other facts. A very superficial survey of our experience would thus suggest that philosophy, like woman’s work, is never done. If philosophy is difficult, it is not wholly the philosopher’s fault. It is partly the fault of the universe. We live in a difficult world. Experience has many sides, many problems, many possibilities. The philosopher doesn’t make the universe or its difficulties. He simply tries to understand it; he is, as the Greek word [1] says, a lover of wisdom.
§ 4. THE LIMITS OF PHILOSOPHY
At the outset of a book on philosophy, it is well to be entirely frank; and to admit that-philosopher or no philosopher—none is wise enough to tell what wisdom absolute may be; or fully to understand what experience as a whole really means. No philosopher or philosophical system has
ever comprehended the perfect round of truth. But this is no reason to turn away from philosophy; on the contrary, it is one of the secrets of its charm. No one can draw a mathematically straight line. Should we therefore give up every effort to draw lines as straight as possible? Is not a
relatively straight line, such as we can draw with a ruler, far better for human purposes than lawless irregular scrawls? No one can know completely what goes on in the mind of
any other person. Should we then cease to trust and love human beings? Every human venture is made within the limits of the finite and imperfect; yet every human venture adds in some way, for good or ill, to our knowledge of ourselves and the world we live in.
He then who undertakes to think about the meaning of human experience has started on an endless task, a task
- ↑ Philosopher, Φιλόσοφος, a lover of wisdom.
