Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic Author:William Hamilton Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LECTUEE III. THE NATURE AND COMPREHENSION OF PHILOSOPHY. I Have been in the custom of delivering sometimes together, more frequently in alternate years, tw... more »o systematic courses of lectures, the one on Psychology, that is, the science which is conversant about the phenomena of mind in general, the other on Logic, that is, the science of the laws regulating the manifestation and legitimacy of the highest faculty of Cognition, Thought, strictly so denominated the faculty of Relations, the Understanding proper. As first, or initiative, courses of philosophy, each has its peculiar advantages; and I know not, in truth, which I should recommend a student to commence with. What, however, I find it expedient to premise to each is an Introduction, in which the nature and general relations of philosophy are explained, and a summary view taken of the faculties (particularly the Cognitive faculties), of mind. In the ensuing course, we shall be occupied with the General Philosophy of Mind. You are, then, about to commence a course of philosophical discipline,for Psychology is preeminently a phil- What Philoeopby Is. , ' . T . , , , osophical science. It is therefore proper, before proceeding to a consideration of the special objects of our course, that you should obtain at least a general notion of what philosophy is. But in affording you this information, it is evident that there lie considerable difficulties in the way. For the definition, and the divisions of philosophy are the results of a lofty generalization from particulars, of which particulars you are, or must be presumed to be, still ignorant. You cannot, therefore, it is manifest, be made adequately to comprehend, in the commencement of your philosophical studies, notions which these studies themselves ar...« less