Bøger i Cambridge Library Collection - Philosophy serien

At the age of eighty-four, Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) wrote an autobiography in Latin elegaics. Unsurprisingly, it was not as widely read as his two great philosophical works, Leviathan and Behemoth, in which he laid out a set of sociopolitical theories that enraged many of the philosophers and moralists of Europe. In this comprehensive biography, first published in 1904, Sir Leslie Stephen (1832-1904) charts the character and changes of Hobbes' thinking, from the scholasticism of his early Oxford education, to his later devotion to geometry and deductive science. With an emphasis on personal influences, Stephen sets Hobbes and his work in the historical context of Hobbes' often difficult patrons, the Civil War, and the Restoration, providing an insight into the life of the eminent philosopher and into the tenets of early twentieth-century biographical writing. An interesting text for students of both philosophy and English literature.

A major actor in the American Revolution, English intellectual Thomas Paine (1737-1809) is remembered especially for his pamphlet Common Sense (1776; also reissued in this series), which advocates America's independence from Great Britain. A dedicated radical, Paine went on to lend his support to the French Revolution. In 1791, he published Rights of Man in response to Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), a condemnation of the events in France. First published in 1792, this book is a continuation of Rights of Man. While the first volume was a passionate rebuttal of Burke's argument, this book - reissued here in its second edition - develops concrete measures for political reform, proposing novel concepts such as political representation and tax reform to benefit the poor. Widely circulated because of its low price, the book proved immensely influential, and resulted in indictments for seditious libel for Paine and his editor.

A major actor in the American Revolution, English intellectual Thomas Paine (1737-1809) is remembered especially for his pamphlet Common Sense (1776; also reissued in this series), which advocates America's independence from Great Britain. An immediate best-seller, it sold over 100,000 copies in three months. Paine was a dedicated reformer who also lent his support to the French Revolution. First published in 1791, this book was sparked by the publication of Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), a direct condemnation of the French uprising; and the fourth edition of this remarkable contribution to political philosophy is reissued here. In a passionate rebuttal of Burke's position, Paine argues that revolution is legitimate against a government that fails to protect its people and their essential rights. Extremely influential in its own day, this book develops a critique of authoritarian governments that remains relevant today.

One of the great American pragmatic philosophers alongside Peirce and Dewey, William James (1842-1910) delivered these eight lectures in Boston and New York in the winter of 1906-7. Though he credits Peirce with coining the term 'pragmatism', James highlights in his subtitle that this 'new name' describes a philosophical temperament as old as Socrates. The pragmatic approach, he says, takes a middle way between rationalism's airy principles and empiricism's hard facts. James' pragmatism is both a method of interpreting ideas by their practical consequences and an epistemology which identifies truths according to their useful outcomes. Furnished with many examples, the lectures illustrate pragmatism's response to classic problems such as the question of free will versus determinism. Published in 1907, this work further develops James's approach to religion and morality, introduced in The Will to Believe (1897) and The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), both reissued in this series.

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), Victorian philosopher, biologist, sociologist and political theorist, one of the founders of Social Darwinism and author of the phrase 'survival of the fittest', was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1902, losing out to Theodor Mommsen. Spencer left his post at The Economist in 1857 to focus on writing his ten-volume System of Synthetic Philosophy, a work that offers an ethics-based guide to human conduct to replace that provided by conventional religious belief. Published in 1879, this volume seeks to demonstrate that social evolution tends towards greater individualism, altruism and co-operation. Spencer argues that it is possible to establish rules of right conduct on a scientific basis, and declares that this work is the culmination of his life's study. He was anxious to publish it outside the planned order of the System, because he feared (wrongly) that his death would prevent its completion.

