ideas concealed, too often, under a rather forbidding terminology; who
are not of the dogmatic turn of mind which insists upon unquestioned
authority and is repelled by the uncertainties which must confront
those who give themselves to reflective thought,--these will hardly
need to be persuaded that it is desirable to give some attention to the
question: What sort of a world, after all, is this world in which we
live? What is its meaning?

To many men the impulse to peer into these things is over-powering, and
the pleasure of feeling their insight deepen is extremely keen. What
deters us in most instances is not the conviction that such
investigations are not, or should not be, interesting, but rather the
difficulty of the approach. It is not easy to follow the path which
leads from the world of common thought into the world of philosophical
reflection. One becomes bewildered and discouraged at the outset.
Sometimes, after listening to the directions of guides who disagree
among themselves, we are tempted to believe that there can be no
certain path to the goal which we have before us.

But, whatever the difficulties and uncertainties of our task, a little
reflection must show that it is not one which has no significance for
human life.

Men can, it is true, eat and sleep and go through the routine of the
day, without giving thought to science or religion or philosophy, but
few will defend such an existence. As a matter of fact, those who have
attained to some measure of intellectual and moral development do
assume, consciously or unconsciously, some rather definite attitude
toward life, and this is not independent of their conviction as to what
the world is and means.