Abstract

Philosophy is often regarded as a difficult subject, above the reach of ordinary men and set aside for a selected few intellectuals. Emmet says that "this is unfortunate and that philosophical matters are often less difficult and more important than is generally supposed." So he tries to introduce the reader gently to the activity of philosophising. The first four chapters discuss the basic principles connected with handling words and ideas. The nature of value judgments is analyzed in the fifth chapter. The last two chapters deal with the rather difficult problems of "Appearance and Reality" and "Free Will and Determinism." In order to arouse the interest of the readers in the practice of philosophical activity, the author has furnished each chapter with exercises, adding his own comments at the end of the book.—J. K.