo t
,
'

his own me asure o nly within his gr o up since no o ther gr ou p

o wed him anything . A m o ng the Germ ans at the time o f
C aes ar this w a s the c a se L a t r o ci na wa l
. la In ha ben t i n / n

”
f a m i a n qu i
t e e
'
a t r a
fine s c u
j q
us u e c i vi t a t is
fiu/n t B u t the .

Greeks c o nsidered themselves m o re o r less m o rally o bligat ed

t o the barbari a ns a s did the Ro m ans t o h o s t es o r f o rei gn ers .

The L atin w o rd h os tes which means fo r eigne r is als o the

, ,

w o rd f o r ene my ho s til
, e e t cetera
,
This indicates the p oint
.

th at th o s e o utside the gr o up are c o nsidered as bo th enemies

—
and f o rei gners n o j usti ce is due such Fr o m this stand .

p o int the ev o lu ti o n of the idea o f j ustic e centers ab o u t its

 Evol
u tion a nd the D is cip l o f P hilo so h
p y 23 1

extensi o n—t o wh om d o es it apply ? Pr o gres s al o n g this lin e

r

h a s c o nsisted in widenin g the are a o f the g r o up and ex

tending t o all members the s ame duties and benefits B egin .

ning with the clan o r gr o up o f bl o o d kin which grew int o

a federati o n then int o a st a te we see a g radual widening o f
, ,

the size o f the gr o up t o which privileges and O bligati o ns e x

te nd We are witn essing in o u r o wn day the attemp t t o ex
.

—
tend the ide a o f j ustice t o a llpe o ples and nati o ns intern a
t io n a lj usti ce w o rld j ustice
,
I n the e arly d ays o f o u r o w n
.

c o unt r y o ne o f the g re a t pr o blems w a s t o secure a nati o nal

c onsci o usness t o get pe ople in the N o rthwest Territ o ry f o r
,
'

example t o think in term s O f the pe o ple o f Ge o rgia o r vice

, ,

ver s a . B u t t o day the United States i s f o r we h a ve de ,

vel o e d a sens e Of n ati o nal s o lidarity

p B u t it can n o t be .

said that there has as yet devel o ped a sense Of internati o nal
j ustice The o l . d idea that treaties sh o uld be based o n c o m
pr o mise and no t o n j ustice is firmly r o o ted in man s e xp er i ’

ence B u t there are th o se hi gh in p olitic a l auth o rity a s

.

well as many ethical thinkers w ho s e e the pr oblem o f inter

nati o nal j ustice and w h o are urging its acceptance as a
,

w o rking pri nciple in w o rld relati o nships .

I n primitive s oc iety there is little di ff erentiati o n o f l abo r ,

little th a t gives o ri gin t o classes ; but as s o ciety bec o mes

“ ”

c o mplex and m o re interdepe ndent classes gr o w up based o n ,

—
the w o rk each d o es in the gr o up o r state s o me are labo r
ers o r p r o ducers s o me are fi ghters and s o me are rulers
, , .

These are the three classes that Plat o discusses in the Re

p ub lic Plat
. o th o ught that j ustice w o uld prevail i f each

class remained in its pl a ce and pe rfo rmed what it by nature

was fitted t o d o Justice that is c onsisted in O rder a
.
, , ,

pr o per balanc e and harm o ny between the classes whic h ,

w o uld result when e ach class did its o w n w o rk B u t in o u r .

c omple x life a man may be a member o f several gr o ups We .

232 A n I nt r o du c tion to P hil
os o h
p y

a re a l l members o f the state a p olitical gr o up t h e type

, ,

which we have j ust discuss ed ; but we are m o re than mem

bers o f p olitic al units and this cre ates the great pr oblem
,

o f j usti ce be tw e en cl a sses We a re lawyers and churchmen

.
,

we a re capitalists and labo rers we a r e teachers and farm

,

ers a n d we can be membe rs o f the th o us a nd o ther cl a sses in

,

o u r s o cial life. When we study ethics fr om the ev o luti o nary

“ ” “ ”
stan dpo int we find that idea s such as fam ily o r j ustice
are no t such as can be disp o sed O f with an explanati o n th at
they are gifts o f the go ds but we learn that they are ideas
,

stil l in the making still t o be inte r preted and reinterp rete d

, .

in every new situati o n th at a ri ses Wh at w a s j us tice in

“
.
”

pri mitive gr o up l ife o r in medieval days might be c o nside r ed

ran k inj ustice no w Ju s t ic e is c o ming t o be m o re and m o re
.
"

a s o cial matter ; th e ide a O f s o cialo r c o mmunity res p o nsi

bil it y f o r sic k nes s f o r l
, o w wa g es f o r pensi o ns f o r the Old
, ,

e t cetera , is gradually gr o wing What is j ustice t o the

.

labo rer ? What is a fair share ? H o w m

“ ”
u c h sh o uld capi

tal receive fr o m the e arnings o f a c o ncern in which bo th

c apitaland lab o r are inv olved ? S uch questi o ns a s these in
v o lve t h e questi o n o f j ustic e be tween classes and they in
“ ”
v olve the empl o yment o f the term j ustice no t as a fixed
c o ncept but a s a shifting instr u menta lo ne f o r the s oluti o n
o f p r o blems.

Justice is als o treated by th e ev o luti o nary thinker fr o m

the st andpo int o f the means by which it is secured B egin .

ning with primitive retaliati o n and bl o o d feuds it ev olves ,

thr o ugh o r de a l s in which th e g o ds deter mine the winner o r

“ ”
the j us t o ne and finally t o o rganized c o urts o f law and
,

equi ty f o r the determinati o n O f cases Retaliati o n is an .

expensive meth o d especially when wh ole g r o ups are inv olved ,

and t his is usually the case B etween membe rs o f the same

.

r o up vari o u s mean s a r e devised f o r givin t o the i ndivid u al

g g
 E vol
u t io n an d the D is cip l
ines o f P h ilo s o h
p y 233

what is due him When j usti ce was l o oked u p o n a s a su

.

e rn a t u r a lmatte r o rdeals a s by fire o r by water o r by

p , ,

battle were the means empl o yed B u t with the gr o wth o f

, .

intelligence a nd n a turalis tic c o ncepti o ns hum an agencies ,

were devised in the n ature o f c o urts f o r the settling o f dis

ute s be twee n membe rs Of t h e g r o up and be tween members
'

p ,

O f di ff erent gro ups B u t in o u r system o f c o urts there sur

.

vive m a ny p rimitive cust o ms We have failed t o f o rm ulate

.

an adequate internati o nal tribunal f o r the settlin g o f inter

nati o nal disputes but thi s is rapidly c o min g t o be Such
, .

a tribunal can o nly be e ff ective when an internati o nal c o n

s c io u s ne s s and c o nscience are su fficiently devel o pe d t o s u p

p o rt such a n instituti o n Until these are devel o pe d the

.
,

meth o d o f primitive retaliati o n and bl o o d reven g e will be

em p l o yed Until s ome fo rm o f internati o nal o rganizati o n is
.

“ ”
eff ected f o unded no t o n balance o f p o wer but o n public
, ,

sentiment wars such a s we h ave j ust l

, ived thr o u gh will be
the result o f disputes .

The ev oluti o nary meth o d o f studying such a c o ncept as

”
j ustice displays it in its setting am ong the events and
activities o f c o mm o n life The meth o d sh o ws us h ow it
.

came t o be and what it means in the case in questi o n ; but

it d o es n o t and can never sh o w us wh at j u s ti ce is a s su c h .

