The Mansions of Philosophy

<p class=ql-align-justify>This book is an attempt at a consistent philosophy of life. It tries to do for the problems of philosophy what <em>The Story of Philosophy</em> sought to do for the personalities and systems of the major philosophers - to make them intelligible by transparent speech and to vitalize them by contemporary application. We shall miss here the anecdotes and the strokes of quoted genius that there lightened the burden of our theme; but perhaps we shall be repaid by coming closer to the concerns of our own life in our own day. For the subject here is ourselves.</p><p class=ql-align-justify>Let us put aside our fear of inevitable error and survey all the problems of our state trying to see each part and puzzle in the light of the whole. We shall define philosophy as total perspective as mind overspreading life and forging chaos into unity. And since philosophy is for us no scholastic game played with dead concepts far from the interests of society and man it shall here include with no matter how little precedent all questions that vitally affect the worth and significance of human life. We shall dally for a while with logic and try to answer Pilate; we shall merely graze epistemology and acknowledge the limits of human understanding; these usurping disciplines will find here the modest space which is all they need have in the mansions of philosophy. Then we shall leap into the metaphysical center of things and make up our minds about materialism; we shall see if we may whether thought is a function of matter and whether choice is the delusion of a transiently animated machine. From that focus we shall adventure into the realm of ethics and inquire into the nature of the good life; we shall seek the causes and forecast the results of our changing morals our dissolving marriage and our loosened love; we shall discuss the modern woman without gallantry and without revenge; we shall confront Zeno with Epicurus and search for the haunts of happiness; and we shall bring our findings together for the guidance of education and the reconstruction of character. Esthetics will claim us for an hour and we shall consider the meaning of beauty and the prospects of art. We shall look at history and seek for its lessons and laws; we shall question the quality of progress and weigh the destiny of our civilization. Then political philosophy will lure us and we shall find ourselves debating as in our passionate youth the problems of anarchism communism socialism conservatism democracy aristocracy and dictatorship. The philosophy of religion will put to us the old queries about immortality and God; and we shall try to see the past and future of Christianity in the perspective of the general history of religion. Finally we shall bring the pessimist and the optimist together appraising the boons and pains of human existence; and looking over the whole we shall try to state in conclusion the value and meaning of our life. It will be a tour of the infinite.</p><p class=ql-align-justify>Perhaps philosophy will give us if we are faithful to it a healing unity of soul. We are so slovenly and self-contradictory in our thinking; it may be that we shall clarify ourselves and pull ourselves together into consistency and be ashamed to harbor contradictory desires or beliefs. And through this unity of mind may come that unity of purpose and character which makes a personality and lends some order and dignity to our existence. Philosophy is harmonized knowledge making a harmonious life; it is the self-discipline which lifts us to serenity and freedom. Knowledge is power but only wisdom is liberty.</p>