how that both of
these answers are radically wrong and that, beyond all things else, they
are primarily responsible for what is dismal in the life and history of
humankind. This done, the question remains: What is Man? I hope to show
clearly and convincingly that the answer is to be found in the patent fact
that human beings possess in varying degrees a certain natural faculty or
power or capacity which serves at once to give them their appropriate
dignity as human beings and to discriminate them, not only from the
minerals and the plants but also from the world of animals, this peculiar
or characteristic human faculty or power or capacity I shall call the
_time-binding_ faculty or _time-binding_ power or _time-binding_ capacity.
What I mean by time-binding will be clearly and fully explained in the
course of the discussion, and when it has been made clear, the
question--What Is Man?--will be answered by saying that man is a being
naturally endowed with time-binding capacity--that a human being is a
time-binder--that men, women and children constitute the time-binding class
of life.

There will then remain the great task of indicating and in a measure
sketching some of the important ways in which the true conception of man
as man will transform our views of human society and the world, affect our
human conduct and give us a growing body of scientific wisdom regarding
the welfare of mankind including all posterity.

The purpose of this introductory chapter is to consider certain general
matters of a preliminary nature--to indicate the spirit of the
undertaking--to provide a short course of approach and preparation--to clear
the deck, so to speak, and make ready for action.

There are two ways to slide easily through life: Namely, to believe
everything, or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking. The
majority take the line of least resistance, preferring to have their
thinking done for them; they accept ready-made individual, private
doctrines as their own and follow them more or less blindly. Every
generation looks upon its own creeds as true and permanent and has a
mingled smile of pity and contempt for the prejudices of the past. For two
hundred or more generations of our historical past this attitude has been
repeated two hundred or more times, and unless we are very careful our
children will have the same attitude toward us.

There can be no doubt that humanity belongs to a class of life which to a
l