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Hegel, Bradley, Royce Still Walk Amongst Us



Self-Consciousness and Objectivity: An Introduction to Absolute Idealism

The NDPR reports on an "incredibly ambitious attempt to show not just that Absolute Idealism has been roundly misunderstood, but also that such a view is the only coherent form that philosophy can take."

One of the great themes of James' existence was opposition to exactly that argument as it came to him from Hegel, through Bradley, and Royce: from Germany, through England, to the US.  This is what James and Royce were arguing about while seated on a certain stone fence, where they were captured by a famous photograph I will not show here.

And obviously some such view still walks amongst us. No stake is big enough to be driven through its heart and do the job. Gack.

 https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/self-consciousness-and-objectivity-an-introduction-to-absolute-idealism/

Aside from that general "Gack," my only comment here is on the cover art.  We're shown a photo that appears to have been taken from inside a cave near a beach, looking at the ocean. I wonder what thoughts went into the choice of that photo.

Is the cave supposed to represent the individual self as a post-Locke realist might understand such a creature, looking out at the "exterior world" and the ocean of Otherness?

Then the argument of the book is, "There is no cave -- you are part of the ocean, and the ocean is all of you, whether you realize such or not."

Again: Gack.

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