I t teaches u s that j ustice ( and we are us i n g j ustice

“ ”
as
an example ) is a gr o wing i ns tru men t a l c o ncept ; it is an
,

ideal which when a p parently attained in any case m o ves

, ,

f o rw ard g r o win g as it m o ves and c o nstantly leading us t o

,

be tter and n obler achieve m ents The phil o s o pher O f evolu .

ti o n fails t o find an eternal and a n abidin g j ustice writ

“ ”

ten in go lden letters acr o ss the s ky but he finds it as an ,

adj ective which characterizes a type o f hum a n acti o n ; he

finds it a s a human a ff air steeped in the dew O f human
,

passi o n and desi r e red with the bl o o d o f men ea rthl

, y and ,
2 3 4: A n I n t r o d u c tio n t o P hil
o s op hy

l o wly Of parenta ge bo rn o f reven ge but tempe r ed with in

,

t elligen c e He finds no t J u s tice A bs ol

. u t e because this is a ,

su r vival o f aut o cracy and finality ; but he disc o vers j ustice

relative j ustice functi o nal j ustice empiri cal instrument al
, , , ,

dem o cra t i c .

Having sp oken o f the attitude o f the ev oluti on ary phil o s ~

“ ”
Opher t o a c o ncrete case namely j ustice we wish t o in
, , ,

dic a t e the meth o d o f treating m o rality i e c o nduct which , . .

,

we j udge as go o d o r bad r ight o r wr o ng He begin s with

, .

the simples t f o rms o f be havi o r o f a psyc h ol ogi cal nature ,

such as instinctive t h o se r ace habits which have a hist o ry ;

,

and he s h o ws h ow o n these fo rms o f acti o n c o nduct o f a

, ,

higher o rde r o ri ginates c o nduct which is mo r a l i e c o n

, , .

duct whi ch is valued as a go o d which is chos en M o r a lity , .

“
is c o nsidered as a natu ral gro wth a s c alled o u t o r s t imu ,

lated by ce r tain necessities o f indi vid u al and s o cial exist .

”
ence ; no t a s a d o nati o n but t o repeat a s an achievement
, ,
.

I t is a h o use n o t ete rn al in th e heavens as Plat o taught but ,

o ne m ade wi th human hands .

H aving f o und the firs t stages o f m o rality in instinctive

be havi o r the ev oluti o nary phil o s o pher traces its gr o wth
thr o ugh a sec o nd sta ge in which c o nduct bec o mes m o re r a
t io na l m o re s o cial and m o re m o ral
, , O u t o f the instincts .

t o fight f o r f o o d e t cetera gr o ws intelli g ence o r m o re r a

, , ,

t io na l ways o f s atisfyin g them than a re p o ssible o n the

basis o f blind res p o nses F o r th e purp o s e o f s atisfying f o o d
.

desires man be c o me s agri cultural and takes t o trade and ,

c o mmerce A t the s ame time he is r a t io n a l

. iz m g his c o n
duct assisting him the be tter t o gain wh at he desires h e is
, ,

c r eati ng new ends o f a cti o n he is cha ngi ng the kind o f ,

o bj ects he wants a n d what is m o re

, he is c reating himself ,
.

The c reati o n of o bj ects o f value is t he c o mplementary p r o

cess o f c r eatin g a self the self bein g reflected in the very
,
 E vo l
u t io n a nd the D is cip l
ine s o f P hilo s o h
p y 2 35

o bj ects h e ch o o ses Man bec o mes m o re s o cial as he a d

.

v a nces We h a ve seen that the s o cial life o f the race is

.

f o unded o n the maternal instinct which bec o mes in the nat ,

ural c o urse o f events extended t o o ther O bj ect s th a n the

,

c hild The necessity f o r mutual supp o rt f o r c o o pe rati o n

.
,
-

br o ught men t o gether and tended t o render them m o re s o

c i al
. Finally when the meth od s o f acti o n which h ave been
,

established meth o ds which have pr o ved valuable in meet

,

ing the pr oblems o f t h e race are s o ught c ons ci o usly and ,

ch o sen we h ave m o rala cti o n in the strictest sense of the

term .

Ri ght and g o od fro m the ev o luti on a r y viewpo int are

, ,

no t
“
abs olute a nd etern a l essences indepe ndent o f hu man
O pini o n o r v oliti o n but rather are fact o rs in a m o rallife
”
,

whic h is in c o nstant need o f revisi o n a n d refo rmati o n ; and

a s fact o rs they themselve s are c o ncepts which change with
,

the circ u mstan ces o f l ife A s the m o ral self is shifting .

,
chan ging renewing enlarging and as ri ght and go o d a r e
, , ,

elements in the l ife o f m o ral agents they change wit h th e ,

ch an ges in the m o ral self G o o d and ri ght are bo rn in the

.

pr o cess Of m o ral deli berati o n o f m o ral ch o ice and at th e , ,

s am e time and in the s a me pr o cess is bo rn the m o ral self .

We do no t begi n that is with a m o ral self full bl o wn with

, , ,

g o od and ri ght as s et fix ed and etern al ; but m o re l o wly as

,

the little child we create ou r m o ral selves in j udgments

,

whi ch give o rigin t o ri ght a nd go o d Since thi s pr o ces s o f .

creati o n is never c omplete the elements in it self go o d , , , ,

ri ght are no t finished and final but are renew ed a nd r e

, ,

vitalized at the s oluti o n o f every new di fficulty I t is this .

type o f m o ral life thinks the ev o luti o nist that is genuinely

, ,

p r o gressive which p oin t s the way t o the kingd o m O f man

,
“ ”
,

which s h all a l —
s o be a n ide a l s o cialo rder a kingd o m o f
“

G od .
236 A n I n t r od u c tio n t o P hilos op hy

3 . Evol u t ion a nd
iew t h atE sth et i cs .
—
The lder o v ,
1

which in p o litical life is a u th or i ty and divine righ t ; in ethics ,

right and go o d as fi xed and immu t a bl e ; in kn o wledge truth ,

e t er na l; in s cience fi x d c ie and in e x r abl l

a w ; in r e
e s
p e s o e,

ligio n church infa l , libl e c o nsider ed beauty a s havin g a resi ,

dence in that A bs o lute W o rld o f Perfect F o rm s where it

sh o ne f o rt h o f its o w n li ght t o make bri ght the substitutes
o f it th at thr o u gh s o me mir a cul o us dispens ati o n o f Pr o vi
,

dence had fallen t o eart h bel o w t o gladden the h earts o f

,

”
fallen m an .

B u t t h e ev o luti o nary c o ncepti o n is that neither h as

“ ”
beauty fallen no r h a s man bu t that bo th are gr a du ally
, ,

c o ming t o be in a never ceasing pr o cess o f creati o n B eauty .

,

like go o d truth and all such c o ncepts is o f humble p aren

, , ,

tage but that this is s o is a silent witness o f man s g reatnes s

,
’
.

H o w did the ze s t he t i c interest arise ? The ev o luti o nary

thinker seeks the o ri gin o f any interest he investi g ates and ,

h aving fo und it h e sh o ws the chief sta ges in its devel o p

,

ment I n this way he acc o unts f o r the phen omen o n i n ques

.

ti o n naturally and hist o ri cally In tellin g how it came t o be .

h e is als o telling c onditi o ns which make f o r its success o r

failure s o that o ne w ho reads intelligently can assis t in the
,

inaugu rati o n o f suc h c o nditi o ns a s will fav o r o r deter

such features a s c o mmand his interest There i s a go o d deal .

O f a greement as t o the o ri gi n o f the aesth etic feelin g I t .

a rises in a supe rabundance o f life in play o f which it ever , ,

remains a part 2
I t di ff ers fr o m the o ther f o rm s o f play in
.

the materials empl o yed and the directi o n which the impul se
1
M a ny aesth e t c i t h eor i es h a d been a d va nce d be f or e the i
r se of t he
l
e vo u t ona r i y d o ct r i ne . We ca n no t me nt i on t hem he re, m u ch l
e ss d i s

cu ss them . S ee r e f er ence s a t t he e nd o f t he ch a p te r .

