THE object of this volume is not the construction of a
system of Moral Philosophy. It is very far from
attempting either an exhaustive or a systematic treatment
of ethical questions. Nor is the Author so much as pre-
pared to define the sphere of Moral Philosophy, to say
what does fall within it and what does not.
The writer's object in this work has been mainly critical.
He sees that ethical theories rest in the end on pre
conceptions metaphysical and psychological. He believes
that many of the fundamental ideas now current, especially
in England, are confused or even false; and he has en-
deavoured, by the correction of some of these, at least to
remove what seem obstacles to the apprehension of moral
facts. These Essays are a critical discussion of some lead-
ing questions in Ethics, and are so far connected that, for
the most part, they must be read in the order in which
they stand.
The writer knows how much is demanded by his task. It demands an acquaintance with the facts of the world which he does not possess; and it demands that clearness of view on the main conceptions which govern our thoughts, which comes, if at all, to the finished student of metaphysic. The reader must not expect this either.
These Essays may be dogmatic and one-sided. They