Marking the Centenary of Samuel Alexander's Space, Time and Deity (History of Analytic Philosophy)

This book is an edited collection of essays in celebration of the centenary of Samuel Alexander’s Space, Time and Deity , published in 1920. Samuel Alexander (1859-1938) was a leading figure of British philosophy in the early twentieth century. He was partly responsible for the ‘new realism’ movement along with G.E. Moore and Bertrand Russell. However, his work has been overlooked in developments of twentieth century philosophy and yet his theories and style of theorising are in vogue. This book begins with three previously unpublished papers by Alexander that shed light on his metaphysical commitments about time, universals, God, knowledge of past truths, grounding, and inference in logic and science. There are also two important posthumous chapters by philosophers of the mid-twentieth century, who elaborate on his life and most significant contributions. The second half of the book contains new essays by current scholars, discussing Alexander on metaphysical realism,idealism, naturalism, space and time, process ontology, ontological categories, epistemology, perception, philosophy of history, emergentism, and empiricism. Series Editor’s Foreword Acknowledgements Contents List of Contributors List of Figures Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Alexander’s Metaphysics and Method 2 Posthumous Papers 3 New Essays References Part I: Posthumous Papers Chapter 2: On Taking Time Seriously (1914) Chapter 3: The Reality of the Past (1915) Chapter 4: Ground and Cause (1922) Chapter 5: Samuel Alexander in Manchester References Chapter 6: Samuel Alexander and the Analytical Introverts Part II: New Essays Chapter 7: Samuel Alexander’s Place in British Philosophy: Realism and Naturalism from the 1880s Onwards 1 Introduction 2 The Relation of Mind to Nature: Idealism or Realism? 2.1 Introducing the Idealist-Realist Debate 2.2 Where Did Alexander Stand on Idealist-Realist Debate in the 1880s? 2.3 Alexander’s Leanings Towards Idealism 3 The Evolution of Mind: Naturalism or Supernaturalism? 3.1 Introducing the Naturalist-Supernaturalist Debate 3.2 Where Did Alexander Stand on the Naturalist-Supernaturalist Debate in the 1880s? 3.3 Alexander’s Leanings Towards Supernaturalism 4 Alexander’s Realist-Idealist Legacy References Chapter 8: Samuel Alexander on Motion 1 Introduction 2 Alexander’s View 3 Bergson’s View 4 Russell’s View 5 A New Dynamic Metaphysics 6 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 9: Samuel Alexander’s Categories 1 Book II 2 The Primary Subject Matter of Philosophy 3 Between Space-Time and Empirical Things 4 Pervasive Attributes 5 The List 5.1 First Rank or “Major” Categories 5.2 Second Rank or “Minor” Categories 5.3 Third Rank Category 6 Rank of Categories 7 Categories of Existence 8 Universal and Particular 9 Relation 10 Order 11 Substance 12 Causality and Reciprocity 13 Quantity and Intensity 14 Whole and Part; and Number 15 Motion 16 Two Non-categories: Quality and Change 17 Method 18 Influences 19 Assessment 20 Personal Postscript References Chapter 10: Samuel Alexander and the Psychological Origins of Realism 1 Introduction 2 Experimental Psychology and Classical Empiricism 3 Method and Realism 4 Enjoyment and Contemplation 5 Error and Illusion 6 Conclusion References Chapter 11: Becoming Real: The Metaphysics of Samuel Alexander and R.G. Collingwood 1 Introduction 2 ‘A Weird Metaphysic of His Own’: A Meeting of Minds? 3 Space, Time, and Deity 4 Philosophical Method and Cosmology 5 Conclusion References Chapter 12: The Rise and Fall of Australian Empiricism 1 The Boomeranged Philosophy 2 Alexandrian Empiricism 3 Andersonian Empiricism 3.1 Intimacy with Alexander’s Philosophy 3.2 Andersonian Philosophy 3.3 General Criticism of Alexander 4 The Lectures on Space, Time, and Deity 4.1 A Hermeneutic Problem 4.2 Space-Time, Situations, and Propositions 4.3 The Categories 4.4 The Physical Categories: Quantity 4.5 The Physical Categories: Intensity 4.6 The Physical Categories: Substance 4.7 The Physical Categories: Causality 4.8 The Physical Categories: Individuality 5 Conclusion References Index This book is an edited collection of essays in celebration of the centenary of Samuel Alexander's Space, Time and Deity, published in 1920. Samuel Alexander (1859-1938) was a leading figure of British philosophy in the early twentieth century. He was partly responsible for the 'new realism' movement along with G.E. Moore and Bertrand Russell. However, his work has been overlooked in developments of twentieth century philosophy and yet his theories and style of theorising are in vogue. This book begins with three previously unpublished papers by Alexander that shed light on his metaphysical commitments about time, universals, God, knowledge of past truths, grounding, and inference in logic and science. There are also two important posthumous chapters by philosophers of the mid-twentieth century, who elaborate on his life and most significant contributions. The second half of the book contains new essays by current scholars, discussing Alexander on metaphysical realism, idealism, naturalism, space and time, process ontology, ontological categories, epistemology, perception, philosophy of history, emergentism, and empiricism.