”
Th e st u d e nt sh o u l
d ac q int him
ua se l
f i
w th t he i
va r ou s t heor i es of

p l
a y , e spe c a i lly th o s e of G roos Sp ence r,
, a nd H all .
 Evol
u tion a nd t he D is cip l
ine s o f P h ilos o h
p y 237

tak es Even th o u gh the aesthetic feelin g o riginates in play

.
,

ho w d o es it hap p en t o bec o me c r ea tive h ow d o es play as m o ,

ti o n bec o me creati o n play ? D an cing the evo luti o nis t ,

answers is the first fo rm o f art ; it includes the expendin g o f

,

mo t o r energy and aesthetic creati o n ; and is f o und am on g all

pe o ples o f all climes ; is symbo lical meaning war peace , , ,

hunting harvest birt h death marria ge ; and is as is evi

, , , , ,

dent c o nnected with the vital life activities o f the pe o p le

,

such as fo o d getting activities and marri age B u t dancing

-

, .

included t w o o ther rudimentary arts namely music and , ,

p o etry . The rhythm O f the dance leads t o bo th .

The ev o luti o nary scienti st and phil o s o pher must find a

u s e f o r things f o r whatever is must have had a value in the
,

race stru ggles else they w o uld no t h ave survived B ea u ty is .

—
disinterested no n utilitarian thus the pr oblem f o r the evo
,

lu t io nis t Why was the aesthetic feeling ev o lved ? The in

.

t ell e c t u a l activity is easily acc o unted f o r f o r it is c o n ,

cern ed with practical thin g s and the s ame is tru e o f relig

,

io n m o rality and s o cial life

, , B u t why the aesthetic ? D a r
.

—
win a cc o unts f o r it o n the the o ry O f s ex selecti o n the p ref
erence o n the p art o f the female f o r the m o st skilful m o st ,

be a utiful m o s t graceful m o st hi ghly c o l o red and m o st

, , ,

be autiful sin gers am o n g the males Theref o re beauty was .

at a premium f o r the u gly membe rs O f the species died be

cause n o females w o uld mate with them There a r e c ertain .

o bj ecti o ns t o this the o ry which render it untenable I t is .

be tter t o say that art o riginally had utilitarian aspects .

This can be sh own it seems when we thi nk o f the c om p le

, ,

mentary relati o n that exists between hearing and music and ,

th at it is valuable t o man and t o the l o wer animals alike t o

be able t o distinguish the s o unds o f o bj ects f o r the purp o ses
o f acti o n The dance bein g a s o cial matter and bein g als o
.

an activity which fav o red c oncerted m ovement which w o u ld

23 8 A n I n t r odu c tio n t o P hil
o s o p hy

be val u able in att a ck e t cetera it is evident th at it w o u ld

, ,

po sses s u til itarian v alue .

W hat Of the devel o pment O f th e aesthetic feeling ? The re

are t w o l ines o f interes t inv olved h ere : first the pr o gres sive ,

devel opment t o wards individualism ; sec o nd the devel o pment ,

al o ng the line o f wh at is c o nside red be a u tifu lO r wh at is the

beautiful obj ect F r o m t he firs t stand p o in t we find in
.

aesthetics what w e fi nd in m o ral ity and in all lines o f interest

_ ,

reli gi o us po litical and the rest th a t ae sthetics is first a gr o up

, ,

a ff air A c o n gl omerate o f religi o n ws thet ics ethi cs l

. o gic , , , ,

p o litics s cience and a l

, lth e rest is embo died in t h e term
, ,

c u s t om and a s we h ave suggested

,
pr o gr ess h as always con ,

sisted in thre ading o u t thes e s eparate interests the render ,

ing definite o f the indefinite and the disinte grati o n o f the in ,

t egr a t ed ZEs t het ics is o ne el

. ement of the mas s and pr og
ress in t h is l i ne h a s c o nsisted in t h e gr ad u al separatin g o f
t h e ws thet ic interest fr o m the rest and o f the di ff erentiati o n
o f interests in the aesthetic m ass itself ZEst h e t ics was o rig .

“
ina l ly s o cial ; dan cing a c o llective m anifestati o n , r egu lated ,

and s afegua rded by traditi o n later o n by laws as in t h e , ,

Greek republics and later still s u bj ect t o the infl u ence o f

,

”
f ancy and individual caprice p o etry is c o mm o n p r o pe rty
—
,

be l o n gi ng t o t h e clan o r gr o up as a w h ole there we r e no

c o pyri ghts in th o se days ; m u sic is s o cial a c o mmunity mat ,

ter regulated by t h e state and an in strument o f ed u cati on

,
3
.

The firs t o bj ects t o be c o nsider ed be autiful are h uman

.

beings The line o f devel o pment fr o m this standp o int c on

.

sists in the g radual withdrawing fr o m the h u m an o bj ect a nd

extending th e idea t o embrace everythi ng “
Human be ings .

3
We h a ve not d i scu sse d the p l i
as t c a rt s bu t th e s a m e
p r nc pl e s a re i i
in vol
ved h e re as i n the i
a r t s d e a lng w th m ot on i i “
I n t he f orm e r, t he
.

w or k is at o nce a r ch it e ct u r e , scu l
p t u re , a nd
p a nt ni i
g, f orm i ng an in
se p a r a bl
e w h ol
e, as i
t o d a nc ng, p oet r y , a nd mu s i c .
”
 Evol
u tio n a nd the D is cip l
ine s o f P hilo s o h
p y 2 39

began by thin king th at be au tif u l whic h resembled them

selves The A ustralian w oman a dmired the A ustralian man
.
,

and the Fue gian man the Fuegian w o m an P r imitive aes the .

tics have a strictly sp ecifi c ch aracter and their relati o ns ,

” 4
with the sexual instinc t are evident .

The sta g e in advance o f the human fo rm as th e be autiful

Obj ect is reached when o rnaments are a dded t o the bo dy
the first step in the directi o n which resul ted in the ide a o f
nature as beautiful .

This e x tensi o n is anal og ou s t o th at which h as taken place

in the m o ral and s o cial life when maternal l o ve became trans
ferred t o Obj ects o ther th a n the child O rnaments and a l l .

Obj ects which came in c o ntact with the body be came the
o bj ects o f the aesthetic feeling Al lf o rms o f art tended t o
.

be c o me dehumani zed o r rather nature tended t o bec ome hu

m a niz ed in artistic pr o ducti ons We s ee p o etry at first as
.

a c o n gl omerate o f epic lyric and dramatic all directed t o

, , ,
“ ”
wards man exclusively human
, N ature played but little
.

p art in the I liad and o ther epics ; bu t much centered abo ut

go ds and superhuman characters A t a later time the c om .

m o n man came in f o r his share o f ze s the t ic c o nsiderati o n .

We may state the o rder o f the appearance o f o ther t han

h u man o bj ects in a rt s omewhat as fo ll o ws : first animals ,

which in general were cl o sely c o nnected with man a n d whic h ,

were u sed f or f o o d o r f o r c ompani ons ; sec o nd the ve getable ,

w o rld due pr obably t o the f o o d interests attach ed theret o ;

,

and th ird the in o rganic w o rld t o nature itself C o ncerning

, , .

nat u re itself interesting facts are in evidence which sh o w ,

the tendency t o mak e man and his interests supreme facts —

which h armo nize with the anthr op om o rphic inte rpreta ti o ns
Of the w o rld wh ich we h ave already c onsidered
, When .

natu r e is fi r st treated in art it is cu lt iva ted n at u re n ature ,

‘
R ibot, The Ps y chol
og y of the E mot i ons, p . 342 .
240 A n I nt r odu c tion t o P hil
o so h
p y

cl o s e t o man nature m o lded t o man s needs ; bu t later mu c h

,
’
,

later indeed the wild the st o rmy the trackless th e vi olent

, , , , ,

c ame t o be c o nsidered bea u ti ful S uch s cenery as is f o und .

in S witzerl and had no att ra cti ons f o r the Ro mans bu t it 5

,

was s o mething t o be av o ided due p o ssibly t o the l o ng race ,

ex p erience which ass o ci ated the wild aspe c t s o f n a ture with

evil spirits .

