Modern Philosophy Bosanquet, Culture, and the Influence of Idealist Logic William Sweet St Francis Xavier University wsweet@stfx.ca ABSTRACT: I discuss some of the features of the analysis of culture provided by the Britist idealist philosopher, Bernard Bosanquet (1848-1923). It has been suggested that Bosanquet's philosophical views, especially on topics related to culture, were determined by the 'absolutist' metaphysics he inherited from Hegel and F. H. Bradley, and that one can see a shift in his work from an early humanism, contemporary with his studies in logic, to a late anti-humanism. I The word 'culture', in a broad sense, refers to "the whole way of life, material, intellectual, and spiritual, of a given society." It is understood as not simply what exists in a society at a particular moment, but as something both historical and dynamic. Moreover, a discussion of the 'whole way of life' of a society involves more than artistic and intellectual work; it includes a society's customs, its mores and moral principles, its laws, its manner of educating its citizens, and its understanding of spiritual life. The Civilization of Christendom II A. Aesthetics | |
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