All the papers contained in this volume, except the two ethical ones
(VIII and X), have been previously published; and of those which have
been previously published all, except that on "External and Internal
Relations" (IX), are here re-printed without change. They were written
at various dates between 1903 and 1921, and all are here printed in the
order in which they were written, except that VIII on "The Conception
of Intrinsic Value," which was written earlier than VI and VII, has
been moved out of its proper place in order to bring it nearer to IX
and X, to both of which it is closely related in subject.
All, except IV and X, were primarily intended for an audience
familiar with the writings of philosophers; but I hope that they may
nevertheless prove intelligible even to those who have read little or
no philosophy, since I make little use of technical terms, and, where I
have done so, have done my best to explain in ordinary language exactly
what I mean by them. The tone of X is somewhat different from that
of the rest, because it was written as a lecture for the _Leicester
Philosophical Society_, with regard to which I was informed that I must
not assume any previous acquaintance with philosophy in most of the
audience. It accordingly bears marks throughout of the kind of audience
for which it was intended.
An attentive reader will easily discover that some of the views
expressed in some of the papers are inconsistent with views expressed
in others. The fact is that some of the views expressed in some of the
earlier ones are views with which I no longer agree; and I feel that
some apology is needed for nevertheless republishing them exactly as
they stood. In all cases, except one, my excuse is that the mistaken
views in question are so embedded in the form and substance of the
papers in which they occur, that it would have been impossible to
correct them without practically substituting new papers for the old
ones; and that, in spite of these mistakes, the old papers, as they
stand, still seem to me, on the whole, to say things which are worth
saying in a form which, however defective it may be, I doubt my
own ability to improve upon. The only case in which I doubt whether
this excuse applies is that of the first paper--"The Refutation of
Idealism." This paper now appears to me to be very confused, as well
as to embody a good many down-right mistakes; so I am doubtful whether
I ought to have included it. But in this case I have another excuse:
namely that it is a paper to which a good many allusions have been made
by contemporary writers on philosophy; and I was told that, for some
readers at all events, it would be a convenience that it should be
re-printed along with the rest, if only for the sake of reference.
I said above that the only one of the previously published papers,
in which changes have been made, is IX on "External and Internal
Relations." In this case the changes are not due to any change in my
views, but to the fact that, in that part of the paper in which symbols
are used, I tried, when it was first published in the _Proceedings of
the Aristotelian Society,_ to use the symbols adopted by Whitehead and
Russell in _Principia Mathematica,_ and used them also without giving
an explanation of their meaning which would be sufficient for readers
not acquainted with that work. The symbols in question are symbols
which it is difficult for printers to reproduce; and I have, therefore,
thought it better, on this occasion, to use another set of symbols,
which seem to me to be adequate for the limited purpose I had in view.
I have tried to give an explanation of their meaning, which will
enable anyone to understand them; and I have taken the opportunity of
rewriting some of the parts of the paper in which they occur in a way
which will, I hope, make some points clearer than they originally were.
I have to thank the Committee of the Aristotelian Society for
permission to reprint the large number of papers (viz., II, III, V,
VI, VII and IX), which originally appeared in the _Proceedings_ of
that Society; and the Editor of the _New Quarterly_ for permission to
reprint the article on Hume's Philosophy (IV), which appeared in that
Journal in November, 1909.