The Political Philosophy of the British Idealists

Download or read book The Political Philosophy of the British Idealists written by Peter P. Nicholson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1990-01-26 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a reassessment of the political philosophy of the British Idealists, a group of once influential and now neglected nineteenth-century Hegelian philosophers, whose work has been much misunderstood. Peter Nicholson focuses on F. H. Bradley's idea of morality and moral philosophy; T. H. Green's theory of the Common Good, of the social nature of rights, of freedom, and of state interference; and Bernard Bosanquet's notorious theory of the General Will. By examining the arguments offered by the Idealists and by their critics the author is able to penetrate the deep layers of hostile comment laid down by several generations of later writers and to show that these ideas, once properly understood, are not only defensible but interesting and important.