The ey ol u t io nis t as appe ars evident sh o ws h ow be autiful

, ,

O bj ects c ome t o be He is no t interested in be auty as such .

,

an eternal fixed beauty f o r t o him there is no such thing ;

, ,

but he is interested in gi ving an a cc o unt o f the birth o f

be a u tiful O bj ects h o w man creates in this field as he d o e s;
, ,

in the sphere o f m o ra l ity a w o rld t o which is applicable the , ,

adj e ctive bea u tifu l B eau tifulexpresses one o f the ways o f

.

rea cting o ne o f the instruments o f behavi o r in the w o rld o f

,

expe rience B eautiful and u gly are catego ries predicates

.
,

t o be appli e d t o subj ects which a r e b o rn o u t o f that u ndif ,

fe rentiated m ass which is all man s w o rld o r which is as ’

, ,

James says o f the w o rld o f the child a big bo o min g buz

“
, , ,

zin g c onfusi on ”
.

6—
4 . Evol u t i on a nd Know l ed ge Kn owledge l o gic e is t e
p .
, ,

m ol o y were am o n g the last o f the interest s t o bec o me

g ,

a ff ected by the ev o luti o nary d o ctrine F o r twenty years .

after the p ublicati o n o f the O r igi n of S p ecies n o thin g was .

d o ne in l o gic fr o m the ev o l u ti o nary standp o int ; a nd even

after a p aper appeared w hich indicated s o mewh a t the new

directi o ns and bearin g s whi ch l o gi c sh o uld take little if ,

any n o tice was taken O f i t u ntilnear the cl o se o f the nine

“ Caesa r
‘
, w h en cr oss ng i th e A l
p s, comp osed a t r ea t i se on gr a m m a r t o
i
e t he t e di u m
be gu l of th e j ou r ne y .
”
R ibot , op . cit .
, 3 46 .

“
The i ntim t a e l
r e a t on i be t w e e n k now le d ge a nd r e a lt iy , i
ep s t em o l
og y
a nd on o o t l gy m k , a es it im p ibl
os s e t o sp e a k o f one a p a r t f r om t h e o t he r .

I nste a d o f ati se c on d evote d t o e ac h w e sh a l

lsp ea k of both u nd er the
he a di ng a bove .
 Evol
u tion a nd the D is cip l
ine s o f P hilo s o h
p y 2 41

te enth centu ry when Wi l li a m James and o thers cal led atte n

ti o n t o it in w ays whi c h bro ught it t o the n o tice Of the int el

lectual publ ic .

TO u nderstand the ch ange in t h e kn owledge p r o blem

br o u ght abo ut by the ev oluti o nary hyp o thesis o ne m u st ,

have s o me ide a o f the gener a l trend o f d o ctrine bef o re the

time o f Jam es a nd D ewey There were t w o current the o ries
.

o f kn o wled ge the empiri cal and the idealistic bo th o f which

, ,

w e have briefly t o u ched upo n The l atter h o wever is the

.
, ,

d o ctrine whi ch was held by the gr eat maj o rity o f phil o s

o p he r s .A fter we have cleared the gr o und by indicating
what the pr oble m s O f l o gic o r kn o wled g e are we shall return ,

t o these t w o types o f the o ry f o r the purp o se o f sh o wing j ust

what chan ges were br o u ght ab o ut by the new m o vement .

L o cke in the fam o us Es s a y on the H u ma n Und er s t a nd

,

ing s e t the pr oblem O f k n owled g e a s tha t o f determi ning the

,

o ri gin , the extent and the validity o f kn o wledge We may

, .

state the pr oblem s o mewhat as f oll o ws : what is kn owled ge ,

and what is the relati o n between kn o wledge and its O h

j ce t o r the relati o n between kn o wled g e and reality ? I t wa s
,

in the discussi o n o f the relati o n between kn o wledge and reality

that L o cke met his m o st seri o us d i fficulties becaus e O f the ,

peculiar c o ncepti o n he had o f what reality means ; and it is

f o r the reas o n that kn o wled ge 1 nvol ve s reality that we are

thr o win g the kn o wled ge reality p r oblem t o get h er H o w i s

-

kn owledge attained ? The questi o n implies that there is a

meth o d by which kn o wled g e is made p o ssible That meth o d .

we call t he j ud gment which inv olves subj ect predicate and , ,

c o pula all o f which are ideas I n discussin g the kn o wledge

, .

reality pr oblem we s h all pursue the f oll o wing o rder : What

is the agent o f kn owledge o r what are the me ans f o r brin g
in g it abo ut ? A n answer t o this questi o n will inv o lve a dis
c u s s io n o f the j udgment which c o nsists o f subj ect predicate , ,
2 42 A n I n t r o du c tio n t o P hil
os o h
p y

and c op ul a Wh a t is th e re lati on be tween k n owledge and

re al ity ? Th is q uesti o n inv o lves a the o ry o f the nat u re o f
ideas and o f thin g s When is k n o wledge s ai d t o be tr u e ?
.

A n an swer t o this inv ol ves a the o ry a s t o the nat u re o f

truth .

We have a lready indicated in ou r disc u ssi o ns o n t h e in

fl u enc e o f the ev o luti o na ry d o ctrine o n psych o l o g y s o me o f
the facts o f the o rigin and devel o pment o f kn o wled g e To .

them we w ish t o add that kn o wledge a s is tru e o f m o rality ,

and beauty has a hist o ry I t takes its o rigin in primitive

, .

needs and gr o ws o u t o f the instinc t o f curi o sity which in

‘

turn runs back t o vita lpr o cesses a s we have suggested in the

“
Psych ol o gical B ackgr o und ”
The catego ri es O f th o ught
" .
,

t h e p arts o f speech o f l o gic so t o speak have ev olved o u t

, ,

o f di fficult ies t o be me t and are present with u s now a s

,

means which we have a chi eved f o r the purp o se o f meeting

p ro blems which we c an no t s o lve r efl exl y instinctively or , ,

o n o ther levels O f beh a vi o r Since kn owing grew o u t o f

.

needs it always th o ugh s eemingly this may no t be the case

, , ,

keep s in cl o se c o ntac t wit h the pra ctical a ff airs o f l ife .

Kn o wing bi o l o gically c o nsidered is a means o f making a d

, ,

j u stments o f ir o ning o u t t h e difficulties int o whic h the o r

,

a nis m and its envir o nment h ave fal len Kn o wing then
g .
, ,

—
ha pp ens in a pr o cess which is m o re c o mplex in the p r o cess
o f living ; it c o mes t o be n o w and then and is n o t s o me
‘

thin g that g o es o u all the time Think ing is always a t a s k

.

and will be av oided when po ssible f o r thinking is rather ,

recent in the hist o ry O f the race The newly f o rmed o r .

recently a cquired meth o ds o f a cti o n are n o t s o well stamped

in the o rg anism and it usu a lly takes the l ines o f l east r e
s i s t a n ce in the a cti o ns it perf o rms .

