Idealism is philosophy on a grand scale, combining micro and macroscopic problems into systematic accounts of everything from the nature of the universe to the particulars of human feeling. In consequence, it offers perspectives on everything from the natural to the social sciences, from ecology to critical theory. Heavily criticised by the dominant philosophies of the 20th Century, Idealism is now being reconsidered as a rich and untapped resource for contemporary philosophical arguments and concepts. This volume provides a comprehensive portrait of the major arguments and philosophers in the Idealist tradition. The book demonstrates how Idealist philosophy provides a fruitful way of understanding contemporary issues in metaphysics, the philosophy of science, political philosophy, scientific theory and critical social theory.

The Meaning of Idealism is a journey: from Plato and Aristotle to Neoplatonism to Medieval theories of being and knowing, from these to Orthodox spirituality, to Vedic mysticism, from Vedic mysticism to astrology, from astrology to modern science-including relativity, the mathematical theory of invariants, and the multidimensional universe.

Arguments are clearly presented, and rival theories are presented with fairness and accuracy."--BOOK JACKET.

First published in 1990, Philosophy at the Limit was originally part of the Problems of Modern European Thought book series. It pursues the theme of philosophy’s confrontation with its own limits, in modern philosophers from Hegel to Derrida, including Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, and Gadamer. The author focuses on questions of philosophical style, dialogue and indirect communication, the structural closure of philosophical texts, and performative strategy in philosophy. The book is an accessible discussion of many of the complex issues that empower continental philosophy. It will appeal to students of philosophy and contemporary thought at every level, and to the general reader interested in the heart of the debates in European thought.

Idealism is a family of metaphysical views each of which gives priority to the mental. The best-known forms of idealism in Western philosophy are Berkeleyan idealism, which gives ontological priority to the mental (minds and ideas) over the physical (bodies), and Kantian idealism, which gives a kind of explanatory priority to the mental (the structure of the understanding) over the physical (the structure of the empirical world). Although idealism was once a dominant view in Western philosophy, it has suffered almost total neglect over the last several decades. This book rectifies this situation by bringing together seventeen essays by leading philosophers on the topic of metaphysical idealism. The various essays explain, attack, or defend a variety of idealistic theories, including not only Berkeleyan and Kantian idealisms but also those developed in traditions less familiar to analytic philosophers, including Buddhism and Hassidic Judaism. Although a number of the articles draw on historical sources, all will be of interest to philosophers working in contemporary metaphysics. This volume aims to spark a revival of serious philosophical interest in metaphysical idealism.

One of the most profoundly religious books of our time - The Spectator Science is a system of second causes, which cannot describe the world adequately, much less account for it. In this remarkable treatise, Radhakrishnan explores aspects of the modern intellectual debate on science vis-a-vis religion and the vain attempts to find a substitute for religion. He discusses, drawing upon the traditions of East and West, the nature and validity of religious experience.Finally, he creates a fine vision of mans evolution and the emergence of higher values. The range of subjects combined with the authors own faith, undogmatic and free of creed, makes this book a philosophical education in itself.