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Metaphysics (SUNY Series in Philosophy) by Josiah Royce
An edited transcript of the great Harvard philosopher Josiah Royce's last year-long course in metaphysics, given at Harvard in 1915-1916.
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First published September 1, 1998
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About the author
Josiah Royce
403 books37 followersLife
Royce, born in Grass Valley, California on November 20, 1855. He was the son of Josiah and Sarah Eleanor (Bayliss) Royce, whose families were recent English emigrants, and who sought their fortune in the westward movement of the American pioneers in 1849. He received the B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley (which moved from Oakland to Berkeley during his matriculation) in 1875 where he later accepted an instructorship teaching English composition, literature, and rhetoric. After some time in Germany, where he studied with Hermann Lotze, the new Johns Hopkins University awarded him in 1878 one of its first four doctorates, in philosophy. At Johns Hopkins he taught a course on the history of German thought, which was “one of his chief interests” because he was able to give consideration to the philosophy of history.[1] After four years at the University of California, Berkeley, he went to Harvard in 1882 as a sabbatical replacement for William James, who was at once Royce's friend and philosophical antagonist. Royce's position at Harvard was made permanent in 1884 and he remained there until his death, September 14, 1916.
Historiography
Royce stands out starkly in the philosophical crowd because he was the only major American philosopher who spent a significant period of his life studying and writing history, specifically of the American West. “As one of the four giants in American philosophy of his time […] Royce overshadowed himself as historian, in both reputation and output” (Pomeroy, 2). During his first three years at Harvard, Royce taught many different subjects such as English composition, forensics, psychology and philosophy for other professors. Although he eventually settled into writing philosophy, his early adulthood was characterized by wide-ranging interests, during which he wrote a novel, investigated paranormal phenomena (as a skeptic), and published a significant body of literary criticism. Only as historian and philosopher did he distinguish himself. Royce spread himself too thin, however, and in 1888 suffered a nervous breakdown which required him to take a leave of absence from his duties.
Royce, born in Grass Valley, California on November 20, 1855. He was the son of Josiah and Sarah Eleanor (Bayliss) Royce, whose families were recent English emigrants, and who sought their fortune in the westward movement of the American pioneers in 1849. He received the B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley (which moved from Oakland to Berkeley during his matriculation) in 1875 where he later accepted an instructorship teaching English composition, literature, and rhetoric. After some time in Germany, where he studied with Hermann Lotze, the new Johns Hopkins University awarded him in 1878 one of its first four doctorates, in philosophy. At Johns Hopkins he taught a course on the history of German thought, which was “one of his chief interests” because he was able to give consideration to the philosophy of history.[1] After four years at the University of California, Berkeley, he went to Harvard in 1882 as a sabbatical replacement for William James, who was at once Royce's friend and philosophical antagonist. Royce's position at Harvard was made permanent in 1884 and he remained there until his death, September 14, 1916.
Historiography
Royce stands out starkly in the philosophical crowd because he was the only major American philosopher who spent a significant period of his life studying and writing history, specifically of the American West. “As one of the four giants in American philosophy of his time […] Royce overshadowed himself as historian, in both reputation and output” (Pomeroy, 2). During his first three years at Harvard, Royce taught many different subjects such as English composition, forensics, psychology and philosophy for other professors. Although he eventually settled into writing philosophy, his early adulthood was characterized by wide-ranging interests, during which he wrote a novel, investigated paranormal phenomena (as a skeptic), and published a significant body of literary criticism. Only as historian and philosopher did he distinguish himself. Royce spread himself too thin, however, and in 1888 suffered a nervous breakdown which required him to take a leave of absence from his duties.
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October 14, 2022
Josiah Royce's Late Idealism
Josiah Royce (1855 -- 1916) is one of a group of philosophers that includes, Charles Peirce, William James, and John Dewey, among others, who were part of what is often called "The Golden Age of American Philosophy" at the turn of the 20th Century. Royce described himself as an "idealist" in philosophy. Idealism is a difficult, slippery philosophical term, and idealistic philosophy has long been out of fashion in the United States. Idealists hold that, in some way, reality is spiritual or mental. There are many variations among idealistic philosophies. Because of his idealist commitment, Royce feel into obscurity until relatively recently. There has been a revival of interest in his work, and a small but able group of scholars has been writing about and interpreting what they find valuable in his thought. Many of these scholars do not try to defend idealism but find Royce valuable for other insights. Attempts sometimes are made to distance Royce himself from idealism.
