56 



PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT. 



47. 

 Plan of this 

 bistory. 



principle in human nature, to the Will, an important, 

 not to say the most prominent, position, has probably 

 svieceeded more than any other in impressing the philo- 

 sophical consciousness of the present age. This explains 

 why the philosophy of Schopenhauer, neglected for a 

 long time, and repellent in many of its features, has 

 nevertheless latterly attracted and held the attention 

 of thinkers of very different schools, and has led to- so 

 many minor developments. 



The dualism which pervades all modern thought will 

 occupy us quite as much as the attempts towards unifica- 

 tion. At the same time, the study of the various 

 attempts to give expression to the idea that in the life 

 of the mind, be it in the individual, society, or history, 

 the active principle occupies the primary position, will 

 lead us naturally on to the social question which, as I 

 said, will form the subject of one of the last chapters 

 of this section. In many ways we shall find that all 

 other developments more or less converge upon it. 



It will be seen from this rough sketch of the manner 

 in which I propose to subdivide the wide region of 

 philosophical thought, that I do not intend to follow in 

 any strictness either a biographical, or a systematic, or 

 a chronological arrangement.^ In fact, I intend as little 



^ The plan I have adopted may 

 best be understood by saying that 

 the History of Philosophical Thought 

 is considered to be identical with a 

 History of Philosophical Problems. 

 Most of these problems are as old 

 as philosophy itself, and go back 

 into anti<iuity, although some of 

 them, such as the problem of Know- 

 ledge, the problem of the Beautiful, 



the problem of Religion, and the 

 problem of Society, have only in 

 recent times been independently 

 treated and received special names. 

 The attempt to deal with History 

 of Philosophy according to this 

 plan is not new, but has been more 

 or less definitely adopted by various 

 prominent thinkers of this age. I 

 have only become more intimately 



