Anglo-American Idealism, 1865-1927

At the turn of the century, philosophical thinking on both sides of the Atlantic was dominated by the idealist movement, a school of thought that influenced the rise of both pragmatism and analytic philosophy. The essays in this edited collection introduce and critically assess the central themes of the main Anglo-American idealists, considering the philosophical arguments in their own context and terms, but also connecting them to current debates. The figures and topics covered include T. H. Green on the common good, Edward Caird on evolution, F. H. Bradley on relations, Bosanquet's view of the state, Royce's concept of the absolute, McTaggart's timeless personalism, Joachim's theory of truth, and Collingwood's philosophy of history. The introduction provides a contextual overview of the movement, which, as a philosophy superseded by a more modern approach, was first subjected to much hostile criticism, then ignored, and is now once again beginning to interest historians of philosophy.