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Lectures on modern idealism
Lectures on modern idealism. 286 Pages.
- GenresPhilosophy
280 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 11, 1919
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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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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 18, 2025
Royce's Aspects Of Post-Kantian Idealism
Josiah Royce (1855 -- 1916) was an American idealist philosopher who studied in Germany in his youth and was heavily influenced by German idealism. Although Royce's idealism is largely rejected in contemporary American philosophy, there is much to be learned from his work and from Royce's relationship to his contemporaries, William James, Charles Peirce, and John Dewey. I wanted to read this book, "Lectures on Modern Idealism" in part due to the upcoming centenary of Royce's death. The book is based on a series of ten lectures Royce delivered in 1906 at Johns Hopkins University under the title "Aspects of Post-Kantian Idealism." The lectures were unpublished during Royce's life, but Royce had written a note stating that they were "worth publishing". In 1919, Royce's student, the philosopher Jacob Loewenberg (1882 -- 1969), edited and published these lectures as the first of a volume of Royce's posthumous works. This was a wise decision as these lectures deserve to be preserved and read. Loewenberg's own introduction to these lectures, written in light of Royce's strong support for the allies and condemnation of Germany in WW I, is also worth reading.
Royce developed his own philosophical idealism over his life, and he was also a careful student of the history of philosophy. Early in his career, in 1892, Royce published a book, "The Spirit of Modern Philosophy" in which he explored aspects of the history of philosophy between Spinoza and Schopenhauer and also presented philosophical ideas of his own. Royce wrote in an engaging, non-technical style, full of biographical information and other asides, for lay readers. The 1906 lectures published in this book are more limited in scope in that they begin with Kant and focus on Hegel. The lectures were intended for an audience with a substantial background in philosophy and explore their subject matter with considerably more depth, difficulty, and technical detail than do the 1892 lectures. Royce, for the most part, limits the lectures to an exposition of the thought of the idealist philosophers he considers. Only in the final lecture does Royce suggest his own development of the idealist position. With respect to the goal of the lecture series, Royce states:
"My purpose will be to help you look at the world, for a time, with the eyes of some one or another of the representative idealists; and to show, by illustrations, why it was that these men viewed things as they did. The early idealists of our post-Kantian period often seem, to the novice, to resemble, according to Hegel's well-known phrase, men who had resolved to try to walk about on their heads. I want to help you to see why these men thought it worth while to view the world in this inverted way."
Royce succeeds admirably in his goal in explaining some of the considerations that led German philosophers from Kant to Hegel to think as they did. The book is thought through from the inside. Some of the discussions in this book bring idealism to life. In particular, Royce devotes two of his ten chapters to Hegel's "Phenomenology of Mind". His discussion captures the human fascination of the work and its many insights into individuals and cultures buried in its murky prose.
The first two of the lectures discuss Kant and his first Critique. The pivotal third lecture discusses how tensions in Kant's Critique led to the development of the critical idealist teachings about the Absolute and about the dialectical method. Two lectures are devoted to Schelling and four to Hegel. Of the Hegel lectures, two explore the Phenomenology while the remaining two discuss developments in Hegel's latter writings. Royce offers his own brief thoughts on the value and development of idealism in the final lecture, in which he sketches a theory of interpretation that is developed further in a later book, "The Problem of Christianity." Thus, these "Lectures on Modern Idealism" also are valuable for those readers interested in the development of Royce's thought. In explaining some of the reasons for the decline of idealism, Royce offers important comments on the nature of philosophical thinking. He says, for example, in commenting on the rigidity in idealistic thinking after Hegel:
"Hardly anything in fact is more injurious to the life of scholarship in general, and especially of philosophy, than the too strict and definite organization of schools of investigation. The life of academic scholarship depends upon individual liberty. And above all does the life of philosophy demand the initiative of the individual teacher as well as that of the individual pupil. A philosophy merely accepted from another man and not thought out for one's self is as dead as a mere catalogue of possible opinions. Philosophical formulas merely repeated upon the credit of a master's authority lose the very meaning which made the master authoritative."
