A concise introduction to the ideas and writings of the British Idealists. >

W. J. Mander presents the first ever synoptic history of British Idealism, the philosophical school which dominated English-language philosophy from the 1860s through to the early years of the following century. Offering detailed examination of the origins, growth, development, and decline of this mode of thinking, British Idealism: A History restores to its proper place this now almost wholly forgotten period of philosophical history. Through clear explanation of its characteristic concepts and doctrines, and paying close attention to the published works of its philosophers, the volume provides a full-length history of this vital school for those wishing to fill a gap in their knowledge of the history of British Philosophy, while its detailed notes and bibliography will guide the more dedicated scholar who wishes to examine further their distinctive brand of philosophy. By covering all major philosophers involved in the movement (not merely the most famous ones like Bradley, Green, McTaggart, and Bosanquet but the lesser known figures like the Caird brothers, Henry Jones, A.S.Pringle-Pattison, and R.B.Haldane) and by looking at all branches of philosophy (not just the familiar topics of ethics, political thought, and metaphysics but also the less well documented work on logic, religion, aesthetics, and the history of philosophy), British Idealism: A History brings out the movement's complex living pattern of unity and difference; something which other more superficial accounts have tended to obscure.

This book reassesses the origins, development and legacy of the philosophy of the British idealists, demonstrating the enduring relevance of their thought for the modern discipline. This body of work coheres around the single unifying theme of the self – a concept of central importance to the idealist school. Particular attention is also paid to the many connections that hold between various philosophers and branches of philosophy, as well as creating a set of continuously running dialogues between contributing authors. Readers will discover a comprehensive, stimulating and sharply focused panorama of British idealist thought, which will be useful to philosophers, historians of ideas, political and social theorists, psychologists, and policy-makers who wish to gain a deeper understanding of the citizen as a self.

Bertrand Russell, G. E. Moore, and other analytic philosophers of the early 20th century claimed to depart from the British idealists who dominated philosophical debate from the 1870s onwards. The nature and extent of this departure is now widely questioned as philosophers return to the writings of Bernard Bosanquet, F. H. Bradley, R. G. Collingwood, T. H. Green, J. M. E. McTaggart, and others. Nowadays, the British idealist movement is mostly remembered for its seminal contributions to metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy. The contributors to this volume explore some of the movement’s other, equally-insightful, contributions to the philosophies of language, aesthetics and emotions. These chapters cover core philosophical issues including the relationship between the speech communities and the general will; the role of emotions in the Absolute; key differences between leading British idealists on the relationships between emotions and relations; the nature of love; the historical re-enactment of imagination and creativity; expressivism in art; and the actual idealism of the British idealists’ Italian counterparts. This book was originally published as a special issue of the British Journal of the History of Philosophy.

This is the first book to provide comprehensive coverage of the full range of philosophical writing in Britain in the nineteenth century. A team of experts provide new accounts of both major and lesser-known thinkers, and explores the diverse approaches in the period to logic and metaphysics, the passions, morality, criticism, and politics.--

The British idealists made significant and lasting contributions to the social and political thought of the nineteenth century. They contributed to the evolution debate in insisting that the social organism could not be understood in naturalistic terms, but instead had to be conceived as an evolving spiritual unity. In this respect the British idealists developed a distinctive view of the state constitutive of the individual and they are commonly acknowledged as the forerunners of modern communitarian theory. Furthermore the idealists contributed to the major debates of their day, including evolution, democracy, the role of the state, education and international relations. In his introduction, David Boucher develops the themes illustrated in the writings of the British idealists. This volume also contains biographies of the British idealists which incorporate their principal works.

“An essential read for any true seeker."—Eben Alexander, MD, Neurosurgeon, author of Proof of Heaven and Living in a Mindful Universe When Paul Marshall began to pay attention to his dreams, he could not have anticipated the transformative experience that would follow. A tremendous expansion of consciousness exposed the insignificance of his everyday self but also revealed unsuspected depths of mind and hinted at a deeper self that holds the universe within. In The Shape of the Soul, Marshall—now a mysticism scholar—draws on personal experiences, along with a wealth of religious, philosophical, and scientific ideas, to explore this deeper self, sometimes experienced in mystical and near-death states as spherical in form. Drawing inspiration from the philosophers Plotinus and Leibniz, Marshall takes mind to be more fundamental than matter and views the basic units of nature as perceptual beings. We ourselves are such beings, striving for fulfilment in a long evolutionary journey of soul-making. Bringing together mysticism, philosophy, biology, and even some physics, The Shape of the Soul offers a deeply integrated vision of the self and the universe. Addressing the mind–body problem, the origin of the world, evolution, reincarnation, suffering, and the nature of God, Marshall delivers what will surely prove an intellectual classic.