446 PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT. 



many others the advantage of being based upon a much 

 broader foundation, inasmuch as, quite independent of the 

 ethical and practical interest which now rules supreme, 

 historical and anthropological as well as juridical and 

 economic studies had independently prepared the ground 

 for a larger and more comprehensive treatment. 



In consequence of these various interests and influ- 

 ences the problem before us has not only been raised 

 to a position of great importance but has also become 

 extremely complex, so much so that it is difficult, 

 perhaps even impossible, to do justice to all its 

 sides, or to give any tolerably concise survey of the 

 many lines of thought which in the region of sociology 

 have come into action or into conflict. Nevertheless, 

 for the purposes of this History, some disposition of the 

 large material must be attempted. I will try to put it 

 in order by making use of the different points of view 

 which these introductory remarks have so far disclosed. 



The philosophy of human society may conveniently 

 be divided into the discussion of three main questions. 

 20. These are : the Constitution of Society, the "Work of 

 Society, and the History of Society. The first of these 

 may be termed the Social problem par excelletice, or in 

 the narrower sense of the term. The second may be 

 termed the Economic problem, and the last has, till 

 quite recently, been termed the Philosophy of History. 



During the greater part of the Nineteenth Century 

 each of the three countries with which I am dealing has, 

 in a fairly distinct manner, taken the lead in one of the 

 three directions mentioned, and this for reasons which 

 are historically easily understood. The fundamental 



