ABSTRACT
The element of manifoldness-individuality-variation will forever overflow the fixed and frozen finality of scientific laws and force their revision. A striking number of Babbitt's quotes from him are aimed at breaking down scientific dogmatism. The notion of a distinctly philosophical reason is not familiar to Irving Babbitt, but it can be shown to be a natural epistemological supplement to his position. The work of distinguishing philosophical from pragmatic reason may be begun conveniently by reviewing Babbitt's treatment of the thought-processes of natural science, an area where he possesses considerable insight. The point is that Babbitt's contribution would have been impossible but for the challenge of Rousseau, just as Socrates' would have been impossible without the Sophists. Philosophical thought is a continuous quest in which ever new thrusts of thought stimulate the rethinking of central problems. Babbitt warns of the dangers of rationalistic doctrines that ignore the place of the part in the experiential whole.
