Synthesized answer
The opening elements of the book establish a tone that challenges the reader to recognize the "prophets of their time" and consider individuals who offer a significant "message for their own times" [1, 4]. The Mohammedan proverb suggests that neglecting these figures leads to a spiritual or intellectual void, akin to "the death of a pagan" [1]. This sets up an intellectual challenge by implying that understanding contemporary thought leaders is crucial for timely enlightenment.
The dedication to Slosson's son, while personal, suggests a desire to pass on knowledge and insights to the next generation. The inclusion of a G. B. Shaw quote (though not provided in these passages) would likely further contribute to this tone of intellectual engagement and critical assessment of prominent thinkers. These elements collectively encourage the reader to approach the "prophets" not as unquestionable authorities, but as influential figures whose ideas warrant careful consideration and understanding to navigate their own time [4].
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
← Six Major Prophets ( 1917 ) by Edwin Emery Slosson Preface → 284671 Six Major Prophets 1917 Edwin Emery Slosson SIX MAJOR PROPHETS Whoever dies without recognizing the prophet of his time dies the death of a pagan. Mohammedan proverb. SIX MAJOR PROPHETS BY EDWIN E. SLOSSON, M.S., Ph.D. LITERARY EDITOR OF "THE INDEPENDENT" ASSOCIATE IN THE COLUMBIA SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AUTHOR OF " MAJOR PROPHETS OF TO-DAY ," ETC. BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1917 Copyright, 1917, By Little, Brown, and Company. All rights reserved Published, April, 1917 Norwood Press Set up and electrotyped by J.…
rust this has not prevented me from giving a fair and sufficiently sympathetic presentation of each man's views in turn. My list of the "Twelve Major Prophets of To-day" consisted of the following names: Maurice Maeterlinck , Henri Bergson , Henri Poincaré , Elie Metchnikoff , Wilhelm Ostwald , Ernst Haeckel , George Bernard Shaw , Herbert George Wells , Gilbert Keith Chesterton , F. C. S. Schiller , John Dewey , and Rudolf Eucken . I had not taken nationality into consideration, but I found that I had chosen four from England, three from Germany, two from France, and one each from Belgium,…
← Six Major Prophets by Edwin Emery Slosson Preface Chapter 1 → 3110498 Six Major Prophets — Preface Edwin Emery Slosson PREFACE A few years ago it occurred to me that there were living on the same planet and at the same time as myself some interesting people whom I had never seen and did not know so much about as I should. Since they or I might die at any moment, I determined not to delay longer. So I prepared a list of twelve men who seemed to me most worth knowing, and then I set out to see them; not with the hope of becoming personally acquainted with them or even with the object of…
ves. It is sufficient to say that I got close enough to the Alps I had chosen to be able to vouch for their actuality. The men I selected for study were those who, whether they called themselves philosophers or not, seemed to me to have a definite philosophy of life, those who had a message for their own times of sufficient importance and distinctiveness to merit public attention. It is my purpose in these sketches to show the trend and importance of these diverse theories, so that a reader who had not had the opportunity to range over the complete works of a dozen authors might find which…
← Chapter 3 Six Major Prophets by Edwin Emery Slosson F. C. S. Schiller Chapter 5 → 284674 Six Major Prophets — F. C. S. Schiller Edwin Emery Slosson CHAPTER IV F. C. S. SCHILLER A British Pragmatist The world knows nothing of its greatest men, because by the time it knows something about them they have ceased to be the greatest. F. C. S. Schiller. A dozen years ago I happened upon the word "pragmatism", as it was printed, rather inappropriately, upon the slip cover of Santayana 's " Life of Reason ." Being a queer looking word and unknown to me, I started to find out what it meant and that…
More questions about this book
- Slosson describes his discovery of pragmatism as realizing he had been a pragmatist "all his life without knowing it." How would you explain pragmatism as Slosson seems to understand it, using his experiences in journalism and chemistry to illustrate its core principles to someone entirely unfamiliar with the philosophy?
- The text opens with a Mohammedan proverb emphasizing the recognition of contemporary "prophets," yet later presents F. C. S. Schiller's view that the world knows its greatest men only after they have ceased to be greatest. How might Slosson reconcile these two seemingly contradictory ideas when selecting and portraying his "Six Major Prophets," and what implicit criteria might he be using?
- G. B. Shaw's quote critiques the "impertinence" of writing about individuals who have already written about themselves. Given Slosson's dedication acknowledging his son's incorporated thoughts and his own role as a literary editor, how might this critique challenge or inform Slosson's own approach to biographical writing in "Six Major Prophets"?
- Slosson asserts that the "pragmatic mode of thinking is universal and unquestioned" in science and implies its applicability to "politics, law, ethics, history." If you were to explain how pragmatic thinking would manifest in one of these non-scientific fields, drawing on Slosson's implied understanding, what would be its key characteristics, and what unique challenges or benefits might it present in that domain?