nt must cultivate the art of reading books and of expressing his
thoughts by means of the spoken and written word. At the early stages
and in some fields of philosophical study, however, the reading of
many books may confuse the beginner and leave his mind in a state of
bewilderment. It is indispensable that he acquire the working concepts
and the terminology of the subject, and to this end it is generally
wise to limit his reading until he has gained sufficient skill in
handling his tools, as it were. In the elementary courses many members
of the class will be unable to do more than follow the lectures and
study the textbook; the more gifted ones, however, should be
encouraged to extend the range of their reading under the guidance of
the instructor.

=Organization of undergraduate courses in philosophy=

An answer to the question concerning the desired sequence of courses
in philosophy will depend upon many considerations,--upon one's
conception of philosophy and of the various subjects generally
embraced under it, upon one's notion of the aims of philosophical
instruction, upon one's estimate of the difficulties encountered by
the student in the study of the different branches of it, and so on.
There is wide divergence of opinion among thinkers on all these
points. Philosophy is variously conceived as metaphysics, as theory of
knowledge, as the science of mind (_Geisteswissenschaft_), as the
science of values (_Werttheorie_), or as all of these together. Logic
is conceived by some thinkers as dependent upon psychology, by others
as the presupposition of _all_ the sciences, including psychology.
Ethics is regarded both as a branch of psychology, or as dependent
upon psychology, and as an independent study having nothing whatever
to do with psychology. Psychology itself is treated both as a natural
science, its connection with philosophy being explained as a
historical survival, and as the fundamental study upon which all the
other subjects of the philosophical department must rest. Where there
is such a lack of agreement, it will not be easy to map out a
sequential course of study that will satisfy everybody. Even when
philosophy is defined in the old historic sense as an attempt to reach
a theory of the world and of life, men may differ as to the exact
order in which the basal studies should be pursued. By many the
history of philosophy is considered the best introduction to the
entire field, while others would pla