Chapter 3

ON THE MEANING OF LIFE--THE ORDER OF NATURE AND THE FORM OF INTELLIGENCE

Relation of the problem of life to the problem of knowledge--The method of philosophy--Apparent vicious circle of the method proposed--Real vicious circle of the opposite method 186

Simultaneous genesis of matter and intelligence--Geometry inherent in matter--Geometrical tendency of the intellect--Geometry and deduction--Geometry and induction--Physical laws 199

Sketch of a theory of knowledge based on the analysis of the idea of Disorder--Two opposed forms of order: the problem of _genera_ and the problem of _laws_--The idea of "disorder" an oscillation of the intellect between the two kinds of order 220

Creation and evolution--Ideal genesis of matter--The origin and function of life--The essential and the accidental in the vital process and in the evolutionary movement--Mankind--The life of the body and the life of the spirit 236