Philosophy and the Social Problem

PHILOSOPHY AND THE SOCIAL
PROBLEM

colophon
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO · DALLAS
ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO
MACMILLAN & CO., Limited
LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA
MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd.
TORONTO

PHILOSOPHY

AND

THE SOCIAL PROBLEM

BY

WILL DURANT, Ph.D.
INSTRUCTOR IN PHILOSOPHY, EXTENSION TEACHING
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

τὁν μἑν βἱον
ἡ φὑσις ἑδωκε, το δἑ καλὡς ζἡν ἡ τἑχνη.
—Unknown Dramatic Poet.

NEW YORK
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1917
All rights reserved

Copyright, 1917,
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
——
Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1917.

Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing Co.—Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

TO

ALDEN FREEMAN

PAGE
Introduction		1
PART I
HISTORICAL APPROACH
CHAPTER I
THE PRESENT SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SOCRATIC ETHIC
I.	History as rebarbarization	5
II.	Philosophy as disintegrator	6
III.	Individualism in Athens	7
IV.	The Sophists	9
V.	Intelligence as virtue	12
VI.	The meaning of virtue	15
VII.	“Instinct” and “reason”	23
VIII.	The secularization of morals	27
IX.	“Happiness” and “virtue”	31
X.	The Socratic challenge	33
CHAPTER II
PLATO: PHILOSOPHY AS POLITICS
I.	The man and the artist	36
II.	How to solve the social problem	40
III.	On making philosopher-kings	44
IV.	Dishonest democracy	52
V.	Culture and slavery	55
VI.	Plasticity and order	60
VII.	The meaning of justice	62
VIII.	The future of Plato	64
CHAPTER III
FRANCIS BACON AND THE SOCIAL POSSIBILITIES OF SCIENCE
I.	From Plato to Bacon	67
II.	Character	69
III.	The expurgation of the intellect	70
IV.	Knowledge is power	74
V.	The socialization of science	76
VI.	Science and Utopia	79
VII.	Scholasticism in science	81
VIII.	The Asiatics of Europe	85
CHAPTER IV
SPINOZA ON THE SOCIAL PROBLEM
I.	Hobbes	90
II.	The spirit of Spinoza	91
III.	Political ethics	93
IV.	Is man a political animal?	95
V.	What the social problem is	98
VI.	Free speech	101
VII.	Virtue as power	105
VIII.	Freedom and order	108
IX.	Democracy and intelligence	112
X.	The legacy of Spinoza	115
CHAPTER V
NIETZSCHE
I.	From Spinoza to Nietzsche	117
II.	Biographical	120
III.	Exposition	126
	1. Morality as impotence	126
	2. Democracy	128
	3. Feminism	131
	4. Socialism and anarchism	133
	5. Degeneration	138
	6. Nihilism	141
	7. The will to power	143
	8. The superman	150
	9. How to make supermen	155
	10. On the necessity of exploitation	159
	11. Aristocracy	162
	12. Signs of ascent	165
IV.	Criticism	172
V.	Nietzsche replies	177
VI.	Conclusion	178
PART II
SUGGESTIONS
CHAPTER I
SOLUTIONS AND DISSOLUTIONS
I.	The problem	185
II.	“Solutions”	190
	1. Feminism	190
	2. Socialism	194
	3. Eugenics	198
	4. Anarchism	200
	5. Individualism	202
	6. Individualism again	202
CHAPTER II
THE RECONSTRUCTIVE FUNCTION OF PHILOSOPHY
I.	Epistemologs	214
II.	Philosophy as control	218
III.	Philosophy as mediator between science and statesmanship	222
CHAPTER III
ORGANIZED INTELLIGENCE
I.	The need	227
II.	The organization of intelligence	230
III.	Information as panacea	234
IV.	Sex, art, and play in social reconstruction	240
V.	Education	246
CHAPTER IV
THE READER SPEAKS
I.	The democratization of aristocracy	251
II.	The professor as Buridan’s ass	255
III.	Is information wanted?	257
IV.	Finding MÆcenas	261
V.	The chance of philosophy	264
Conclusion		268

Clyx.com

PHILOSOPHY AND THE SOCIAL PROBLEM

CONTENTS

PHILOSOPHY

AND

THE SOCIAL PROBLEM