The nature of man in the philosophy of Josiah Royce and Bernard Bosanquet

460 Pages·023.539 MB·English

by  R. Paul Ramsey

INFORMATION TO USERS
The most advanced technology has been used to photograph and
reproduce this manuscript from the microfilm master. UMI films the
text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and
dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any
type of computer printer.
The quality of this reproduction Is dependent upon the quality of the
copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality
illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins,
and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction.
In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete
manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if
unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate
the deletion.
Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced , by
sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and
continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each
original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in
reduced form at the back of the book.
Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced
xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white
photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations
appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly
to order.
University Microfilms International
A Bell & Howell Information Company
300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA
313/761-4700 800/521-0600
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Order Number 0029240
The nature of man in the philosophy of Josiah Royce and
Bernard Bosanquet
Ramsey, R. Paul, Ph.D.
Yale University, 1943
U M I
300N.ZeebRd.
Ann Aibor, MI 48106
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
THE NATURE OF MAN IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF
JOSIAH BOYCE AND BERNARD BOSANQUET
Paul Ramsey
Presented to the Faculty of the
Graduate School of Yale University in Candidacy for the
Degree of Doctor of Philosopty
1943
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
soMmmr
The nature of man In the philosophy of absolute idealism is usually
treated as consisting simply of the doetrine that the self is a microcosm.
Part-whole identity is thus held to be an exhaustive formulation of the
principal elements of man's nature and situation, and, since man is in
every respect a representative of a thoroughly rational universe, the
idealistic view of man is ordinarily characterized as an excessively
rationalistic one. This dissertation undertakes to show, however, that
idealism regards man more as a self than as a mind, and it seeks to es­
tablish a conception of self-Other relationship as being equally as
essential to idealism's understanding of man's nature and situation as
the notion of part-whole or microcosmlc-macrocosmlc identity. The absolute
idealistic view of man is most adequately expressed as the doctrine of his
"finite-infinite" nature, a term of Bosanquet's employed throughout this
study, and one which includes both the part-whole and the self-Other rela­
tions. No prejudgment between these two equally important elements of
idealistic anthropology is implied. Idealism is approached from the point
of view of its analysis of human nature, and the idealistic doctrine of
man is evaluated by an exposition and an examination of its own concrete
account of human experience. The finite-infinite nature of man is found
to be the anthropological foundation of idealistic discussions of human
freedom, the central problems of ethics and of social philosophy, moral
e.yil, salvation, progress, and immortality* Certain abstract and meta­
physical doctrines of idealism are reinterpreted in terms of its view of
man. Philosophical anthropology, thus, provides a new approach to an
understanding of absolute idealism. Moreover, the part-whole aspect of the
doctrine of man's finite-infinite nature proves at certain crucial points to
be contradictory to the more concrete self-Other aspect. Thus, the duality
of idealism's understanding of man provides a basis for its own correction,
and the susceptibility of its anthropology to the test of experience provides
a standpoint from which a revision of idealistic metaphysics is suggested.
The fact that the two men whose writings have been selected as the primary
subject matter of this study in idealistic anthropology — Josiah Royce and
Bernard Bosanquet — were leaders of Anglo-American thought of the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries permits a favorable evaluation of
that period's understanding of man. This general conclusion necessitates
that the contemporary disparagement of the absolute idealistic doctrine of
man be discounted.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
TAHfl? or CONTENTS
Page
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................ . viii
FAST ONE
THE REALITY Qg THE FINITE INDIVIDUAL
Chapter I The Beality of the Finite Individual.......................... . 1
Section A; The Reality of the Individual forR oyce . . . . . . 5
1. The Principle of Individuation ........................................... 5
2. The Self-Repetitive Series . . . . . .......................................... 12
3. The Inclusive Absolute ...................................... 19
4. The Absolute Comminity ......................................... 25
Section B: The Reality of the Individual for Bosanquet. . . . 26
1. The Principle of Identity in Difference . .......................... 26
2. The Concrete Universal, and the Mutual Dependence of
Finite and Infinite . . . . . . . . . ............................ 32
3. Multiplicism, and the "Spiritual Organism"............................ 39
4. The Individual as an "Appearance". .................................. 42
5. "Do Finite Individuals Possess a Substantive or an
Adjectival Mode of Being?" ................................................ 44
6» The Individual as Real but not Self-Real.................................. 54
Section C: Conclusion ...................................................................................... 59
PART TWO
THE FOUNDATIONS OF iPRALITY
Chapter II...................Freedom........................................................................... . 61
Section A: A "First Look" at Idealistic Freedom . . . . . . . . 62
1. Freedom as Transcendence of Nature . ..................................... 65
2. Freedom as Spiritual Determination........................................ 75
3. Freedom as Logical Determination ................................. 78
4. Freedom as Effective Action............................................................. 82
5. Freedom as Self-Determination............................................ 83
6. Idealistic Self-Determination and Moral Responsibility . 86
Section B: Freedom as the Creative Nlsus of Thought,
Responsiveness, Self-Determination in Act, and
Attentiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
1, The Creative Advance of Thought. .................................. 90
2# Responsiveness . 93
3. Self-Determination in A c t........................................... 97
4. A ttentiveness....................................................................... 100
