The History of Thought
Content
THE HISTORY OF THOUGHT BY Dr. Frank Crane
WHY should not every child be taught in school the history of thought? Just to know what have been the speculations of men in other ages goes a long way toward keeping us rational Philosophy seems a good distance removed from our modern practical day. Yet every man has a philosophy. Every man has his " views," his working theory of ** what is worth while," his own notion of his relation to the universe, his idea of the meaning of life, death and events. And it would pay any man to know what wise men have thought upon these subjects. One generation ought to stand on the shoulders of the one preceding. In business, in science and in art we do so; but in philosophy we seem to stumble along with the same crude beginnings of thought that were thrashed out centuries ago. Most of the new fads, new-fangled religions and cults that sweep hundreds away from common sense were discussed and exhausted before we were born. 147
HUMAN CONFESSIONS Familiarity with some simple, concise history of philosophy, studied in the high school, would, in later life, " frae monie a blunder free us, and foolish notion.'' The ideas of the Greek philosophers, of the humanists of the renaissance, of the writers in the Aufklaerung period in the eighteenth century, all have their bearing upon the underlying theories of life and destiny of to-day. Quite aside from one's religious life and creed, outside of all doctrinal controversy, lies the need of knowing what our fathers thought. We need clear, untechnical, unbiased writers to tell us the story of the mind.
1. 68 FREE BOOKS http://www.scribd.com/doc/21800308/Free-Christian-Books 2. ALL WRITINGS http://www.scribd.com/glennpease/documents?page=970
WHY should not every child be taught in school the history of thought? Just to know what have been the speculations of men in other ages goes a long way toward keeping us rational Philosophy seems a good distance removed from our modern practical day. Yet every man has a philosophy. Every man has his " views," his working theory of ** what is worth while," his own notion of his relation to the universe, his idea of the meaning of life, death and events. And it would pay any man to know what wise men have thought upon these subjects. One generation ought to stand on the shoulders of the one preceding. In business, in science and in art we do so; but in philosophy we seem to stumble along with the same crude beginnings of thought that were thrashed out centuries ago. Most of the new fads, new-fangled religions and cults that sweep hundreds away from common sense were discussed and exhausted before we were born. 147
HUMAN CONFESSIONS Familiarity with some simple, concise history of philosophy, studied in the high school, would, in later life, " frae monie a blunder free us, and foolish notion.'' The ideas of the Greek philosophers, of the humanists of the renaissance, of the writers in the Aufklaerung period in the eighteenth century, all have their bearing upon the underlying theories of life and destiny of to-day. Quite aside from one's religious life and creed, outside of all doctrinal controversy, lies the need of knowing what our fathers thought. We need clear, untechnical, unbiased writers to tell us the story of the mind.
1. 68 FREE BOOKS http://www.scribd.com/doc/21800308/Free-Christian-Books 2. ALL WRITINGS http://www.scribd.com/glennpease/documents?page=970