L eaving the hist o ri cal side o f the m atter f o r th e present

we shall t u rn t o the the o ries we menti oned a bo ve namely , ,
 Evo l
u t io n a nd the D is cip l
ine s f
o P h ilo so h
p y 2 43

empiri cism and idealism The l o gi c o f empiricism as well

.

as th at o f i dealism teaches that kn o wledge c o mes a bo ut in

—
the j ud gment that it is the a gent o r vehi cle o f kn o wledge ,

but these l o gics di ff er a s t o what is inv o lv ed in the j ud gment .

Empiricism teaches that there is a real w o rld o f fixed thin g s

o n the o utside and that ideas o f the s e o u tside things a re

stampe d o n the mind which is at the beginning o f life a

blank I n o ther w o rds empiricism i s a dualistic t h e o ry
.
, ,

takin g t w o ultimates mind and matter Hist o rically it go es

, .

immediately t o D es ca rtes w ho emphasized the r a dical dif

ference be tween the t w o ultimates ; but indirectly the dualis
tic c o ncepti o n is as ol d as phil o s o phy itself and is but a
'

reflecti o n o f the O lder dualism o f this and the o ther w o rld ,

o f the visible a n d the invisible and o f the psyche a nd the

,

w o rld s o ul A s we have said dualism is a reflecti o n o f the

.
,

idea o f auth o rity whi c h ha s s o p o ssessed the mind of

ma n .

But what are th e l o gical di fficul ties in such a c o ncepti on ?

I f we s a y that k n o wledge is inv olved in the j u dgment and ,

—
that the j udgment is made up o f ideas one idea the s u b
j e c,t the o ther the predicate — then we h ave s aid that kn o w
ledge is dealin g with ideas o nly and no t with things o n the
o utside .We are never dealin g with t hin g s in thinking but
o nly with ideas O f thin g s . We always like t o feel that we are
d o ing business at first hand and no t thr o u gh the medi ati o n
o f ideas ; but em p iricism since it te aches t hat we t h ink wi t h
,

ideas which are c o pies o f things c an no t l o gi cally pe rmit u s

,

t o h ave direct acces s t o thin g s in kn o wl edge This is o ne .

o f t h e chief d ifli cu lt ie s L o cke has t o meet He s a id that a l

. l
o u r k n o wled g e c o nsists in the agreement o f ideas ; but h e

s o o n f o und o u t that things wh ich a r e o utside and whic h ,

actually sh o uld fi gu re in kn owled ge were left o u t To .

remedy thi s defect he s aid later that in additi o n t o a gree

2 44 A n I n t r odu c tion t o P hil
o s op h
y

ment be tween ideas kn o wled g e c o nsists als o in the agreement

o f a n ide a with a thi ng B u t h o w an ide a which is mental
.

( a cc o rding t o empiricism
) c o u l
d agree with s o mething that

i s wh o lly di ff erent namely a thing L o cke c o uld no t answer

, , , .

Things are in space and time but ide as are no t acc o rding,
—
t o the the o ry — and h o w such utterly di ff erent things c ould
a g ree is a pr o blem Then if they actually c o uld o r did
.
,

a g re e how are we t o kn o w it ? What is the test w h ich can

,

be applied f o r agreement and disa greement o f an ide a wit h

a thing ? They can n o t a g ree in size in shape i n c o l o r and , , , ,

in fact in a ny o f the ways we have in mind when w e s a y

,

t h at o ne t hing agr ees with an o ther .

Empiricism teaches that t ruth is precisely the a greement

o f either ideas with themselves o r o f ideas with things ; but

if what we have said is true empiricism is una ble t o give a n

,

ade quate a cc o unt o f tru th I n the first case we are de aling

.

wit h c o pies and no t with things directly ; and in the sec o nd ,

“ ”
we can never tell what agreement means a n d when it has
taken place if it ever d o es take p l ace .

I n s u mmary let us p o int ou t p recisely the di fficulties o f

,

empiri cism as a the o ry o f k n o wledge First it begins with .

,

tw o fir ed u n c h a ngea bl
, e ultimates — mind and matter Sec .

0 nd it as sert s th at k n o wled e is the a greement O f ide as with

, g
each o ther in which case we are no t dealing with nature o r
,

things at all and c o nsequently h ave l

, eft o u t o ne Of o u r u l
,

t ima t e s Third it then a ssert s ( f o r it is essential that

.
,

k n owledge s h o uld s omeh o w o r o ther be c o nnect ed wit h

things ) t h at kn owledge c o nsists in the agreement between
an ide a and a thing ; and in this case we can never tell when
the agr eement takes place ; and furtherm o re it is imp o ssible ,

f o r ideas and t h ings t o disagree f o r acc o rding t o the , ,

the o ry ideas are c op ies o f t hings This means that emp ir i

, .

cis m ca n no t a cc ou nt f o r t he f a c t o f e r r or Every t he o ry .
 Evol
u tion a nd the D is cip l
ines o f P hilo s o h
p y 245

of kn o wl ed ge must make a place f o r err o r f o r as is evident , , ,

err o r seems t o be a s industri o us as truth .

C o nsequently if kn o wled ge a ctually d o es t ake place if

, ,

there is such a n activity thing o r relati o n as kn o wled g e , , ,

empiri cism fails t o give an acc o unt O f it which is free fr o m

c o ntradicti o ns The m o ral is as the st o ri es in o u r s ch o o l
.
,

readers s a y d o n t be gin with fix ed thin gs f or they be gu il

,
’
e th
,

o ne int o inc o nsistencies .

I dealism w a s the m o re imp o rtant d o ctrine fr o m the num

be r o f f oll o wers and fr o m the standp o int o f intricacies and
,

“ ”
subtleties Empiricism is the plai n man s the o ry while
.
’
,

idealism is the the o ry o f the sch o o led phil o s o pher I dealism .

has always been an ally O f religi o n and its hist o ry is l o n g ,

and interesting B eginnin g in one o f its f o rm s with Plat o

.
,

m o dified in B erkeley t o the subj ectivistic type c oming aga in ,

in Kant and later German thinkers as Obj ective idealism and ,

—
still later in r o manticism a hist o ry w hich we have briefly
sketched i t is present with us t o thi s day as o ne o f the
-

c o mpetit o rs in the phil o s o phical arena A nd in stating the .

k n owled ge reality s oluti o n that it O ff ers we shall be d oing

-

vi o lence t o many technical variati o ns f o r o u r statements ,

are m o re o r less general and are not the views o f any pa r

t ic ul a r idealist .

The fundamental principle in all typ es o f idealism is th at

c o ns ci o usness mind s o ul in s o me f o rm o r o ther is the chief
, , , ,

thing in the universe That is one thing c o ns ci o usness is

.
, , ,

primary and no t t w o c o nsci o usnes s and things a s em p ir i

, , ,

c is m teaches This c o nsci o usness may be that o f th e indi

.

vidual as B erkeley held o r it may be that O f an A bs olut e as , ,

recent idealists fo ll owing He gel the Germ an p hil o s o pher , ,

t e ach I n o u r treatment we shall be c o ncerned w ith kn o wl

.

ed ge i n the system o f —
abs lute idealists th o se w ho think o f
o

the u ni verse as the expressi o n o f an abs olute mind .

2 46 A n I nt r o du c tion t o P hil
os o h
p y

Wit h this gener al p o stulate p rinciple o f ideal

or is m be
f o re u s we sha l l state the d o ctri ne o f the j udgment o f the ,

relati o n between k n owled g e and reality and Of truth The , .

idealis t be lieves wit h the empiricist t h at k n owledge hu, ,

m anly c o nsidered is inv o lved in the j udgment o r that t he

, ,

j ud gment is t h e vehicle Of k n o wledge the j udgment be in g , ,

fr o m th is standp o int the applicat i o n t o r eality o f an idea

, .