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
iv. Page
Section C: Freedom as a Living Portion of the Freedom
of the Absolute • ................................................. 107
1, Individuality and Freedom................... .............................. 107
2* The Self as a Participating Member of the Absolute
Freedom........................ 108
Section D: The Freedom of the Greater and of the Lesser Self 113
Chapter III The Individual and the General Will .......................... . 116
Section A: Bosanquet and the General W ill................................ 116
1. Society as a Spiritual Organism .......................................... 116
2. The Rational Will and Consciousness........................... 119
3. State and Individual M orality....................................... 122
4.' The Central Position.................................................................. 128
5. Psychological Illustration and P ro o f.......................... . 137
6. Reform and Revolution....................................................... 142
7* The A ssociations............................................................... 144
8. The General Will and Humanity....................................... 146
Section B: Royce and the General W ill............................. 148
Section C: Criticism of the General W ill.............................. 152
1. Is Restraint Necessary to Liberty? ................................... 153
2. Does the Individual Ha-'e a "Real1* Will Distinct from
His "Actual" W ill?................................................. 155
3*. Is the Real Will General?..................................................... 158
4. Is the Real Will the General W ill? ................................. 159
5. Is the General Will Embodied in the State? . . . . . 168
6. Is the Real General Will Rational and Good? . . . . . 170
Chapter IT Some Problems in Idealistic Ethics . ........................... 173
Section A: Idealism, Moral Discrimination, and Vigorous
Action........................................ 173
Section B: The Question of Obligation .................... . . . . . 185
1. The Moral "Ought".......................................................... 185
(a) Ethical Obligation.......................... 185
(b) Political Obligation ............................................. 190
(c) Self-Realization................... 191
(d) The Greater Self........................................ 193
(e) Conclusion ....................... 199
2. The Theoretical "Ought” . . . . . ........................... . . . 205
(a) The Internal and External Meaning of Ideas . 207
(b) The Possibility of Error........................ 210
(c) Conclusion............................................ 212
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
V. .
Pag*
PART THREE
CRITICAL POINTS IN THE IDEAL LIFE
Chapter V The Problem of Evil ...........................................* . 219
Section A: Rejected Solutions.................................................................. 219
1. Illu sio n ..................................................................................... 219
2. Evil as Instrum ental . 220
3. Evil as the Result of Free W ill.................................... 222
Section 5: The Idealistic Solutions of Boyce and Bosanquet . . . 223
li Good and Evil as Organically Coimplied in Perfection . . 223
2. Contradiction and Negativity . . .................... 226
3. The Vale of Soul Making......................................................... 227
4. The Inclusive A bsolute............................... 229
5. Evil and the Finite-Infinite Relation ................... 231
Section C: Conclusion.................................... 234
Chapter VI Moral Evil................................................................................................ 237
Section As A "First Look" at the Idealistic View of Moral Evil • 237
1. Sin as Bodily Passion or Inertia ............................................ 237
2. Sin as Isolation ........................... 240
3. Sin as Ignorance ............................................................... 242
4. Sin as Finitude ........................................................................ 243
5. Sin as a Fundamental or "Original" Defect of Human Nature 248
Section B: The Essence of Moral Evil ....................................................... 250
1. Sin as the Absolutizing of the F in ite..................................... 250
2. Sin as Irresponsiveness . ....................................................... 261
3. Sin as Rebellious Self-W ill....................................................... 269
Section C: Conclusion.................................... 278
Chapter VII Salvation................................................................................................ 289
Seotion A: "The Judgment of God".............................................................. 290
Section B: The Atonement.............................................................................. 298
Section C: Salvation by F a ith .................................................................. 305
1. Faith and the Idealistic Perspective .................................... 305
2. The Religious Consciousness ................................................... 307
3. Morality and Religion.................................................................... 310
4. Conclusion ............................................................................... 310
. Section D: The Religious Paradox............................................................. 315
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
vi. Page
Section 1: Salvation by Loyalty ................................ 318
Section F: Salvation by Grace . . 326
PART FOUR
THE GATES OF THE FUTURE
Chapter VIII Progress ................................................................. 334
Section A: The Alternative Denial and Affirmation of Progress 335
1. The Denial of Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
2. The Affirmation of P rogress................................................ 343
Section B: The Simultaneous Affirmation of Progress and
Imperfection and of Progress and Perfection » 349
1. Progress and Imperfection .................................................... 350
2, Progress and P erfection................... 355
Section C: Conclusion ............................................................................ 364
Chapter IX Immortality................................................................ 369
Section A: The Infinitude of the F in ite........................................ 370
1. As a Basis for Denying Immortality . .............................. 370
2. As a Basis for Affinning Immortality . . . . . . . . . . 381
Section B: The Movement of the Finite Toward the Infinite . • 392
1. Denying Immortality to the "Given" S e l f ......................... 392
2. Affirming Immortality for the True S e l f ....................... . 394
Section C: The "Movement" of the Infinite Toward the Finite:
A Conclusion............................................................. 402
General Conclusion........................ 408
Bibliography. ..................................................................................................... . 425
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.