After more than ten years teaching ancient Greek history and philosophy at University College, Oxford, the British philosopher and political theorist Bernard Bosanquet (1848-1923) resigned from his post to spend more time writing. He was particularly interested in contemporary social theory, including the social ramifications of the growing field of psychology, and this book, published in 1897, is a collection of his lectures on this topic. The ten lectures explore many aspects of psychology and its relationship to larger philosophical and ethical issues. Bosanquet poses the question whether psychology takes a subjective point of view, while other sciences take an objective one. He discusses classic psychological themes such as the ego, the soul, self-consciousness, emotion and feeling, and individual volition. Bosanquet's observations in these concise essays offer the perspective of a leading nineteenth-century thinker on this growing and influential field of scientific and social inquiry.

Edith Simcox (1844-1901) was a prominent British feminist, social critic and prolific writer. She published widely, advocating support for women's right to education, improved working conditions and suffrage. Her scholarly works in philosophy and economic history sought to demonstrate that contemporary capitalism was not the only route to a prosperous society. Her articles appeared in many periodicals and among her books are Episodes in the Lives of Men, Women, and Lovers (1882) and the two-volume Primitive Civilizations (1894), both also reissued in this series. First published in 1877, this book analyses the laws that govern human relations with society and with the natural world. Its chief concern is to establish whether human actions and feelings are subject to the same natural laws as inanimate objects, and whether such laws are 'of supernatural imposition'. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=simced

Scottish philosopher Thomas Brown (1778-1820) held the chair of moral philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He was distinguished for his work in the philosophy of mind and causation, and was a founder member of the Edinburgh Review. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, controversy arose over John Leslie being appointed to the chair of mathematics at the university. City ministers opposed him because he defended Hume's view of causation, which was seen as being incompatible with the existence of God. In 1805 Brown wrote a pamphlet, Observations on the Nature and Tendency of the Doctrine of Mr. Hume Concerning the Relation of Cause and Effect, which among other things aimed to show that Hume's theory was compatible with belief in God. This book, first published in 1818, is the third edition of that original pamphlet, which grew to become a thorough examination of the philosophy of causation.

One of the most influential of the Victorian philosophers, Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900) also made important contributions to fields such as economics, political theory, and classics. An active champion of higher education for women, he founded Cambridge's Newnham College in 1871. He attended Rugby School and then Trinity College, Cambridge, where he remained his whole career. In 1859 he took up a lectureship in classics, and held this post for ten years. In 1869, he moved to a lectureship in moral philosophy, the subject where he left his greatest mark. Published posthumously in 1902, this work is Sidgwick's expository critique of the leading schools of thought that had emerged to rival his philosophy of utilitarianism, which he had presented previously in his masterpiece The Methods of Ethics (also reissued in this series).

One of the most influential of the Victorian philosophers, Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900) was the author of the masterpiece of utilitarianism, The Methods of Ethics. He also made important contributions to fields such as economics, political theory, and classics. An active champion of higher education for women, he founded Cambridge's Newnham College in 1871. He attended Rugby School and then Trinity College, Cambridge, where he remained his whole career. In 1859 he accepted a lectureship in classics, and held this post for ten years. He then changed direction and in 1869 took up a lectureship in moral philosophy. In this book, published in 1886, Sidgwick gives an objective summary of ethical philosophies throughout history. He considers general issues in ethics and then gives a detailed critique of the work of major philosophers from early Greek thinkers through to his nineteenth-century contemporaries.

What is the nature of dialectic according to Hegel? And what is achieved by its means? These are the main questions that John McTaggart (1866-1925) seeks to answer in this work, first published in 1896. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Cambridge-educated philosopher and fellow of Trinity College enjoyed a prominent position within the circle of idealist philosophers, and was regarded as one of England's leading Hegel scholars. Although a proponent of the German philosopher's dialectical thinking in general, McTaggart was not uncritical of Hegel's philosophy and objected to his application of abstract thought. In this work, McTaggart not only gives the reader a thorough introduction to Hegel's understanding of the dialectic method but also exposes a number of points on which he considers Hegel's teaching to be inaccurate: one of these is Hegel's insistence that evil is merely a delusion.

