Philosophy in Higher Education 521

out the requisite preparation in Philosophy but that the teachers
themselves frequently lack such preparation. If Philosophy is
worth teaching, it should be worth teaching well.

Although, fourthly, much favorable interest in Philosophy has
been shown by academic officers in our region, in the course of
our inquiries, we find some misapprehension of its nature and
educational function. We have reason to believe that this atti-
tude is due to a lack of acquaintance with the philosophic fields
and the place they occupy in relation to other domains of learn-
- ing. The introduction of philosophic study, on a proper scale
and under the charge of well qualified teachers, would soon dispel
the errors on which this misapprehension rests.

An opinion that Philosophy is a luxury is also evident here and
there ; likewise the opinion that it is limited in application, hence
not ‘‘practical.’’ Such opinions, we must presume, are due to an
inadequate acquaintance. The indispensability of Logic to Sci-
entific Method, to Mathematics, to Law and to all thorough rea-
soning; of Metaphysics to the understanding of scientific, legal,
moral and other principles; of the History of Philosophy to the
understanding of literature and culture; and of Ethics to the
intelligent comprehension of life and destiny are more than
enough to show the utility of Philosophy. On the other hand,
the true utility of much else now in the college and university
curriculum is open to serious question.

A persistent criticism of higher education in our time runs, that
in emphasizing the acquisition of information it has failed to cul-
tivate the powers of reflection; and a great many discerning per-
sons still believe that the aim of education is to make a person
think. Certainly this is one of its aims. What collegiate studies
are the most apt for making a person think? We venture to say,
from our own observation and from the comments of others, that
no study surpasses Philosophy as a stimulus to thought. But
whereas, from this, we should conclude that Philosophy is a requi-
site of all liberal higher education, we nevertheless find it omitted
most of the time. We are well aware that some students evince
little interest in this study, and that their schedules are such that
if they do not spontaneously incline to Philosophy, they need not,
usually, make any acquaintance with it at all. Something is
radically wrong when a student’s college course does not bring