Abstract
This paper examines an apparent contradiction in F.H. Bradley’s thinking about religion. Bradley claims that “the intellectual effort to understand the universe is a principled way of thus experiencing the Deity.” Paraphrase this as (1) A metaphysical consciousness can experience God. Elsewhere Bradley writes, “God for me has no meaning outside of the religious consciousness, and that essentially is practical.” Paraphrase this as (2) God has meaning only for a practical consciousness. Bradley also claims that metaphysics is a theoretical, not a practical, activity. Paraphrase this as (3) A metaphysical consciousness is not a practical consciousness. (2) and (3) entail (4) God has no meaning for a metaphysical consciousness. But (4) is the negation of (1), and thus Bradley seems caught in a contradiction.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bradley, F. H., Appearance and Reality, 2d ed., ninth impression corrected, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, [1897] 1930).
Bradley, F. H., Essays on Truth and Reality, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1914).
Bradley, F. H., The Principles of Logic, 2nd ed., corrected impression, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, [1922] 1928).
Bradley, F. H., Ethical Studies, 2nd ed., (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1927).
Bradley, F. H., Collected Essays, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1935).
Bradley, F. H., Collected Works of F. H. Bradley, vol. 1, ed. Carol A. Keene, (Bristol: Thoemmes Press, 1999).
Carr, Stephen, “F. H. Bradley and Religious Faith,” Religious Studies 28, 1992, 371–386.
Hegel, G. W. F., The Phenomenology of Spirit, trans. A. V. Miller, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977).
Hegel, G. W. F., The Philosophy of Right, trans. Allen W. Wood, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991).
Hurka, Thomas, Perfectionism, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993).
Kant, Immanuel, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, trans. James W. Ellington, 3rd ed., (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1992).
MacNiven, Don, Bradley’s Moral Psychology, (Lewiston: Edwin Mellen, 1987).
Mander, W. J., British Idealism: A History, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011).
Nicholson, Peter P., The Political Philosophy of the British Idealists, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990).
Rorty, Richard, “Heidegger, Contingency, and Pragmatism,” in Essays on Heidegger and Others, 27–49, Philosophical Papers, vol. 2. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991).
Sprigge, T. L. S., James and Bradley: American Truth and British Reality, (Chicago: Open Court, 1993).
Taylor, A. E., “F. H. Bradley,” Mind 34, 1925, 1–12.
Vincent, Andrew, “Mr. Bradley and God,” Bradley Studies 6, 2000, 104–124.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Allard, J.W. (2016). Metaphysics, Religion, and Self-Realization in F.H. Bradley. In: Mander, W., Panagakou, S. (eds) British Idealism and the Concept of the Self. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-46671-6_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-46671-6_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-46670-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-46671-6
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)