Canadian Idealism and the Philosophy of Freedom : C.B. Macpherson, George Grant, and Charles Taylor

Twentieth-century Canada fostered a range of great minds, but the country's diversity and wide range of academic fields have led to their ideas being portrayed as the work of isolated thinkers. Canadian Idealism and the Philosophy of Freedom contests this assumption by linking the works of C.B. Macpherson, George Grant, and Charles Taylor to demonstrate the presence of a Canadian intellectual tradition. Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Foreword • Jack Layton 10 1 Introduction 20 2 A Brief History of Canadian Idealism 31 Part One: G.W.F. Hegel 42 3 Hegel’s Political Philosophy 44 Part Two: C.B. Macpherson 76 4 Making Sense of Macpherson’s Liberal Marxism 78 5 Macpherson’s Third Way 100 Part Three: George Grant 120 6 Grant’s “Hegelian Book” and Dreams on the Cusp 122 7 Grant’s Idealist Unfolding 143 8 Grant’s Conservative Retreat 158 Part Four: Charles Taylor 178 9 Taylor’s Hegelian Remedy for the Modern Malaise 180 10 Taylor’s Hegelian Path to Autonomy 195 11 Taylor’s Freedom: Community and Self-Interpretation 206 12 Taylor’s Political Vision 216 13 Conclusion: The Legacy 226 Postscript: In Response to Sibley’s Northern Spirits 232 Notes 248 Bibliography 288 Index 304 Twentieth-century Canada fostered many great minds, but the country's diversity and wide range of academic fields have led to their ideas being portrayed as the work of isolated thinkers. Canadian Idealism and the Philosophy of Freedom challenges this assumption by linking the works of C.B. Macpherson, George Grant, and Charles Taylor to demonstrate the presence of a Canadian intellectual tradition. --Book Jacket. An intriguing work that considers the shared tradition of Canadian political philosophy.