A Beginner's History of Philosophy

This book is intended as a text-book for sketch-courses in the history of philosophy. It is written for the student rather than for the teacher. It is a history of philosophy upon the background of geography and of literary and political history.

As a text-book for sketch-courses it employs summaries, tables, and other generalizations as helps to the memory. The philosophical teaching is presented as simply as possible, so as to bring into prominence only the leading doctrines. My own personal criticism and interpretation on the one hand, and explanations in technical language on the other, have been avoided as far as possible. Sometimes I have had to choose between interpretation and technicality, in which case the limitations of space have determined my choice. Since the book is intended for the student rather than for the teacher, it makes the teacher all the more necessary; for it puts into the hands of the student an outline and into the hands of the teacher the class-room time for inspiring the student with his own interpretations. In making use of geographical maps, contemporary literature, and political history, this book is merely utilizing for pedagogical reasons the stock of information with which the college student is furnished when he begins the history of philosophy.