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Elements of Metaphysics
Excerpt from Elements of Metaphysics
In acknowledging my indebtedness to recent writers for many of the ideas contained in the following pages, I have in the first place to express my deep and constant obligations to the various works of Mr. F. H. Bradley. My chief debt to other recent English-speaking philosophers is to Professor Royce and Professor Ward, and I am perhaps scarcely less indebted to Professor Stout. My chief obligations to Continental writers are to Avenarius and to Professor Munsterberg. I trust, however, that there is not one of the authors with whose views I have dealt in the course of my work from whom I have not learned something. At the same time, I ought perhaps to say here once for all that I make no claim to represent the views of any one author or school, and I shall not be surprised if the thinkers to whom I owe most find themselves unable to endorse all that I have written.
With respect to the references given at the end of the several chapters, I may note that their aim is simply to afford the reader some preliminary guidance in the further prosecution of his studies. They make no pretence to completeness, and are by no means exclusively drawn from writers who support my own conclusions.
One or two important works of which I should have otherwise been glad to make extended use have appeared too recently for me to avail myself of them.
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Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."
In acknowledging my indebtedness to recent writers for many of the ideas contained in the following pages, I have in the first place to express my deep and constant obligations to the various works of Mr. F. H. Bradley. My chief debt to other recent English-speaking philosophers is to Professor Royce and Professor Ward, and I am perhaps scarcely less indebted to Professor Stout. My chief obligations to Continental writers are to Avenarius and to Professor Munsterberg. I trust, however, that there is not one of the authors with whose views I have dealt in the course of my work from whom I have not learned something. At the same time, I ought perhaps to say here once for all that I make no claim to represent the views of any one author or school, and I shall not be surprised if the thinkers to whom I owe most find themselves unable to endorse all that I have written.
With respect to the references given at the end of the several chapters, I may note that their aim is simply to afford the reader some preliminary guidance in the further prosecution of his studies. They make no pretence to completeness, and are by no means exclusively drawn from writers who support my own conclusions.
One or two important works of which I should have otherwise been glad to make extended use have appeared too recently for me to avail myself of them.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."
- GenresPhilosophy
485 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1903
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About the author
A.E. Taylor
92 books14 followersAlfred Edward Taylor was a British idealist philosopher. He was born in 1869, the son of a Wesleyan minister. Among many distinguished appointments, he held the chair of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh from 1924 to 1941. His main interests were Platonic philosophy and the theology of Christianity, and his contributions in both these fields have been of far-reaching importance. "Does God Exist?" was his last considerable work on the philosophy of religion before his death in 1945.
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September 20, 2019
The systematic unity of reality is a single principle in and through multiplicity. The whole system is a single experience, and its consistents are also experiences. A systematic whole is not an aggregate, nor a mechanical whole of parts, nor an organism. The whole exists for its parts and they for it (p. 85).
Reality is a systematic whole forming a simple individual experience. The systematic whole is composed of constituents, which are their individual experiences. In each of these constituents, the nature of the whole system manifests itself with each one contributing its distinct content to the whole system; suppression of any of them alters the character of the whole. The nature of the whole determines the character of each of its constituents. The whole and its constituent members are in complete interpenetration and form a systematic unity (p. 104).
Reality is a systematic whole forming a simple individual experience. The systematic whole is composed of constituents, which are their individual experiences. In each of these constituents, the nature of the whole system manifests itself with each one contributing its distinct content to the whole system; suppression of any of them alters the character of the whole. The nature of the whole determines the character of each of its constituents. The whole and its constituent members are in complete interpenetration and form a systematic unity (p. 104).
Displaying 1 of 1 review