The book emphasizes throughout the communal character of idealism. This position is important for many reasons, not the least of which is the tendency to solipsism with which idealism is often charged. When I studied philosophy at college many years ago, German philosophy following Kant was not much taught. Royce's book offers a excellent exposition of Kant and his idealistic successors which explains these thinkers in their own terms. The book is also valuable for understanding Royce and his relationship to both idealism and to American pragmatism. This book is an important work of a still unduly neglected American thinker. This is a newly published offprint edition and the quality of the print and text is good.
Robin Friedman
Josiah Royce (1855 -- 1916) was an American idealist philosopher who studied in Germany in his youth and was heavily influenced by German idealism. Although Royce's idealism is largely rejected in contemporary American philosophy, there is much to be learned from his work and from Royce's relationship to his contemporaries, William James, Charles Peirce, and John Dewey. I wanted to read this book, "Lectures on Modern Idealism" in part due to the upcoming centenary of Royce's death. The book is based on a series of ten lectures Royce delivered in 1906 at Johns Hopkins University under the title "Aspects of Post-Kantian Idealism." The lectures were unpublished during Royce's life, but Royce had written a note stating that they were "worth publishing". In 1919, Royce's student, the philosopher Jacob Loewenberg (1882 -- 1969), edited and published these lectures as the first of a volume of Royce's posthumous works. This was a wise decision as these lectures deserve to be preserved and read. Loewenberg's own introduction to these lectures, written in light of Royce's strong support for the allies and condemnation of Germany in WW I, is also worth reading.
Royce developed his own philosophical idealism over his life, and he was also a careful student of the history of philosophy. Early in his career, in 1892, Royce published a book, "The Spirit of Modern Philosophy" in which he explored aspects of the history of philosophy between Spinoza and Schopenhauer and also presented philosophical ideas of his own. Royce wrote in an engaging, non-technical style, full of biographical information and other asides, for lay readers. The 1906 lectures published in this book are more limited in scope in that they begin with Kant and focus on Hegel. The lectures were intended for an audience with a substantial background in philosophy and explore their subject matter with considerably more depth, difficulty, and technical detail than do the 1892 lectures. Royce, for the most part, limits the lectures to an exposition of the thought of the idealist philosophers he considers. Only in the final lecture does Royce suggest his own development of the idealist position. With respect to the goal of the lecture series, Royce states:
"My purpose will be to help you look at the world, for a time, with the eyes of some one or another of the representative idealists; and to show, by illustrations, why it was that these men viewed things as they did. The early idealists of our post-Kantian period often seem, to the novice, to resemble, according to Hegel's well-known phrase, men who had resolved to try to walk about on their heads. I want to help you to see why these men thought it worth while to view the world in this inverted way."
Royce succeeds admirably in his goal in explaining some of the considerations that led German philosophers from Kant to Hegel to think as they did. The book is thought through from the inside. Some of the discussions in this book bring idealism to life. In particular, Royce devotes two of his ten chapters to Hegel's "Phenomenology of Mind". His discussion captures the human fascination of the work and its many insights into individuals and cultures buried in its murky prose.
The first two of the lectures discuss Kant and his first Critique. The pivotal third lecture discusses how tensions in Kant's Critique led to the development of the critical idealist teachings about the Absolute and about the dialectical method. Two lectures are devoted to Schelling and four to Hegel. Of the Hegel lectures, two explore the Phenomenology while the remaining two discuss developments in Hegel's latter writings. Royce offers his own brief thoughts on the value and development of idealism in the final lecture, in which he sketches a theory of interpretation that is developed further in a later book, "The Problem of Christianity." Thus, these "Lectures on Modern Idealism" also are valuable for those readers interested in the development of Royce's thought. In explaining some of the reasons for the decline of idealism, Royce offers important comments on the nature of philosophical thinking. He says, for example, in commenting on the rigidity in idealistic thinking after Hegel:
"Hardly anything in fact is more injurious to the life of scholarship in general, and especially of philosophy, than the too strict and definite organization of schools of investigation. The life of academic scholarship depends upon individual liberty. And above all does the life of philosophy demand the initiative of the individual teacher as well as that of the individual pupil. A philosophy merely accepted from another man and not thought out for one's self is as dead as a mere catalogue of possible opinions. Philosophical formulas merely repeated upon the credit of a master's authority lose the very meaning which made the master authoritative."
