The Approach to Philosophy
Public-domain ebook
The Approach to Philosophy
Language: en8,667 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Philosophy·Philosophy & Ethics
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #25110.
About this book
The Approach to Philosophy is a scholarly essay that treats poetry as a vehicle for philosophical insight. In its opening sections the author surveys the work of poets from Omar Khayyam to Dante, arguing that while many great writers display intelligence and feeling, only a “philosopher‑poet” can unite particular experience with a universal worldview. The text proceeds by contrasting the limited intellectual factors of poetry with the broader, coordinating knowledge that a true philosopher‑poet must possess, then illustrates this claim with detailed examinations of Whitman, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, and others, before moving toward a definition of the philosopher‑poet’s distinctive mode of utterance.
Written in the early twentieth‑century academic style of Ralph Barton Perry, the prose is dense, argumentative, and rich with literary references. Its tone is that of a philosopher‑historian addressing an educated readership, assuming familiarity with the poets and with basic metaphysical concepts. Readers who enjoy rigorous, interdisciplinary analysis, especially those interested in the intersection of aesthetics, ethics, and the history of ideas, will find the book rewarding. Those seeking a light introduction to poetry or a narrative biography should look elsewhere.
Who appears in The Approach to Philosophy
- Omar KhayyamMiddle‑aged Persian scholar in flowing robe, turban, contemplative expression, parchment scroll
- Walt WhitmanRobust 19th‑century American poet, full beard, dark hair, simple shirt, earnest gaze
- ShakespeareElizabethan playwright in black doublet, white ruff, dark curls, thoughtful eyes
Opening lines
Philosophy in Poetry. The World-View. Omar Khayyam. § 11 . The discussion up to this point has attributed to poetry very definite intellectual factors that nevertheless do not constitute philosophy. Walt Whitman speaks his feeling with truth, but in general manifests no comprehensive insight. Shakespeare has not only sincerity of expression but an understanding mind. He has a knowledge not only of particular experiences, but of human nature; and a consciousness full and varied like society itself. But there is a kind of knowledge possessed by neither, the knowledge sought by coördinating all aspects of human experience, both particular and general. Not even Shakespeare is wise as one who, having seen the whole, can fundamentally interpret a part. But though the philosopher-poet may not yet be found, we cannot longer be ignorant of his nature. …
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