ture, and not apart
from it, that we find and maintain the personality which we suppose
ourselves to possess _ab initio_.'[15] The soul is a world in itself; but
it is not, and must not be treated as, an isolated personality impervious
to the mind of others. At each stage of its evolution it is the focus
and expression of a larger world. A man does not value himself as a
detached subject, but as the {114} inheritor of gifts which are focused
in him. Man, in short, is a trustee for the world; and suffering and
privation are among his opportunities. The question for each is, How
much can he make of them? Something above us there must be to make us do
and dare and hope, and the important thing is not one's separate destiny,
but the completeness of experience and one's contribution to it.[16]

3. It was inevitable that there should arise a reaction against the
extreme Intellectualism of Hegel and his school, and that a conception of
existence which lays the emphasis upon the claims of practical life
should grow in favour. The pursuit of knowledge tended to become merely
a means of promoting human well-being.

The first definite attempt to formulate a specific theory of knowledge
with this practical aim in view takes the form of what is known as
'Pragmatism.' The modern use of this term is chiefly connected with the
name of the late Professor James, to whose brilliant writings we are
largely indebted for the elucidation of its meaning. 'Pragmatism,' says
James, 'represents the empiricist attitude both in a more radical and
less objectionable form than it has ever yet assumed.'[17] It agrees
with utilitarianism in explaining practical aspects, and with positivism
in disdaining useless abstractions. It claims to be a method rather than
a system of philosophy. And its method consists in bringing the pursuit
of knowledge into close relationship with life. Nothing is to be
regarded as true which cannot be justified by its value for man. The
hypothesis which on the whole works best, which most aptly fits the
circumstances of a particular case, is true. The emphasis is laid not on
absolute principles, but on consequences. We must not consider things as
they are in themselves, but in their reference to the good of mankind.
It is useless, for example, to speculate about the existence of God. If
the hypothesis of a deity works satisfactorily, if the best results
follow for the moral well-being of humanity by believing