T. H. Green (1836-82) was a leading member of the British Idealist movement, which adopted the continental philosophy of Hegel and Kant while rejecting utilitarianism. As well as being a prominent philosopher, Green was an influential educational reformer and an active member of the Liberal party. Green's writings can be placed into three categories: religion, philosophy and politics. This work was the most complete statement of Green's philosophy, although it remained unfinished at his death (though parts had been published in the philosophical review Mind in 1882). Edited by A. C. Bradley, a former student and brother of Green's fellow Idealist F. H. Bradley, the book, which contains four parts (on metaphysics, the will, the moral ideal and progress, and the application of moral philosophy to the guidance of conduct), was published posthumously in 1883. Like other Idealists, Green criticised empiricism for creating an unnecessary dualism between thought and the real.

At a time when German philosophy was dominated by idealism, German philosopher and physician Ludwig Buchner (1824-99) wrote Kraft und Stoff, an influential work advocating materialism, in 1855. It went through many editions and was widely read across the world. The controversy surrounding the book led to Buchner leaving his post at the University of Tubingen, but he went on to establish the German Freethinkers' League, the first German organisation for atheists. This book, first published in 1864, is a translation of the eighth edition, and is edited by J. Frederick Collingwood, who wanted to bring Buchner's work to an English audience. It contains translations of the prefaces from the first, third and fourth editions of Kraft und Stoff, and an introductory letter from Buchner which expresses his belief that Darwin's theory of evolution has given support to his materialist theory.

F. H. Bradley (1846-1924) was the foremost philosopher of the British Idealist school, which came to prominence in the second half of the nineteenth century and remained influential into the first half of the twentieth. Bradley, who was educated at Oxford, and spent his life as a fellow of Merton College, was influenced by Hegel, and also reacted against utilitarianism. He was recognised during his lifetime as one of the greatest intellectuals of his generation and was the first philosopher to receive the Order of Merit, in 1924. This collection of some of Bradley's most important journal articles was first published in 1914. He examines coherence and identity theories of truth, and discusses pragmatism and radical empiricism. The book contains extensive discussion of the work of Bertrand Russell and William James, while other essays cover a range of different subjects such as faith, memory, error and God.

British Idealist F. H. Bradley (1846-1924) was one of the most distinguished and influential philosophers of his time. He made contributions to metaphysics, moral philosophy and the philosophy of logic. The author of Appearance and Reality (1893), a classic in metaphysics (also reissued in this series), he rejected pluralism and realism. In this polemic, first published in 1876, Bradley argues against the dominant ethical theories of his time. Essays in this book entitled 'Pleasure for Pleasure's Sake' and 'Duty for Duty's Sake' examine and criticise hedonistic utilitarianism and Kantian ethics respectively. Bradley disagreed with individualism, and in 'My Station and its Duties' he discusses the idea that self-realisation can only be found as part of the social organism. This is a classic ethical work that will be valuable both to those studying the ethical theories discussed, and to those interested in the history of philosophy.

F. H. Bradley (1846-1924) was the foremost philosopher of the British Idealist school, which came to prominence in the second half of the nineteenth century. Bradley, who was a life fellow of Merton College, Oxford, was influenced by Hegel, and also reacted against utilitarianism. He was recognised during his lifetime as one of the greatest intellectuals of his generation and was the first philosopher to receive the Order of Merit, in 1924. His work is considered to have been important to the formation of analytic philosophy. In metaphysics, he rejected pluralism and realism, and believed that English philosophy needed to deal systematically with first principles. This work, first published in 1893, is divided into two parts: 'Appearance' deals with exposing the contradictions that Bradley believed are hidden in our everyday conceptions of the world; and in 'Reality', he builds his positive account of reality and considers possible objections to it.

