British idealism

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The British idealism or Oxford idealism is a philosophical current that 19th in the final third and was dominant of the 20th century in the first third in England until it by the analytic philosophy has been retired. The name is based on the fact that its representatives, based on Kant and above all Hegel, represented idealistic positions, which, however, modified their philosophy in terms of content. British idealism was barely received outside of England.

Representative

Thomas Hill Green is considered the founder of British idealism . Bernard Bosanquet , Richard Lewis Nettleship , William Wallace , Andrew Cecil Bradley and Arnold Toynbee were his students at Balliol College , Oxford. FH Bradley , who was studying at University College Oxford, probably also heard from Green. Edward Caird was at the Balliol Collage in 1860 and 1893. Harold Henry Joachim , who also studied at Balliol College, was a student of Nettleship. John Richardson Illingworth studied at Corpus Christi College , Oxford. In Merton College worked Wallace, Joachim, FH Bradley and Taylor.

In addition to this Oxford group there was a second in Glasgow, where John Caird and Edward Caird studied and later also taught. Edward Caird's students include John Watson , Henry Jones , John Stuart Mackenzie , John MacCunn, and John Henry Muirhead . MacCunn and Muirhead also studied at Balliol College after their stay in Glasgow.

David George Ritchie , William Ritchie Sorley and Richard Burdon Haldane studied in Edinburgh . Ritchie went to Balliol College from 1874 to 1878, Sorley to Cambridge and Haldane to Hermann Lotze in Göttingen .

Mackenzie, Sorley and McTaggart worked at Trinity College in Cambridge .

The unity of the world

The philosophy of British idealists is largely shaped by their view of the position of knowledge. They assume that all ideas are connected to one another into a whole. The individual sciences, religion and poetry cannot be separated from one another, but form a unit. The object of philosophy is the investigation of this whole. The different philosophical disciplines just take a different look at this whole.

Social philosophy

Their social philosophy is determined by the assumption that the individual cannot be understood without the society that significantly shapes the individual. The state should not only watch over freedom, but should help individuals to get the best out of their lives. The law is not a natural law, but should help to achieve the goals of the state. In addition, they advocated the unity of theory and practice, that is, science should interfere in political disputes.

From a social-philosophical point of view, the criticism of contractual liberalism and hedonism is emphasized. British idealism was "long forgotten" due to the dominance of analytical philosophy , but has experienced "increased interest" in recent years because it helps to establish a "social democratic liberalism".

Understanding the history of philosophy

The interpretation of the history of philosophy among British idealists is shaped by the Hegelian understanding of history. She was less interested in the history of philosophy than a collection of ideas, nor was it primarily about how individual considerations can be refuted. Rather, it was more about how the ideas of the past can be absorbed into their own position, ie how the mistakes can be corrected in such a way that their own ideas are pushed forward, which direction of development can be found in the history of philosophy.

literature

  • Michael Hartmann: British Idealism. In: Martin Hartmann ; Claus Offe (Ed.): Political Theory and Political Philosophy. A manual. Beck, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-60157-6 , pp. 16-18. (Introduction from a political point of view)
  • William J. Mander: British Idealism. A history . Oxford University Press, New York 2011, ISBN 978-0-19-955929-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c William J. Mander: British Idealism. A History , p. 7.
  2. ^ A b William J. Mander: British Idealism. A History , p. 8.
  3. ^ William J. Mander: British Idealism. A History , p. 7f.
  4. ^ William J. Mander: British Idealism. A History , p. 3 f.
  5. ^ William J. Mander: British Idealism. A History , p. 6f.
  6. ↑ a b Michael Hartmann: British Idealism. In: Martin Hartmann ; Claus Offe (Ed.): Political Theory and Political Philosophy. A manual. Beck, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-60157-6 , pp. 16-18.
  7. ^ William J. Mander: British Idealism. A History , p. 39.