The book emphasizes throughout the communal character of idealism. This position is important for many reasons, not the least of which is the tendency to solipsism with which idealism is often charged. When I studied philosophy at college many years ago, German philosophy following Kant was not much taught. Royce's book offers a excellent exposition of Kant and his idealistic successors which explains these thinkers in their own terms. The book is also valuable for understanding Royce and his relationship to both idealism and to American pragmatism. This book is an important work of a still unduly neglected American thinker. This is a newly published offprint edition and the quality of the print and text is good.
Robin Friedman
February 2, 2022
إن القضية التى يقر رويس فى نهاية الكتاب بأنها القضية الرئيسية وراء عرض محاضراته على الطلبة والقراء - وهى القضية الرئيسية فى فكره الفلسفى - هى قضية ايضاح الترابط الوثيق بين الفكر البراجماتى الذى ينتمى إليه رويس وبين الفكر المثالى السابق عليه والذى يمثل له الجذور الأصلية للفكر البراجماتى والتى لا يمكن ان يقوم هذا الفكر بدونها . وقد أراد أن يعبر عن هذا الترابط الهام فى التمثل الصحيح للعالم فى رأيه وبذلك فهو قضية عملية أولية أو قبلية منطقيا ولها ضرورتها المعرفية . وبذلك أراد أن يبين التناقض الشائع فى فكر عصره الذى يقول بالتعارض المطلق بين المثالية والبراجماتية .
ولم يجد رويس عرضا وإيضاحا وبرهانا لقضيته أفضل من عرضه لتاريخ المثالية الحديثة وروحها وبذلك يكون هذا الكتاب امتدادا لكتابه السابق المسمى بروح الفلسفة الحديثة والذى برهن فيه على معقولية تلك الروح وبالتالى بيِّن المثالية المطلقة الكامنة فى كل الفلسفة الحديثة - على زمنه - من ديكارت إلى سبنسر . إلا أنه الان فى عرضه لتاريخ المثالية الحديثة فهو يبين كيفية إطلاق المثالية وشموليتها من خلال تاريخ المثالية وايضاح معقوليته أى ترابطه مما يحتاج الى عمق فى الرؤية النظرية والقراءة المنهجية للأنساق الفلسفية من كانط وحتى هيجل ، حتى يتمكن من عرض الامتداد المنطقى لكل فيلسوف على سابقيه وكيف كان كل منهم حلقة فى حل المشاكل العميقة فى أفكار سابقه حيث ينجح كل منهم فى ابراز الرؤية المثالية المبنية على الواقع والمنطق انطلاقا من سابقيه ونتيجة لذلك النجاح تظهر مشكلات جديدة تسهم كذلك فى تعميق الفكرة وايضاح الرؤية واتساعها لتكون اكثر شمولية . وبذلك يمكننا كل يوم أن نتمكن من رؤية الأشياء المفردة والعالم ككل بطريقة أكثر ترابطا ومنطقية .
ولا تتجدد هذه الرؤية الا من خلال المعرفة ولا يمكن قيام المعرفة ونموها الا على اسس مثالية وأن تكون فى طابعها الأصلى تاريخية ومتطورة جدليا بالانطلاق من الواقع الحالى ومشكلاته الى الحل الذى يحقق عالما جديدا كما رأينا له مشكلاته الخاصة واسئلته الخاصة التى تفتح أمامنا الطريق لإثراء معارفنا من خلال تاريخ تجاربنا اى من خلال الوعى الذى ظهر فى النهاية عند هيجل كوعى يائس من اكتشافه لهذه الحقيقة التى لا تدعم امله فى أى استقرار فى هذه الحياة .
