Philosophical studies are not dry, when men are properly taught, and
are in a position to understand what is said. They deal with the most
fascinating of problems. It is only necessary to pierce through the
husk of words which conceals the thoughts of the philosopher, and we
shall find the kernel palatable, indeed. Nor are such studies
profitless, to take up our second point. Let us see what we may gain
from them.

Let us begin with logic--the traditional logic commonly taught to
beginners. Is it worth while to study this? Surely it is. No one who
has not tried to introduce the average under-graduate to logic can
realize how blindly he uses his reasoning powers, how unconscious he is
of the full meaning of the sentences he employs, how easily he may be
entrapped by fallacious reasonings where he is not set on his guard by
some preposterous conclusion touching matters with which he is familiar.

And he is not merely unconscious of the lapses in his processes of
reasoning, and of his imperfect comprehension of the significance of
his statements; he is unconscious also of the mass of inherited and
acquired prejudices, often quite indefensible, which he unquestioningly
employs as premises.

He fairly represents the larger world beyond the walls of the college.
It is a world in which prejudices are assumed as premises, and loose
reasonings pass current and are unchallenged until they beget some
unpalatable conclusion. It is a world in which men take little pains
to think carefully and accurately unless they are dealing with
something touching which it is practically inconvenient to make a
mistake.