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British idealism was a movement of political philosophy that was influential during the mid to late nineteenth century and the early days of the twentieth century. Leading figures were T.H. Green (1836-1882), F.H. Bradley (1846-1924) and Bernard Bosanquet (1848-1923).
Though much more variegated than some commentaries would seem to suggest, British idealism was generally marked by several broad tendencies: a belief in an Absolute (a single all-encompassing reality that in some sense formed a coherent and all-inclusive system); the assignment of a high place to reason as both the faculty by which the Absolute's structure is grasped and as that structure itself; and a fundamental unwillingness to accept a dichotomy between thought and object, reality consisting of thought-and-object together in a strongly coherent unity.
In some sense this movement was a favorable reaction to the German Idealist movement -- particularly such philosophers as Immanuel Kant and G.W.F. Hegel, who were characterised by Green, among others, as the salvation of British philosophy after the alleged demise of empiricism. The movement was certainly a reaction against the thinking of John Locke, David Hume, John Stuart Mill, and the utilitarianUtilitarianism is a suggested theoretical framework for morality, based on quantitative maximisation of some definition of " utility" for society or humanity. Utilitarianism "The greatest good for the most people. or: "The greatest good over the least pais. Some of those involved would have denied any specific influence, particularly in respect of Hegel. Nevertheless, James Hutchinson Stirling 's book The Secret of HegelBritish philosophers Hegelian philosophers The Secret of Hegel: Being the Hegelian System in Origin Principle, Form and Matter (Reprints in Philosophy) by James Hutchison Stirling 2nd Revision edition (June 1901) BooksEnthsiast.com An important work which in is believed to have won significant converts in BritainThe word Britain is used to refer to the United Kingdom (UK): i. the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (from 1927), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ( 1801- 1927) or the United Kingdom of Great Britain ( 1707- 1801)..
Certainly British idealism was influenced by Hegel at least in broad outline, and undeniably adopted some of his terminology and doctrines. Examples include not only the aforementioned Absolute, but also a doctrine of internal relations , a coherence theory of truthCoherentism is belief in the coherence theory of justification — an epistemological theory opposing foundationalism and offering a solution to the regress argument. In this epistemological capacity, it is a theory about how belief can be justified. Cohere, and a concept of a concrete universalUniversals (used as a noun) are either properties, relations, or types, but not classes. It is worth noting that all four items are generally considered abstract nonphysical entities. They are at least so considered by Platonic realists; there are others. Some commentators have also pointed to a sort of dialectical structure in e.g. some of the writings of Bradley. But none of the British idealists adopted Hegel's philosophy wholesale, and his most significant writings on logicIn ordinary language, logic is the reasoning used to reach a conclusion from a set of assumptions. More formally, logic is the study of inference—the process whereby new assertions are produced from already established ones. As such, of particular concern seem to have found no purchase whatsoever in their thought (nor in British thought generally).
On its political side, the British idealists were largely concerned to refute what they regarded as a brittle and "atomistic" form of individualismIndividualism in general, is a term used to describe a theoretical or practical emphasis of the individual, as opposed to, and possibly at the expense of, the group. It is thus directly opposed to collectivism. From a social standpoint, individualism is g, as espoused by e.g. Herbert SpencerHerbert Spencer ( 27 April 1820 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher. He was born in Derby. Educated mostly at home, Spencer worked first as a railways civil engineer beginning at age 16, writing in his spare time. In 1848, Spencer became a sub-edi. In their view, humans are fundamentally social beings in a manner and to a degree not adequately recognized by Spencer and his followers. The British idealists did not, however, reify the State in the manner that Hegel apparently did; Green in particular spoke of the individual as the sole locus of value and contended that the State's existence was justified only insofar as it contributed to the realization of value in the lives of individual persons.
The hold of British idealism in the UK weakened when Bertrand Russell and G.E. Moore turned against it, and their education in the tradition. At that point British philosophy in general revolted once more against metaphysics in general. The later work of R.G. Collingwood was a turning back, if relatively isolated. Among present-day UK philosophers the best-known exponent of absolute idealism is probably Timothy L.S. Sprigge.
British idealism's influence in the United States was somewhat limited. The early thought of Josiah Royce had something of a neo-Hegelian cast, as did that of a handful of his less famous contemporaries. American rationalist Brand Blanshard was so strongly influenced by Bradley, Bosanquet, and Green (and other British philosophers) that he could almost be classified as a British philosopher himself. Even this limited influence, though, did not last out the twentieth century.
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