وبالتالى يرى رويس فى البراجماتية نتيجة لهذه المعارف والافكار فلسفية السابقة فهى تمثل حلا ايجابيا للوعى اليائس بتحويل انتباهه الى الجانب التطورى للحياة الذى يعطى الأمل دوما فى غد أفضل ، فالواجب هو العمل والاهتمام بالواقع بشكل فعلى ويرى رويس أن لا يقتصر العمل على الجانب المادى لحياة الانسان فى الواقع وانما بفكره وتصوره للحياة الذى هو الصورة المثالية والأكثر ترابطا ومنطقية لكل ما يعلم وبالتالى القاعدة المطلقة لكل واجباته الأخلاقية أو لكل ما يعمل ولا نغفل كذلك أن الرؤية السليمة والعقلانية للحياة هى عامل ضرورى من عوامل الرفاه النفسى . اى ان الاهتمامات الثقافية والبحوث الفكرية وتطورها المستمر على مستوى الفرد او مستوى الانسانية هى الجانب المثالى الذى لا يجب اجتزاؤه من حياة الانسان .
ولم يجد رويس عرضا وإيضاحا وبرهانا لقضيته أفضل من عرضه لتاريخ المثالية الحديثة وروحها وبذلك يكون هذا الكتاب امتدادا لكتابه السابق المسمى بروح الفلسفة الحديثة والذى برهن فيه على معقولية تلك الروح وبالتالى بيِّن المثالية المطلقة الكامنة فى كل الفلسفة الحديثة - على زمنه - من ديكارت إلى سبنسر . إلا أنه الان فى عرضه لتاريخ المثالية الحديثة فهو يبين كيفية إطلاق المثالية وشموليتها من خلال تاريخ المثالية وايضاح معقوليته أى ترابطه مما يحتاج الى عمق فى الرؤية النظرية والقراءة المنهجية للأنساق الفلسفية من كانط وحتى هيجل ، حتى يتمكن من عرض الامتداد المنطقى لكل فيلسوف على سابقيه وكيف كان كل منهم حلقة فى حل المشاكل العميقة فى أفكار سابقه حيث ينجح كل منهم فى ابراز الرؤية المثالية المبنية على الواقع والمنطق انطلاقا من سابقيه ونتيجة لذلك النجاح تظهر مشكلات جديدة تسهم كذلك فى تعميق الفكرة وايضاح الرؤية واتساعها لتكون اكثر شمولية . وبذلك يمكننا كل يوم أن نتمكن من رؤية الأشياء المفردة والعالم ككل بطريقة أكثر ترابطا ومنطقية .
ولا تتجدد هذه الرؤية الا من خلال المعرفة ولا يمكن قيام المعرفة ونموها الا على اسس مثالية وأن تكون فى طابعها الأصلى تاريخية ومتطورة جدليا بالانطلاق من الواقع الحالى ومشكلاته الى الحل الذى يحقق عالما جديدا كما رأينا له مشكلاته الخاصة واسئلته الخاصة التى تفتح أمامنا الطريق لإثراء معارفنا من خلال تاريخ تجاربنا اى من خلال الوعى الذى ظهر فى النهاية عند هيجل كوعى يائس من اكتشافه لهذه الحقيقة التى لا تدعم امله فى أى استقرار فى هذه الحياة .
وبالتالى يرى رويس فى البراجماتية نتيجة لهذه المعارف والافكار فلسفية السابقة فهى تمثل حلا ايجابيا للوعى اليائس بتحويل انتباهه الى الجانب التطورى للحياة الذى يعطى الأمل دوما فى غد أفضل ، فالواجب هو العمل والاهتمام بالواقع بشكل فعلى ويرى رويس أن لا يقتصر العمل على الجانب المادى لحياة الانسان فى الواقع وانما بفكره وتصوره للحياة الذى هو الصورة المثالية والأكثر ترابطا ومنطقية لكل ما يعلم وبالتالى القاعدة المطلقة لكل واجباته الأخلاقية أو لكل ما يعمل ولا نغفل كذلك أن الرؤية السليمة والعقلانية للحياة هى عامل ضرورى من عوامل الرفاه النفسى . اى ان الاهتمامات الثقافية والبحوث الفكرية وتطورها المستمر على مستوى الفرد او مستوى الانسانية هى الجانب المثالى الذى لا يجب اجتزاؤه من حياة الانسان .
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