After more than a decade teaching ancient Greek history and philosophy at University College, Oxford, British philosopher and political theorist Bernard Bosanquet (1848-1923) resigned from his post to spend more time writing. He was particularly interested in contemporary social theory, and was involved with the Charity Organisation Society and the London Ethical Society. He wrote numerous articles before beginning this book, which was his first and was published in 1885 as a response to the Principles of Logic, published in 1883, by his contemporary F. H. Bradley (1846-1924). Bosanquet, who was deeply influenced by the German philosopher Hegel (1770-1831), argues that there are 'signs of a philosophical movement in this country which may assimilate what is really great in European philosophy, without forfeiting the distinctive merits of English thought'. With this as the framework, the book examines the relationship of judgment and logic to knowledge.

A founder in 1830 of the National Colonization Society, Charles Tennant (1796-1873) advocated government support for emigration to Britain's colonies as a means of alleviating poverty at home and boosting the workforce overseas. Briefly representing St Albans in Parliament, he later wrote treatises on contemporary political and financial questions, notably arguing for the abolition of income tax in The People's Blue Book (1857). Also published anonymously, the present work, which appeared in 1864, offers a critique of John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism (1863). Tennant argues that happiness does not consist in utility, but rather in conformity to divine will as described by the Christian faith. Nevertheless, Tennant says, we ought to promote utility, as this is likely to be conducive to happiness. He then applies this view in detail to contemporary problems of government, domestic policy, taxation, colonies, dependencies, and foreign policy.

John McTaggart (1866-1925) was a Cambridge philosopher, famous for his metaphysical theory that time is not real and that temporal order is an illusion. Although best known for his contributions to the philosophy of time, McTaggart also spent a large part of his career expounding Hegel's work. In this book, first published in 1901, he discusses which views on a range of topics in metaphysics and ethics are compatible with Hegel's logic and idea of 'the Absolute'. Some early work on theories for which McTaggart later became well known can be found in this work, such as his beliefs that humans are immortal, that the Absolute is not in any sense a person, and that love is the relation that binds people together. In this book he also discusses punishment, sin, morality and whether Hegel could be considered a Christian.

This famous pamphlet - published anonymously in 1776 because of its seditious content - by the British political radical Thomas Paine (1737-1809) laid out his pioneering ideas for American independence, and earned him the title of 'Father of the American Revolution'. The Declaration of Independence, written chiefly by Thomas Jefferson and famously promulgated later that year, was influenced by Paine's arguments in this work: that America was too large to be governed by a country as small as Britain - which, he claimed, was ruling America only for its own financial gain - and that the colonies had now achieved the financial and military capacity to break free. Criticising the British monarchical system, with a single figure at its pinnacle, Paine called instead for a government that promoted security, liberty and equality for its people. Over half a million copies of this highly influential document were sold in America in its first year.

First published in 1782, this response to Raynal's The Revolution of America (also reissued in this series) by Thomas Paine (1737-1809) has been eclipsed by Paine's other work and largely overlooked. Written a year after Raynal's account of the American Revolution appeared in English, Paine's 'corrections' run to nearly eighty pages. His main critique of Raynal is that his argument stresses political theory rather than actions in the real world, an approach that lacks practicality. Paine argues against Raynal's assertion that the American War of Independence erupted over a tax dispute, and downplays France's involvement in the movement for independence. However, while attacking Raynal's influential work, he does so diplomatically, believing that the Abbe was writing from too great a distance to assess accurately the causes and principles of the conflict. This book has been hailed by scholars as the first of Paine's publications to demonstrate his internationalist views.

Reissued here in its corrected second edition of 1864, this essay by John Stuart Mill (1806-73) argues for a utilitarian theory of morality. Originally printed as a series of three articles in Fraser's Magazine in 1861, the work sought to refine the 'greatest happiness' principle that had been championed by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), defending it from common criticisms, and offering a justification of its validity. Following Bentham, Mill holds that actions can be judged as right or wrong depending on whether they promote happiness or 'the reverse of happiness'. Although attracted by Bentham's consequentialist framework based on empirical evidence rather than intuition, Mill separates happiness into 'higher' and 'lower' pleasures, arguing for a weighted system of measurement when making and judging decisions. Dissected and debated since its first appearance, the essay is Mill's key discussion on the topic and remains a fundamental text in the study of ethics.

The Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid (1710-1796) first published Essays on Active Powers of Man in 1788 while he was Professor of Philosophy at King's College, Aberdeen. The work contains a set of essays on active power, the will, principles of action, the liberty of moral agents, and morals. Reid was a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment and one of the founders of the 'common sense' school of philosophy. In Active Powers Reid gives his fullest exploration of sensus communis as the basis of all philosophical inquiry. He uses common sense realism to argue for the existence of a stable external world, the existence of other minds, and to offer a powerful challenge to versions of the Theory of Ideas advocated by Hume (1711-1776) and Locke (1632-1704). This is a key work of the Scottish Enlightenment that made important contributions to fundamental debates about the basis of philosophical inquiry.

Walter Bagehot (1826-1877) was an eminent British journalist, businessman and political commentator. After graduating from University College, London, in 1848, Bagehot joined his father's banking business. In 1857 he began to write articles for The Economist and became editor in 1861, a position he held until his death. This volume, first published in 1872, contains Bagehot's discussion of the scientific principles of progress in a society. Incorporating aspects of other social disciplines, including anthropology and Darwinian evolutionary theory, Bagehot traces the development of political society from an assumed 'pre-political' age to the development of nation-states, and examines the developments necessary for evolution into a liberal, trade-oriented society. Bagehot's appreciation of both conservative and liberal values is evident in this volume, which provides a valuable example of the influence of Darwinian thought in the late nineteenth century. This text is reissued from the 1873 second edition.

Thomas Reid (1710-1796) was a philosopher who founded the Scottish school of 'common sense'. Much of Reid's work is a critique of his contemporary, David Hume (1711-1776), whose empiricism he rejects. In this work, written after Reid's appointment to a professorship at the university of Glasgow, and published in 1785, he turns his attention to ideas about perception, memory, conception, abstraction, judgement, reasoning and taste. He examines the work of his predecessors and contemporaries, arguing that 'when we find philosophers maintaining that there is no heat in the fire, nor colour in the rainbow ... we may be apt to think the whole to be only a dream of fanciful men, who have entangled themselves in cobwebs spun out of their own brain'. Written by one of the Scottish Enlightenment's most important thinkers, this work brings to life the intellectual debates of the time.

British philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill (1806-73) is the author of several essays, including Utilitarianism (1863) - a defence of Jeremy Bentham's principle applied to the field of ethics - and The Subjection of Women (1869), which advocates legal equality between the sexes. This work, arguably his most famous contribution to political philosophy and theory, was first published in 1859, and remains a major influence upon contemporary liberal political thought. In it, Mill argues for a limitation of the power of government and society (democracy's 'tyranny of the majority') over the individual, and defines liberty as an absolute individual right. According to the still much debated 'harm principle', power against the individual can only be exercised to prevent harm to others. Full of contemporary relevance, this essay also defends freedom of speech as a necessary condition of social and intellectual progress.

The philosopher and physician David Hartley (1705-57) published this, his most significant work, in two volumes in 1749. It is an analysis of human nature, blending philosophy, psychology and theology, and it influenced scientists, theologians, social reformers and poets, notably Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Published posthumously in 1755, this two-volume set offers the most comprehensive account of the moral and political philosophy of Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746), often described as the father of the Scottish Enlightenment. The volumes examine whether and how individual natural rights derive from an innate understanding of moral behaviour.

Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-95) was an influential biologist and tireless campaigner for the improvement of science education. This nine-volume collection of essays, edited by him and published in 1893-4, illustrates the wide range of his intellectual interests. Volume 1 examines the development of scientific practice and knowledge.