The Project Gutenberg eBook, An Introduction to Philosophy, by George
Stuart Fullerton

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Title: An Introduction to Philosophy

Author: George Stuart Fullerton

Release Date: August 1, 2005 [eBook #16406]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY***

E-text prepared by Al Haines

AN INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

by

GEORGE STUART FULLERTON

Professor of Philosophy in Columbia University
New York

New York
The MacMillan Company
London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd.

1915

Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing Co.--Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

PREFACE

As there cannot be said to be a beaten path in philosophy, and as
"Introductions" to the subject differ widely from one another, it is
proper that I should give an indication of the scope of the present
volume.

It undertakes:--

1. To point out what the word "philosophy" is made to cover in our
universities and colleges at the present day, and to show why it is
given this meaning.

2. To explain the nature of reflective or philosophical thinking, and
to show how it differs from common thought and from science.

3. To give a general view of the main problems with which philosophers
have felt called upon to deal.

4. To give an account of some of the more important types of
philosophical doctrine which have arisen out of the consideration of
such problems.

5. To indicate the relation of philosophy to the so-called
philosophical sciences, and to the other sciences.

6. To show, finally, that the study of philosophy is of value to us
all, and to give some practical admonitions on spirit and method. Had
these admonitions been impressed upon me at a time when I was in
especial need of guidance, I feel that they would have spared me no
little anxiety and confusion of mind. For this reason, I recommend
them to the attention of the reader.

Such is the scope of my book. It aims to tell what philosophy is. It
is not its chief object to advocate a particular type of doctrine. At
the same time, as it is impossible to treat of the problems of
philosophy except from s