Mind, Vol. 3

Angebote / Angebote:

Excerpt from Mind, Vol. 3: A Quarterly Review of Psychology and Philosophy, 1894But at the very outset it may be well, in view of a master ful statement oi Prof. Jones, that I establish my right to criticise. The duty to criticise, says Prof. Jones, must be based on a right to criticise, and that right can only be derived from some consecutive and ultimately constructive theory of existence. I desire to protest most strongly against this convenient but wholly unwarrantable assump tion. We do not all carry theories of existence in our pockets, but surely it is open to every one to point out the inadequacies or the contradictions of any given theory that is submitted for his acceptance. I would answer Prof. Jones in the fine words of Mill in a somewhat similar refer ence: If I am asked what system of philosophy I sub stituted for that which, as a philosophy, I had abandoned, I answer, No system, only a conviction that the true system was something much more complex and many-sided than I had previously had any idea (autobiography, p. These words express, moreover, precisely the attitude of many critics of Hegelianism. Hegelianism, I venture to say, is Often stated by its English representatives so vaguely that any thinker, not a materialist or a pure sceptic, could acquiesce in the general position. But definitely to embrace a philosophical theory, implies satisfaction with the line of argument by which the result is reached, it implies accept ance of the argument as a demonstration, and a belief founded upon insight that the theory accounts for and includes all the facts. Now many critics hold that, as a theory, Hege lianism runs far in advance of insight, and that there are awkward facts in the universe to which it cannot be said to do justice. It is surely open to critics in these circumstances to call for reconsideration, for a wider and more elastic theory. Some of them are content to believe where they cannot prove but if pressed by Hegelian dogmatism, they are equally entitled to take up the purely critical attitude of a suspension of judgment. As Kant says When delusive proofs are presented to us, it is our duty to meet them with the non liquet of a matured judgment.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis 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.