Page:An introduction to philosophy (IA introductiontoph00flet).pdf/12

vi vents the development of the philosophic spirit and the attainment of a philosophic vision.

I sought a course which would be critically constructive, one in which the student become acquainted with the great thinkers of the past and their thought, in which he would also be led to a solution of the main problems. A certain end influenced my choice of approach and presentation. It is agreed that the teacher of Philosophy is not to aim to give his students information concerning Philosophy and philosophers; he should induce them to philosophize. He and they are not to read and think and talk about Philosophy; the students are to be incited to think critically and constructively of themselves and the world of persons and things and history. Up to the measure of his ability the student is to become a philosopher; and, in endeavoring to secure this, we are to keep in mind the fact that a true Philosophy is not a mere theory of the universe, it is a personal relating of the Self to all that is.

These considerations led me several years since to outline the course herein presented. Lectures, classroom discussions, and the criticisms of friends have determined the filling in of the outline. At the urgency of persons who were acquainted with the results, it was offered for publication.

Frankly, I have a philosophical doctrine, and that doctrine determines the treatment given the questions and opinions which are considered. My point of view is that of Objective Idealism. Reality, in its epistemological relation, is conceived as being with meaning; in its onotological relation, as active being; "active" being here used with the meaning assigned it on page 187. In a word, Reality is regarded as cognizable and immanently active. I also distinguish between a "totality" and "a true