A member of the Academie francaise, Henri Poincare (1854 1912) was one of the greatest mathematicians and theoretical physicists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His discovery of chaotic motion laid the foundations of modern chaos theory, and he was acknowledged by Einstein as a key contributor in the field of special relativity. He earned his enduring reputation as a philosopher of mathematics and science with this elegantly written work, which was first published in French as three separate essays: Science and Hypothesis (1902), The Value of Science (1905), and Science and Method (1908). Poincare asserts that much scientific work is a matter of convention, and that intuition and prediction play key roles. George Halsted's authorised 1913 English translation retains Poincare's lucid prose style, presenting complex ideas for both professional scientists and those readers interested in the history of mathematics and the philosophy of science."

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Josian Royce's late masterpiece, The Problem of Christianity, is based on a series of lectures he delivered at Manchester College, Oxford, in 1913. It presents his philosophical interpretation of Christianity's fundamental ideas--community, sin, atonement, and saving grace; shows their relevance to the current confluence of world religions; and grounds his position upon a personal transformation into genuine loyalty toward the community of the entire human family. The Problem opens up a mine of surprising treasures while its prophetic voice speaks to contemporary issues and current movements in ecumenics and inter-religious dialogue. Frank M. Oppenheim's new introduction highlights its relevance to some of the pressing problems of the new century. "A notable contribution to the interpretation of Christian ideas."--The Nation "Royce has contributed largely to the treasures of religious thought."--New York Times

Josiah Royce (1855-1916), one of the outstanding classical American philosophers, is regarded by many as the foremost American idealist. A transitional book in the development of Royce's thought, The Philosophy of Loyalty is a key to understanding his influence on the development of pragmatism. Royce's basic argument is clear. Individual wills are a given, and social training is a natural aspect of community. But the two are not fully compatible, and conflicts naturally emerge. Loyalty to a cause unites many individuals into a community, but fanatical loyalty to causes often has inimical results. Long out of print and never before available in paperback, The Philosophy of Loyalty has many beneficial implications for understanding contemporary social passions and outlooks, especially for our own fragmented American culture. As Royce himself asserted nearly ninety years ago, in the preface of this book, "I am writing...not merely and not mainly for philosophers, but for all those who love...ideals, and also for those who love...their country - a country so ripe at present for idealism, and so confused, nevertheless, by the vastness and the complication of its social and political problems". Royce speaks to these continuing concerns in a voice that is perceptive, learned, and sensitive to the human situation, and he offers powerful conceptual tools for our own troubled times.

In 1908, American philosopher Josiah Royce foresaw the future. Race questions and prejudices, he said, "promise to become, in the near future, still more important than they have ever been before." Like his student W. E. B. Du Bois in Souls of Black Folk (1903), Royce recognized that the problem of the next century would be, as Du Bois put it, "the problem of the color line." The twentieth century saw vast changes in race relations, but even after the election of the first African-American U.S. president, questions of race and the nature of community persist. Though left out of the mainstream of academic philosophy, Royce's conception of community nevertheless influenced generations of leaders who sought to end racial, religious, and national prejudice. Royce's work provided the conceptual starting place for the Cultural Pluralism movement of the 1920s and 1930s, and his notion of the Beloved Community influenced the work and vision of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the civil rights movement. Communities, whether they are understood as racial or geographic, religious or scientific, Royce argued, are formed by the commitments of individuals to causes or shared ideals. This starting point-the philosophy of loyalty-provides a means to understand the nature of communities, their conflicts, and their potential for growth and coexistence. Just as this work had relevance in the twentieth century in the face of anti-Black and anti-immigrant prejudice, Royce's philosophy of loyalty and conception of community has new relevance in the twenty-first century. This new edition of Royce's Race Questions, Provincialism, and Other American Questions includes a new introduction to Royce's philosophy of loyalty and the essays included in the volume, and a second introduction connecting Royce's work with contemporary discussions of race. The volume also includes six supplementary essays by Royce (unavailable since their initial publication before 1916) that provide background for the original essays, raise questions about his views, and show the potential of those views to inform other discussions about religious pluralism, the philosophy of science, the role of history, and the future of the American community.

In 1908, American philosopher Josiah Royce foresaw the future. Race questions and prejudices, he said, "promise to become, in the near future, still more important than they have ever been before." Like his student W. E. B. Du Bois in Souls of Black Folk (1903), Royce recognized that the problem of the next century would be, as Du Bois put it, "the problem of the color line." The twentieth century saw vast changes in race relations, but even after the election of the first African-American U.S. president, questions of race and the nature of community persist. Though left out of the mainstream of academic philosophy, Royce's conception of community nevertheless influenced generations of leaders who sought to end racial, religious, and national prejudice. Royce's work provided the conceptual starting place for the Cultural Pluralism movement of the 1920s and 1930s, and his notion of the Beloved Community influenced the work and vision of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the civil rights movement. Communities, whether they are understood as racial or geographic, religious or scientific, Royce argued, are formed by the commitments of individuals to causes or shared ideals. This starting point-the philosophy of loyalty-provides a means to understand the nature of communities, their conflicts, and their potential for growth and coexistence. Just as this work had relevance in the twentieth century in the face of anti-Black and anti-immigrant prejudice, Royce's philosophy of loyalty and conception of community has new relevance in the twenty-first century. This new edition of Royce's Race Questions, Provincialism, and Other American Questions includes a new introduction to Royce's philosophy of loyalty and the essays included in the volume, and a second introduction connecting Royce's work with contemporary discussions of race. The volume also includes six supplementary essays by Royce (unavailable since their initial publication before 1916) that provide background for the original essays, raise questions about his views, and show the potential of those views to inform other discussions about religious pluralism, the philosophy of science, the role of history, and the future of the American community.

"There's nothing available that I know of that comes as close to representing the range of Royce's works. . . . " -- John H Lavely