W e mu s t k eep in mind tha t t h e c hief t hing in the u nivers e

is c ons ci o u sness that is abs ol u te mind and th at it is the
, , ,

r ea l o t h er t h ings being merel

, y appearance Rea lreality .

is thi s great syste m wh ic h is the m a nifest ati o n o f the a bs o

l ute mind O r w h ich indee d is the abs ol
, , , u te mind I t i s no t .

t h e simple things we s ee a nd h ear and tas te but it is a ,

c o mpre h ens ive syste m s h o t th r ough wit h abs olu te int el l

i
gence .

W e mu s t u nderstand where th e ide a c omes fr o m t h at w e

appl y t o reality—this r ea l reality and no t the things o f
,

sense The idealist tells us th at we g et t he ide a whic h we

.

u s e a s the predicate o f t h e j ud gment fr o m a great number

—
Of individua l experiences tha t the ide a o f flag f o r e x ,

ampl e is gained and built up after a great m any experiences

,

wit h things o f vari o us kinds whic h we l “

ater cal l flag ”
The .

idea is a s o rt Of c omp o site ph o t o gr ap h gained by the e x

p e ri en c e o f a great many p articulars These p a rticular
.

things a re the things we see and hear such as a chair a , ,

, ,
—
h at a s o ng e t cetera that is we later c al lthe m ch a i rs ,

hats and s o n g s The j ud gment in the li ght o f what h a s

, .
,

be en said m ay be des cribe d a s a pr o ces s by which we a t

,

tribute t o a system o f reality which is the manifestati o n o f

a universal mind a predic ate which we as individuals h ave
g ained in ou r experi ences with a w o rld o f pa rticular things .

L et u s examine this a little m o re cl o sely We have the f ol .

l o wing elements t o deal with : real ity t h at gre a t system ;

,
 Evo l
u t io n a nd t he D is cip l
ine s o f P hilo s o h
p y 2 47

ideas which we have g ained in o u r experience wit h the w o rld

which is no t the real w o rld s o that o u r ideas w o uld no t be
,

ideas o f the real but o f the w o rld o f appearance o nly Then

, .

when we make a j ud gment we are a p plyin g t o this great

system o f reality an idea which is o ne based o n experience
with appearance o nly in the h o pe th at we may in s ome mys
t eri o u s way arrive a t kn o wledge The j udgment therefo re
.
, ,

fr o m the standp oint o f the assumpti o ns o f the idealist is ,

incap able o f yielding kn o wled g e .

The pr oblem o f the relati o n between kn o wledge a nd

reality if we spe ak o f kn owled g e fr o m the human stan d
,

p o int and no t fr o m th at o f the divine o r abs olute mind i s ,

alm o s t meanin gless f o r as we h ave seen the ins t r u m ent o f

, ‘

k n owled ge the j ud gment p r o ves t o be n o instrument at all

, , .

I deally c o nsidered truth is c o nsistency ; it is the h ar

,

m o nio u s relati o n that exists between the parts o f r eality

whi ch is assumed t o be c o ns ci o us stu ff o r c o nsci o us relati o ns .

Hum anly s p eaking that is speakin g fr o m the standp o int o f

, ,

the h uman kn ower j ud gments can never be true f o r they

, ,

a r e partial ,deal with parts particul ar ideas and t ru th a s

, ,

s uch is a wh ol e Thus o u r j ud gments are never tru e but

.
,

always fall sh o rt o f abs o lute truth Whereas the empiricist .

ha d tr o uble in making a place f o r err o r since it is hard t o ,

s ee h o w an idea c o uld disa g ree wi th a thing when the idea

is a c o py o f the thing the idealist o n the o ther h and finds

, , ,

it an equ ally diffi cul t task t o find a place f o r human truth .

I n finding a place f o r err o r in hi s syste m it seems that the

idea l ist is no t able t o find a place f o r anything else .

Summarizing the kn owledge reality d o ctrine a s tre a ted by

-

o bj ective idealism ,we may s a y that it assumes a fixed and

unchan geable system o f reality which is perm eated and sh o t
thr ou gh with an intell ige nce o f an abs olute t y pe Human .

k n owledge which is never realo r t rue k n o wledge is brou gh t

, ,
 A n I n t r o d u c ti o n t o P hil
o s op h
y

abo u t by the j ud gment which fr o m the nature o f t h e means ,

o f making j udgments res u lts no t in k no w l

, ed e b u t a p o o r
g
substitute Jud gmen t s are never true f o r t w o reas o ns : first
.
,

the ide a which is the predic a te o f the j udgment is gained

no t fr o m true reality yet it is applied t o re ality ; sec o nd
, ,

j ud g m ents can never exhaust re a lity b u t c a n o nly appr o ach ,

it s o that no human j udgment is ever true and if it c ou ld

, ,

be we sh o uld never kn o w it .

The di fficulties here are no t unlike th o se f o u nd in em

p ir i ci s m There is a
. dualism but it is of a di fferent nature ,

namely that o f the eternal and abs o lute kn o wer o n the o ne

, ,

hand and the human kn o wer o n the o ther o r th at o f the

, , ,

u nivers al syste m o f reality and that o f the c o mm o n sense

w o rld B o th elemen ts in the du alism are fixed and eternal

.
,
j ust as is the c ase with the mind t hings d u al is m o f e m-

i r i c is m
p .

Itis evident th erefo re that a p h il

,
o s o hy o f ev ol
, p uti o n
must begin with di fficulties whic h are c o mm o n t o bo th the
o ther systems in the h o pe o f br i ngi ng t o li ght a m o r e a d e

quate the o ry o f the nature o f kn o wledge These difficulties .

are firs t and chiefly , the fix ed and u nal

,
terable elements in
b o t h ty p es o f the o ry the a u thor i ta tive view ; and sec o nd
, , ,

the dualism that ru ns thr o ugh bo th th e o ries .

L et u s foll o w the the o ry o f kn owle dge and of reality a

the ev o l u ti o nis t devel o p s it He in c o mm o n with th e o thers
.

believes t h at kn o wled g e c o mes abou t in the j u dgment but ,

h e h olds t o n o fixed thing c alled mind and t o no equally fixed

system o f o bj ects Reality is neither a system d o ne up o nce
.

f o r all by an abs o lute mind no r is it a w o rld t o be c o p ied o r

duplicated by a mind The ev ol
u ti o nary phil o s o pher b
. e

lieves the j ud gment t o be the pr o cess wh ich o ccurs when

a rec o nstru cti o n is t o t ak e place when a di ffic u l ty is t o be
,

met o r a p r o blem t o be s ol
, ved Wh en thi n gs h ave gone
.
 Evol
u tion a nd the Dis cip l
ine s o f P hilo s o h
p y £ 49

wr o ng then thinking takes pl ace and t h in king res ul

, ,
ts in a ,

j ud gment w hich means a decisi o n a p r o n o uncement which ,

lays d o wn a p r o gra m f o r acti o n The s ubj ect of the j udg

.

ment is that pa rt o f the w o rld whi ch 1 8 no t in qu es ti on no t , ,

as idealism s ays a system o f rea l

, ity finished and c o mplete , ,

f o r if this were the case no j udgments w o uld be necess ary

“

and no thinking w o uld o ccur The subj ect is the gi ven the
. ,

g r a n t ed. The predic a te is an idea and in th i s there i

, s
agreement with bo th idealism and empi ricis m ; but id e a a s
the ev o luti o nist uses the term is neither a c o py o f a thing
as empiri cism teaches no r is it s o mething built up o u t o f a
,

number o f experi ences with appearances as idealism teaches ;

it I S a plan o f acti o n a p ro gr am a mo du s op er a nd i The
, , .

c o pul a represents the experiment al the try o u pr o ces s the ,

-

acti o n o f fitting the subj ect and the predicate We c o nclude .

that the j udgment fr o m the ev o luti onary standp o int is a

, ,

pr o cess o f tryin g o u o f o ne plan o f ac t i o n ( the predicate )

-

t o s o mething that is unquesti o ned ( the subj ect ) f o r the

p u rp o se o f s o lving a pr o blem o r meeting a di fficult situati o n
whic h has c o me abo ut in the life o f the o ne makin g the
j u dgment . Ther e is n o thing fix ed neither subj ect no r ,

predic ate but the f o rmer is fixed o r r ather unquesti o ned f o r

,

the m o ment a n d may itself be the questi o ned at s o me later

ti m e in th e c ou rs e o f expe ri ence ; while the latter alw a y s ,

represents a t enta tive c onc l us io n .

