PLURALISM. This term is used in cur rent philosophical discussion to denote the view that regards the world as composed of a num ber or plurality of beings of distinct and inde pendent nature. It is thus opposed to Monism (q.v.), which asserts that there is only one ultimate form of reality (as for example, with Spinoza, who regards all finite things as modes or manifestations of one or with the idealism of the present day which interprets all forms of existence as parts of an Absolute Experience). In some sense both Monism and Pluralism must be true; that is, in some sense the world is one, a single universe, and in some sense it is composed of many various parts. The ultimate problem of philosophy is to define the sense in which each of these propositions is true, to reconcile the point of view of the one with that of the many.
The practical motive in the opposition be tween Monism and Pluralism lies chiefly in the necessary implications of these theories regard ing the place and importance of the human in dividual in the world. Pluralism is a protest
against a Monism that would merge the many individuals in a one all-embracing, absolute sys tem, and thus leave no place for their independ ant life and power of free initiative. Against the "block world° of Monism, the Pluralists in sist on the separateness and uniqueness of the personal life of the human individual, which cannot be reduced to a mere part or element in a larger whole. On the other hand, the Monists point out that through over-emphasizing the in dependence and separateness of individuals, the Pluralists are unable to reach any intelligible conception of a system or universe of things, or to discover any common standard of truth or of conduct. J. E. CanGwron, Professor of Logic and Metaphysics, Cornell University.