Royce's "Metaphysics" is a key work in understanding his thought. The book includes many intriguing ideas and a final restatement of Royce's philosophical position, but it needs to be used with care. The book is a transcription of the final course in Metaphysics that Royce gave at Harvard during 1915 -- 1916, just before his death. Royce had taught the course on Metaphysics for many years. The course ran for two semesters. Royces's lectures were recorded by one of his students, Ralph W. Brown, who was a trained stenographer. Brown's notes for the first semester were comparatively sparse. In the second semester, Brown was paid to transcribe the lectures and his notes are far more detailed. Royce saw only the transcription for the second semester and did not review it in detail. Following Royce's death, Professor William Ernest Hocking took Brown's manuscript, collated it with notes taken by another student, and added various references and quotations as indicated in the transcripts. He prepared the manuscript for publication, but it remained unpublished until 1968. At that time, Richard Hocking, William Hocking's son, and the Royce scholar Frank Oppenheim published the manuscript while adding editorial emendations and explanations of their own. The book is distinctively Royce's but at a level once removed. Royce's argument seems garbled in places. Perhaps this is in part a function of the note-taking. Royce's overall project, however, remains clear enough.
In his course, Royce tried to restate his idealism and to defend it from the growing body of critics. Broadly, criticism came from two sides. The first was criticism from pragmatists including Royce's dear friend and colleague William James. The second source of criticism was from philosophical realists, including Ralph Barton Perry, George Santayana, and Bertrand Russell. Royce spends a great deal of time in his course developing the thought of pragmatists and realists and attempting to respond.
Royce was a prolific writer, and he made at least two large-scale statements of his idealist position over the years. The first statement was a two volume work called "The World and the Individual" (1901) which purported to be based on logical argumentation and argued in favor of what is usually called "Absolute Idealism" -- the whole of reality is one large interrelated entity called the Absolute. In 1913, Royce wrote a book called "The Problem of Christianity" which restated his idealism under the influence of the pragmatism of Charles Peirce. This book tended to find the source of truth and reality in the human community -- rather than in an absolute or in individual minds. Peirce was important because of his theory of signs and his emphasis on interpretation -- in addition to perception and reason -- as a source of knowledge. Royce was among the earliest of thinkers to be influenced by Peirce and by the importance he placed on interpretation.
In his 1915-1916 course, Royce used both of his earlier books, and he argued that his philosophy had remained essentially consistent between them. In the first semester of the course, Royce concentrated on the experiential approach he had developed in "The Problem of Christianity." He argued that truth and reality were found in cohesive communities through a triadic process of interpretation that he took from Peirce and expanded. The approach owes much to pragmatism. Royce insists, however, that interpretation must be focused on what is real and on a search for the truth rather than on what is useful. Interpretation may never reach the full truth, but it must make the attempt to find the truth. The first three chapters of the course, as arranged by William Hocking, thus describe Royce's "Social Approach" to Metaphysics."
The second semester work, arranged by Hocking into six chapters, covers Royce's "logical approach" to metaphysics. He begins by exploring the traditional philosophical distinction between "existence" and "essence" and argues that realist philosophers tend to separate them unduly. Royce recognizes and explains the importance of what is known as the Ontological Argument in one or another of its forms for all variants of philosophical idealism. This argument holds that the essential character of at least some beings involves their existence. Royce offers an extended critique of philosophical realism followed by a treatment of mysticism. Royce shows a great deal of sympathy with mysticism but ultimately finds it wanting. In the final chapters of his book, Royce tries to reconcile a number of different approaches, including a good deal of both realism and pragmatism and his own logical and experientially based idealism. Ultimately Royce argues that to be real is to have meaning. Much of the book is devoted to showing that idealism does not lead to the solipsism or what in his day was called the "egocentric predicament" with which it is often accused.
There are many extended and highly valuable discussions in these lectures about philosophical figures such as Spinoza and Meister Eckhart. In the third chapter, Royce offers an extended "Intellectual Autobiography" covering his life between 1871 -- 1883 which is highly useful in getting to know this thinker. It is valuable to hear Royce discuss leading thinkers of his day, including James, Henri Bergson, Russell and attempt to accommodate what is valuable in their thought to his own. The end product remains difficult. It is interesting to consider the extent to which Royce was able to make a plausible reworking of philosophical idealism and to answer the many objections that continue to be leveled against this philosophical tendency. There is much that remains fascinating in this book regardless of its idealistic component. Royce's emphasis on interpretation as a means of knowledge and his communitarianism remain much alive today. In Royce's emphasis late in the book on the importance of the search for "Being" as opposed to involvement with individual beings, there is much that reminded me of Heidegger.
Readers with a strong interest in American philosophy and in the idealistic tradition in philosophy will benefit from this book. Readers should have a strong background in American philosophy, including some basic knowledge of Royce and of William James, to engage with Royce's "Metaphysics".
Robin Friedman
Josiah Royce (1855 -- 1916) is one of a group of philosophers that includes, Charles Peirce, William James, and John Dewey, among others, who were part of what is often called "The Golden Age of American Philosophy" at the turn of the 20th Century. Royce described himself as an "idealist" in philosophy. Idealism is a difficult, slippery philosophical term, and idealistic philosophy has long been out of fashion in the United States. Idealists hold that, in some way, reality is spiritual or mental. There are many variations among idealistic philosophies. Because of his idealist commitment, Royce feel into obscurity until relatively recently. There has been a revival of interest in his work, and a small but able group of scholars has been writing about and interpreting what they find valuable in his thought. Many of these scholars do not try to defend idealism but find Royce valuable for other insights. Attempts sometimes are made to distance Royce himself from idealism.