The ev oluti o nary view o f kn o wl edge is th at kn o wledge

is f or s omething ; it is purp o sive directive This is the
, .

reas o n f o r calling it the i ns t rum ent a lt he o r y of kno wl ed e

g ,

o r i ns t rum e n t allo i c a s it is g enera lly ca l

led t day K n w
g , o o .

in g is a n in s t r umen t a me a ns o f getting o n i n the w o rld

, ,

an instrument in the creati o n o f values I t is precisely this .

fact o f the c reative aspe ct o f in t elligence that the e arly

rev o luti o nary phil o s o pher Herbe rt S pe ncer f o r
,
2 50 A n I n t r o d u c tio n t o P hilo s op hy

did no t c o nsider Had he th o ught o f intelligence as crea

.

tive in the j udgment he wo uld no t hav e pre a ched l a is sez

fa i r e in go vernment and mechanism in ethi cs .

Kn o wledge a s it is expressed in the j udgment gives u s a .

“ ”
clue t o the instr u mentalist s ( w e shall u s e this te r m now
’

f o r the evol u t lo n a r
y‘
view ) the o ry o f reality I t is cert ainly .

s o mething no t fi xed o nce f o r all but reality f o r the ins t ru

,

mentalis t is this wh o le c reative p r o cess I t is no t s o me

.

thing which is the p r o duct o f a pr o ces s f o r the pr o d u ct ,

never c o mes t o be in a ny fixed sense but is ever enteri ng int o

,

new and vitalrelati o ns and is alw a ys in s o luti o n P r o cess

, .
,

chan g e c reati o n dyna mics m o vement ev o luti o n thes e are

, , , ,
—
w o rds which expres s the instrument a list s idea o f t h e nature ’

“
o f reali ty . I nstead o f a reality tha t is the s a m e yesterd ay ,

”
t o day and f o rever the instrumentalist believes th a t re ality
,

is p r ecisely thi s p r o cess o f ch ange flux and m o vement , , .

J u s t as life is no t s o mething that stands o ver against t he i

series o f events which make it up but is th a t s er ies o f events

, ,

s o is reali ty n o t s o mething pe rmanent o ver against a pr o ces s

o f c h ange but is that very pr o cess o f change itself The

,
.

—
p r o cess is o ne o f c reati o n the creati o n o f valuable o bj ects ,

o f principles o f c o nduct and o f a self

, .

Wh at is the r elati o n be tween kn o wledge and r eality ?

—
Kn o wled g e is the creati o n o f o bj ects o bj ects in the wide
sense o f the term as including principles values and insti , ,

t u t io ns
. I t is neither s o mething s et o ver a g ainst an oh
e c t ive nature a s a c o py o f the latter o r is it the c o m
j n ,

p le t ed u niverse o f an abs o lute m ind n o r the meager details

,

o f this universe gained by the human mind ; but it stands as

—
creat o r t o create d ever ready t o recreate in s o me new ex
ri e nce t h a t w h ic h h as bef o re been created
p e .

Truth s ays instru mentalism is what w o rk s ou t that

, , ,

w hi c h d oes wh at y o u expect it t o d o The j udgment is tr u e

.
 Evol
u t ion a nd the D is cip l o f P h ilo s o h
p y 251

wh en y ou ca n bank on it and not be dis app o inte d I f

“ ”
.
,

when y o u predict o r w hen y o u f o ll o w the lead o f y o ur ide a

,

o r plan it brings y o u t o the ends s o ught f o r in the begin

,

ning y o ur j udgment is tr u e I t d oe s no t c o nsist in a g ree

, .

m ent o f ide a s o r the agr eemen t o f ideas with an o utside

,

r eality ; neither is it an etern a l s o me thing which always is ,

but it is a name given t o ways o f thinkin g which get the

“ ”
thinker where he start ed A s a railr o ad ticket is a tru e .

o ne whe n it lands the passen ger a t the stati o n he s o u ght ,

s o is an idea
“
t ru e no t when it a g rees with s o met hing
”
,

o u tside but w h en it g ets the thin k er successfully t o the end

,

o f his intellectual j o u r ney .

Truth re ality ideas and j udgments a re no t things that

, ,

“ ”
stand o u t etern ally there whether in the skies abo ve o r ,

in the earth bene ath ; but they are names used t o charac
t e r iz e cert ain vital sta g es in a p r o cess which is ever go ing
on , the pr o cess o f creati o n o f ev o luti o n I n that pr o cess ,
.

we may speak o f reality this being valuable f o r o u r pur ,

p o ses ; a g ain we may spe ak o f t r uth ; later o f ideas ; and

, ,

still a g ain o f j u d gments ; but because we talk abo ut them

,

we sh o uld no t delude o urselves int o thinkin g we can handle

them as s o mething eternally existin g as we handle a speci
men u nder the glass .

Such a c o ncepti on o f tru th and reality the ins t r u men ,

tal is t believes is in harm o ny with the general nature o f

,

pr o g ress He fails t o see how pr o gress genuine creati o n

.
, ,

—
can o ccur o n any o ther the o ry on the o ries o f finality fi x ,

ity and auth o rity ; but he believes that the idea o f c reati o n
,
'

which we have sketched here gives man a v o te in the a ff air s

o f the universe renders him a citizen o f the w o rld t o aid in
,

the creati on o f valuable o bj ects in the nature o f instit u ti o ns

and principles enc o ura ges him t o attempt thin g s u nat
,
“

te mpted yet in pr o se o r rhyme inspires him t o the c rea ,

 2 52 A n I n t r od u c tio n t o os
P hil o h
p y

ti o n o fm o re statel
“
y mansi o ns and t o the f o rs ak ing o f h is ,
”

o w va ul
“
l t ed past ”
He believes th at the d a ys o f a uth o ri ty .

a re o ver whether in reli gi o n in rulership in s cience o r in

, , , ,

phil o s o phy ; and he o ff ers this dynamic un ivers e as a chal

lenge t o the v oliti o n and intell i gence o f man a u nive rse t o ,

be w o n o r l o s t at ma n s o pti o n a unive rs e no t t o fall d o wn ‘

’
,

be f o re and w o rs h ip a s the slave be f o re his m a s t e r the su b ,

e ct b o r e hi s principle
j e f o re his king the s cientis t bef the , ,

phil o s o pher bef o re his system bu t a unive rs e t o be co n ,

tr o lled directed and recreated by m an s intel

,
ligen ce ,
’
.

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. .
-

B ER G S O N , H , Creative Ev o luti o n ; .

D E W EY , E ss ays in Expe rimental L o gic ;

D E W EY , J The I nfluence o f D arwin o n o s o ph y
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ADEW EY and T U F TS Ethi cs P art I ; , ,

E ssays in H o n o r o f W illiam James 5 1 81 4 5 9 4 8 3 ; ,

-

,
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GOR D O N K f Es t het ic s ;
,
.
,

HIRN Y O ri gin o f A rt ;
, .
,

“HO B H O U S E L T M o rals in Ev ol , uti o n ; . .

