As A Universal History Of Philosophy, The

On The Question Of The World As A Whole, Science Founders. For Scientific Knowledge The World Lies In Fragments, The More So The More Precise Our Scientific Knowledge Becomes.

The 'public' Is A Phantom, The Phantom Of An Opinion Supposed To Exist In A Vast Number Of Persons Who Have No Effective Interrelation And Though The Opinion Is Not Effectively Present In The Units. Such An Opinion Is Spoken Of As 'public Opinion,' A Fiction Which Is Appealed To By Individuals And By Groups As Supporting Their Special Views. It Is Impalpable, Illusory, Transient; "'tis Here, 'tis There, 'tis Gone"; A Nullity Which Can Nevertheless For A Moment Endow The Multitude With Power To Uplift Or Destroy.

The Great Philosophers And The Great Works Are Standards For The Selection Of What Is Essential. Everything That We Do In Studying The History Of Philosophy Ultimately Serves Their Better Understanding.

What Is Meaningful Cannot In Fact Be Isolated…. We Achieve Understanding Within A Circular Movement From Particular Facts To The Whole That Includes Them And Back Again From The Whole Thus Reached To The Particular Significant Facts.

Only As An Individual Can Man Become A Philosopher.