Grad. 3

BD

111

.F39

1856

CONTENTS.

Page

1122

INTRODUCTION.

1. The word "Philosophy" as here employed,

2. The two main requisitions of philosophy,

3. Which of them is the more stringent,

4. The value of systems determined by a reference to these requisitions,

5. An unreasoned system of no value, because at variance with definition

of philosophy,

6. Because, though true, it cannot be certain,

7. Because of no use as a mental discipline,

8. A reasoned system, though not true, has some value as an exercise of

reason,

9. It complies more closely with definition of philosophy than the other,

10. But a system should be both true and reasoned,

11. Systems of philosophy are unreasoned hitherto,

12. The present state of philosophy described, .

13. First, How is this state to be explained? Secondly, How remedied?

14. First, it is explained (§§ 14-31) by philosophy not being reasoned,

15. No good can be expected so long as philosophy is not reasoned,

16. The masks of philosophy,

17. Its unsatisfactory state further accounted for. The globe of speculation,

18. Explanation continued. First principles always come out last,

19. Illustrations of this from language and grammar, .

20. Illustration continued,

21. Illustration from logic,

22. Illustration from law,

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23. Application to philosophy. Here, too, first principles come out last,

24. These principles, though operative in philosophy, are unnoticed and un-

known,

25. Hence philosophy is nowhere a scheme reasoned throughout,
26. The repudiation of necessary truthis, a further retarding cause,

30. Return. Philosophy deals with necessary truths-therefore retarded by

their prescription,

31. How ill the necessary truths have fared in Germany and in our own

country,

32. Secondly, How is the unsatisfactory state of philosophy to be remedied?

Short answer,

33. A remedial system uniting truth and reason, not impossible,

34. Single canon for the right use of reason,

35. This system of Institutes claims both truth and demonstration, but

rather demonstration than truth,

36. It is a body of necessary truth. Its pretensions stated,

37. An objection to its method stated and obviated,

38. The polemical character of this system,

39. Why philosophy must be polemical. She exists only to correct the inad-

vertencies of ordinary thinking,

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40. This might be abundantly proved by the testimony of philosophers,

41. The object (or business to do) of philosophy renders her essentially

polemical,

42. The charge of disrespect which might be supposed to attach to philosophy

on account of her polemical character, obviated,

43. This system also adverse to psychology-and why,

44. What philosophy has to do, again distinctly stated,

45. Its positive object still more distinctly stated. Definition of metaphysics,

46. Why philosophy undertakes this object,

47. How philosophy goes to work. Adherence to canon-proposition and

counter-proposition,

48. Further explanations as to how philosophy goes to work,

49. Advantages of this method,

50. Disadvantages of not contrasting distinctly the true and the false,

51. General unintelligibility of systems is due to their neglect to exhibit this

contrast,

52. This system contrasts distinctly the true and the false,

53. The three sections of this institute. Arrangement explained and proved

to be essential (§§ 54-62),

54. The section called ontology naturally comes first,-but is truly last in

order,

55. It must be made to revolve away from us, in order to bring round the

epistemology, which, though it naturally comes last, is truly first in

order,

56. Epistemology and ontology the two main divisions of philosophy,

57. The epistemology does of itself afford no entrance to ontology. Why not?

58. Because "Absolute Existence" may be that which we are ignorant of,

59. This consideration necessitates a new section of philosophy called the

agnoiology. Its business,

60. Now we can settle the problem of ontology-and how,

61. Recapitulation of the three sections. 1. Epistemology. 2. Agnoiology.

3. Ontology. This arrangement not arbitrary, but necessary,

62. The necessity of keeping these divisions perfectly distinct,

63. The natural oversights of thought are rectified in these three sections,

64. Remarks obviating any objections to the system, on the ground that its

conclusions cannot at all times be present to the mind,

66. Remark obviating any objection to this system on the score of presump-

tion,