,

HO L T E B The C o ncept o f C o ns ci o usness ;

, . .
,

H UXLEY T H Meth o ds and Results ;

, . .
,

JA M E S W Essa ys in Radical Em piri cism Pragmatism and

, .
, , ,

S o me P r o blems o f Phil o s o phy ;

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, .
, ,
-

1 33 , 2 1 0 2 39 ; -

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, . .
,

KELLO GG V D arwinism To day ;, .

,
-

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, ,

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, . .
,

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, . .
,
 Evo l
u tio n a nd the D is cip l
ine s o f P h ilos o h
p y 2 53

O S BO RN , H F , Fr o m the Greeks t o D arwin ;

.
= .

PA U L S EN , F , I ntr o ducti o n t o Phil o s o phy , 1 8 0 2 0 7 ;

.
-

PERRY , R B , Present Phil o s o phical Tendencies ;

. .

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VI II , I X , XI ;
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.

l
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RUSS ELL , B , S cientific Meth o d in Phil o s o phy ;

.

S CH ILLER F S C A xi oms a s P o stulates in Pers o nal I deal

, . . .
,

ism Humanism ;
,
”
S C HU R M AN J G The Ethical I mpo rt o f D arwinism ;
, . .
,

SE W AR D A C D arwin and M o dern S c ience ;

,
. .
,

S P EN C ER H First Principles ;
, .
,

The N ew Realism ;
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, .
, ,
-

/
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, . . .
 I N D EX

E i 122
sthet cs, Cosm ol ogy 1 1 7 1 20 , , , 1 25
l t i n nd 235 5
e vo u o a ,
C r u s a d es t h e 1 49 , ,

A g iz 209
a ss C u stom 5 6 ff
i fl
,

A i m i m 6 2 8 7 92fl
,
n u e n ce d by 59
'

n s s ex,
t yp
, , ,

A i t
r s ocra cy 35 ,
es of , 60 fl
“

A i t tl 1 4 7 1 93 206
r s o e, , ,
bre a k d ow n o f , 7 1 ff
A r ts ,
f a ct or s in
t h e, as ma n s de ’
va l
u e of
gr o u p , 77
ve lop m e nt , 74
i
A ssoc a t ion sm , 1 90, 202 i D a r w i n 2 04 fi
‘

i
A t om sm , 138 D ei sm 1 64
D e m ocr a cy 34 3 7,
,

A u gu st ne, 144 i , ,
1 1 0, 1 1 9
D e m o cr i t u s 1 3 8 ,

B a ck gr ou nd Ph l osop h Of i y
,
D e sca rt es 1 13 1 58 , , , 1 63, 1 74, 188,
p s chy ol o gi c a l 1 8 fl
"
243
D i vi ne R i ght 186
,

p h s yi
c al 4 0 fl 48
‘

D i vi si on o f L a bor
, ,

s oc a li 54 fl
'

, 34 , 4 1 , 73
D u a li sm 12 1 1 6 0,
,

i
h s t o r i ca l, l47 fl "
, , 1 63
B a con, F , 1 5 5 fl
‘

i i i m 123 1 74 fl 184 fl
.

B a con, R 184 , 1 9 1 Emp

' '

24 2 fl
'

r c s , ,

i h Phil p hy 184 fl
, ,

B a p ti sm 6 5 ,
En s gl os o ,
"

B e h a vi or 5 7 ; level s of
, , 70 fl ’
E nli ghte nm e nt t he , , 1 78
B e a u t y t h e o r y o f 1 90 E nvi r onm ent 4 1 ,

i i g
, ,

e vol i
u t on a nd ,
23 5 fl "
f u nct on n of in ti s ncts i n,
B en ath m J 189, 1 98 2 511
"

Epi im
,

k ly
B er e e ’
1 6 2 fl , 1 72 cu r e a n s 1 38 1f
E p i t m lgy
, ,

B il
lo f R i gh t s, 1 87 s e o o , 1 3 0 , 1 94, 12 2
E thi cs , m eth od s O f t r ea t ment, 5 6 ,
C a t e gor i es 1 79 fl ’
1 82 1 22
i
, ,

C a u sa t i on 9 1 , he d on sm , 1 3 8, 1 98
C e r em oni a ls 28 86 , 89, 94 ii y
em p r ca l t heor o f , 1 97 fl
"

i
, ,

of i ii i
n t a t on, 4 2 fl ,
’

6 5 if E vol u t o n, 193

s a crifi i
c al , 61fi
‘

d o ct ri ne o f , 204 fl
'

va l u e o f , 77 i y
h st o r o f , 20 6 fl
'

i i iy
Chr st a n t , 6 4 , 80, 1 42fl
'

, 1 48 i ’
y
D a r w n s the or o f , 209 fl '

Ch u rch, 2 1 , 144 1? i fl
n u ence o f , 2 1 1 fl , 2 1 4 fl °, 226 fi
' '

st ru ggl e be t w een sci e nce a nd ,

l47 fl , 208 F i t h 1 75 ; b k d
’

a , re a ow n o f ,
1 4 7 ff
ii
C ogn t ve p rocesse s, 7 1 , 83 fl
'

F mi l
a y li f i fl e, n u e nce o f , 7 6
Co mm i li m i mp
er c a s , o rt a nce o f , f or F d i t
oo t 20 fi
n e re s , , 5 7, 6 1 ,
’

6 8, 71 ,
p hil p hy 1 5 2 os o ,
79
Cond u ct , l
e vel
s of , 70 ; e vol
u t on i
a nd , 22 7 1? Ge ne ti c method 1 1 1? ,

Co nsci ou sness 1 9 71 , , , 159, 1 6 2 G reeks O rp hi c

, a nd y i
O lmp c
Cop erni cu s, 1 53 1 78 t end enc i lllfi , 1 25, 1 28
'

,
e s,
2 56 Ind ete

G r e e ks, l op h c a l r obl
em s i i M a gi c 85 8 7 fi
'

p h o s p ,

M a r r i a ge 2 7 fl
,

i
r a se d by, 1 0 2 ff , 1 1 7, 2 0 6 ,
"

i
soc a l a nd p o lt c a l lf e o f , ii i M a t e r i a lism 1 2 1 158 , ,

M a t he m a t i cs 1 8 1 fl
‘ ‘ '

1 1 8 fl , 107 fl ,

i ii i
nd v d u a lsm i n, 1 1 9, 1 2 7 M e t a p h y s i cs 1 2 9 ,

M ethod o f r evel a t i on
, 1 56 ; em p ir ,

H d i m 1 38
e on s 1 98 ff ca l,i 1 5 7 ; d ogm a t c, 15 7 de i
H e gel 1 82
, ,
i
d u ct on, 1 92 ; gene t c, llfi i ‘

H e r a cl
,

e i t u s, 1 93, 20 6 M l li, J S , 1 89, 1 99 fl

.
°
.

H e e di t y 4 1
r i
M nd a nd M a t t er, 1 6 0, 1 63 ff , 243 ;
H obbes 1 57 fi
,
'

p ri or t of , iy
1 25 ; na t u r e o f ,
H u m e 1 71 fi
,
'
'

2 1 7 fi ; c a t e gor es o f , 1 79 i
H u xley 223
,
i
M on sm , 1 2 1
,
i i
M o r a l nd gna t on, 3 1 i
I d ea ,
iy
M or a lt , a s convent on, 1 28 i
i st a nd a r d of ,
'

Pl a t o n c, 129
198 fi ; gro w t h
‘

o f , 2 34 fl
o f s u bst a nce , 1 6 8
i
a cc or d ng t o L o c e , 1 96 k M o r e s , 70
I d e alism , 4 0, 1 2 1 , 1 23, 242 fl ’ M u t u a l A i d , 75
Pl a t on c, 1 25 fl , 1 6 2i ‘
y ii
M s t c sm , 147
‘

j i
s u b e ct ve, 1 36 , 14 7, 1 6 2 fl
‘
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