Excerpt from Historical Studies in PhilosophyThis book, which a careful and exact translation now introduces to English readers, is a collection of studies, independent of one another, and written mostly at the express invitation of my pupils or colleagues. As I had devoted numerous lectures at the École Normale Supérieure and the Sorbonne to a minute analysis of various philosophical systems, and as I was unable to find time to set them forth in detail, the suggestion was made that I might, at all events, publish a résumé of the conclusions at which I had arrived. My first impulse was to decline a task which seemed somewhat ingrate and risky. Indeed, it is no easy matter to act upon the mind of the reader, unless you lead him, to some extent, along the paths you have already traversed, on to the position you yourself have reached. And even though he may not feel inclined to make your conclusions his own, he will regard them with a certain amount of indulgence if he sees that you have been at considerable pains to reach them.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.