Royce's "Metaphysics" is a key work in understanding his thought. The book includes many intriguing ideas and a final restatement of Royce's philosophical position, but it needs to be used with care. The book is a transcription of the final course in Metaphysics that Royce gave at Harvard during 1915 -- 1916, just before his death. Royce had taught the course on Metaphysics for many years. The course ran for two semesters. Royces's lectures were recorded by one of his students, Ralph W. Brown, who was a trained stenographer. Brown's notes for the first semester were comparatively sparse. In the second semester, Brown was paid to transcribe the lectures and his notes are far more detailed. Royce saw only the transcription for the second semester and did not review it in detail. Following Royce's death, Professor William Ernest Hocking took Brown's manuscript, collated it with notes taken by another student, and added various references and quotations as indicated in the transcripts. He prepared the manuscript for publication, but it remained unpublished until 1968. At that time, Richard Hocking, William Hocking's son, and the Royce scholar Frank Oppenheim published the manuscript while adding editorial emendations and explanations of their own. The book is distinctively Royce's but at a level once removed. Royce's argument seems garbled in places. Perhaps this is in part a function of the note-taking. Royce's overall project, however, remains clear enough.
In his course, Royce tried to restate his idealism and to defend it from the growing body of critics. Broadly, criticism came from two sides. The first was criticism from pragmatists including Royce's dear friend and colleague William James. The second source of criticism was from philosophical realists, including Ralph Barton Perry, George Santayana, and Bertrand Russell. Royce spends a great deal of time in his course developing the thought of pragmatists and realists and attempting to respond.
Royce was a prolific writer, and he made at least two large-scale statements of his idealist position over the years. The first statement was a two volume work called "The World and the Individual" (1901) which purported to be based on logical argumentation and argued in favor of what is usually called "Absolute Idealism" -- the whole of reality is one large interrelated entity called the Absolute. In 1913, Royce wrote a book called "The Problem of Christianity" which restated his idealism under the influence of the pragmatism of Charles Peirce. This book tended to find the source of truth and reality in the human community -- rather than in an absolute or in individual minds. Peirce was important because of his theory of signs and his emphasis on interpretation -- in addition to perception and reason -- as a source of knowledge. Royce was among the earliest of thinkers to be influenced by Peirce and by the importance he placed on interpretation.
In his 1915-1916 course, Royce used both of his earlier books, and he argued that his philosophy had remained essentially consistent between them. In the first semester of the course, Royce concentrated on the experiential approach he had developed in "The Problem of Christianity." He argued that truth and reality were found in cohesive communities through a triadic process of interpretation that he took from Peirce and expanded. The approach owes much to pragmatism. Royce insists, however, that interpretation must be focused on what is real and on a search for the truth rather than on what is useful. Interpretation may never reach the full truth, but it must make the attempt to find the truth. The first three chapters of the course, as arranged by William Hocking, thus describe Royce's "Social Approach" to Metaphysics."
The second semester work, arranged by Hocking into six chapters, covers Royce's "logical approach" to metaphysics. He begins by exploring the traditional philosophical distinction between "existence" and "essence" and argues that realist philosophers tend to separate them unduly. Royce recognizes and explains the importance of what is known as the Ontological Argument in one or another of its forms for all variants of philosophical idealism. This argument holds that the essential character of at least some beings involves their existence. Royce offers an extended critique of philosophical realism followed by a treatment of mysticism. Royce shows a great deal of sympathy with mysticism but ultimately finds it wanting. In the final chapters of his book, Royce tries to reconcile a number of different approaches, including a good deal of both realism and pragmatism and his own logical and experientially based idealism. Ultimately Royce argues that to be real is to have meaning. Much of the book is devoted to showing that idealism does not lead to the solipsism or what in his day was called the "egocentric predicament" with which it is often accused.
There are many extended and highly valuable discussions in these lectures about philosophical figures such as Spinoza and Meister Eckhart. In the third chapter, Royce offers an extended "Intellectual Autobiography" covering his life between 1871 -- 1883 which is highly useful in getting to know this thinker. It is valuable to hear Royce discuss leading thinkers of his day, including James, Henri Bergson, Russell and attempt to accommodate what is valuable in their thought to his own. The end product remains difficult. It is interesting to consider the extent to which Royce was able to make a plausible reworking of philosophical idealism and to answer the many objections that continue to be leveled against this philosophical tendency. There is much that remains fascinating in this book regardless of its idealistic component. Royce's emphasis on interpretation as a means of knowledge and his communitarianism remain much alive today. In Royce's emphasis late in the book on the importance of the search for "Being" as opposed to involvement with individual beings, there is much that reminded me of Heidegger.
Readers with a strong interest in American philosophy and in the idealistic tradition in philosophy will benefit from this book. Readers should have a strong background in American philosophy, including some basic knowledge of Royce and of William James, to engage with Royce's "Metaphysics".
Robin Friedman
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