From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
British idealism was a movement of political philosophy that was influential during the mid to late nineteenth century and the early days of the twentieth century. Leading figures were T.H. Green (1836-1882), F.H. Bradley(1846-1924) and Bernard Bosanquet (1848-1923).
It in some sense was a reaction towards the German Idealist movement, particularly such philosophers as Immanuel Kant and G.W.F. Hegel. It was certainly a reaction against the thinking of Mill, Hume and the utilitarians. Some of those involved would have denied any specific influence, particularly in respect of Hegel. Nevertheless, James Hutchinson Stirling's book The Secret of Hegel is believed to have won significant converts in Britain.
The hold of British idealism in the UK weakened when Bertrand Russell and G.E. Moore turned against it, and their education in the tradition. At that point British philosophy turned once more against metaphysics in general. The later work of R.G. Collingwood was a turning back, once more.
