PART I.
PLURALISM.
—
LECTURE I.
INTRODUCTORY.
Mr Bradley concludes his metaphysical essay
entitled Appearance and Reality with the admission that
science is a poor thing if measured by the wealth of
the real universe: he finds that “in the end Reality
is inscrutable,” and is confirmed in “the irresistible
impression that all is beyond us.” Everyone must
acknowledge this to be a more honest conclusion than
the pretended demonstrations of many philosophers.
Nobody now-a-days — save here and there a man of
science off his beat, like Haeckel for example — has the
hardihood to rush into print with a final explanation
of the Universe. Still without perpetrating this folly
can we not attempt to advance, to get more insight
than at present we have? Surely this is possible, for
though ignorance be inevitable, no specific errors are
necessary.
But we must have some method: in particular we must be clear where we start from. It is a favourite phrase now widely current that the universe has many aspects, and such a conception has the merit of making
