Excerpt from An Introduction to Systematic Philosophy There are two things that this book is not. First, it is not an historical introduction to philosophy. I have dealt only in a few cases with the history of the problems under consideration, but have generally given only brief notes and a few references to guide the student should he desire to devote some time to looking up historical matters. Secondly, it is not a handbook of philosophy. It does not give pro and con all the various doctrines held by the great philosophical writers of the past and the leading writers of the present. It does not give an exhaustive bibliography under the different headings, but mentions as a rule only those books with whose titles the beginner should get acquainted and in which he will find the best introduction to a further and profounder treatment of the problem in hand. But what is the book? It is an attempt to state and explain the chief problems of philosophy as problems actually existing to-day, and to give such solution of these as the author is able to give. In fact, its chief value seems to me to lie in the selection and in the order of the problems with which it deals. The instructor who uses the book for his classes may easily select those chapters which he wishes to omit and those which he desires to emphasize. I strongly urge the beginner and the general reader to omit for the first reading the following chapters: V, VII, X, XII, XIII, XX, XXX, XXXI, XXXIII, XLV, XLVI, XLVII, LVII, and LVIII. By so doing the book will gain in interest and the main argument will not be seriously disturbed. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.