The Metaphysical Basis of Ethics: G.E. Moore and the Origins of Analytic Philosophy (History of Analytic Philosophy)

"This book remedies the absence in the history of analytic philosophy of a detailed examination of G. E. Moore{u2019}s philosophical views as they developed between 1894 and 1902. This period saw the inauguration of analytic philosophy through the work of Moore and Bertrand Russell. Moore{u2019}s early views are examined in detail through unpublished archival material, including surviving letters, diaries, notes of lectures attended, papers for Cambridge societies, and drafts of early work, in order to revise the established view that the origin of analytic philosophy at Cambridge was an abrupt split from F. H. Bradley{u2019}s Absolute Idealism. Traditional accounts of this period have highlighted the anti-psychologism of Frege{u2019}s logic but have not explored the impact of this movement more broadly. Anti-psychologism was a key feature of the work of Moore{u2019}s teachers on the nature of the mind and its objects, in their interpretation of Kant, and in ethics. Moore{u2019}s teachers G.F. Stout and James Ward were significant contributors to the late 19th century debates in mental science and the developing new science of psychology. Henry Sidgwick{u2019}s criticisms of Kant and Bradley and his leading work in ethics were key influences on Moore. Moore{u2019}s Trinity Fellowship Dissertations are essential historical evidence of the development of Moore's new theory of judgment, a theory whose defining role in the origins of analytic philosophy cannot be overstated. Moore{u2019}s study of Kant in his dissertations ultimately formed the groundwork for his Principia Ethica (1903), which evolved from ideas that manifested in Moore{u2019}s earliest Apostles{u2019} papers, developed through his dissertations, and were refined through his Elements of Ethics lectures (1898-99). This monumental work of early twentieth century ethics is thus shown to be the culmination of Moore{u2019}s early philosophical development"{u2212}Provided by publisher Series Editor’s Foreword Acknowledgements Contents Introduction: G. E. Moore and the Origins of Early Analytic Philosophy References 1: Mental Science and Moral Science in Nineteenth Century Cambridge 1 Introduction 2 The Moral Sciences at Cambridge 2.1 Nineteenth Century Reform of the University: Religious Tests and the Tripos Examinations 3 Moore and the Mental Sciences at Cambridge 4 Nineteenth Century Psychology, Logic, and Metaphysics: Psychologism and Anti-Psychologism 4.1 Psychologism and Anti-Psychologism: The Psychologismusstreit 5 Mental Science and Psychology in Nineteenth Century Germany, Austria, and Great Britain 5.1 Lotze 5.2 Brentano 5.3 Bradley References 2: Moore’s Early Philosophical Development: 1894–1896 1 Introduction: Moore at Cambridge 2 Reading Kant in Nineteenth Century Cambridge 3 Stout on Kant, Psychology, and the Nature of Judgment 3.1 Stout’s History of Philosophy Lectures, 1894 4 Ward’s Mental Science 5 Interlude: Moore, Russell, and the Moral Sciences Tripos Part II Examination 6 Moore’s Essays for Ward on Lotze 7 Moore’s Notes on Stout’s Lectures on Lotze 8 McTaggart 9 “In What Sense, If Any, Do Past and Future Time Exist?” References 3: Moral Science and Ethical Systems: Sidgwick’s Influence on Moore 1 Introduction 2 Nineteenth Century British Ethics: Sidgwick in Context 3 Sidgwick and Bradley 4 Sidgwick on Kant 5 Methods of Ethics 5.1 The Method of Methods of Ethics 5.2 Common Sense Morality 5.3 Free Will 6 Moore’s Notebooks and Essays for Sidgwick 6.1 Sidgwick’s Ethical Systems Lectures 6.2 Essays on Methods of Ethics References 4: The Metaphysical Basis of Ethics 1 Introduction 2 Moore’s Earliest Philosophical Forays 2.1 Papers for Cambridge Societies (Apostles Papers and others) 3 The Revolution: Moore’s Trinity Prize Fellowship Dissertations (1897–1898) 4 The 1897 Version of The Metaphysical Basis of Ethics 5 The 1898 Version of The Metaphysical Basis of Ethics 6 Fellowship Years 6.1 “The Elements of Ethics” and “Kant's Moral Philosophy”: Moore’s Lectures at the London School of Ethics and Social Philosophy, 1898–1899 6.2 Replies to Thomas Sturge Moore 6.3 Moore’s “Elements of Ethics” and Principia Ethica 7 Conclusion References References Index This book remedies the absence in the history of analytic philosophy of a detailed examination of G. E. Moores philosophical views as they developed between 1894 and 1902. This period saw the inauguration of analytic philosophy through the work of Moore and Bertrand Russell. Moores early views are examined in detail through unpublished archival material, including surviving letters, diaries, notes of lectures attended, papers for Cambridge societies, and drafts of early work, in order to revise the established view that the origin of analytic philosophy at Cambridge was an abrupt split from F. H. Bradleys Absolute Idealism. Traditional accounts of this period have highlighted the anti-psychologism of Freges logic but have not explored the impact of this movement more broadly. Anti-psychologism was a key feature of the work of Moores teachers on the nature of the mind and its objects, in their interpretation of Kant, and in ethics. Moores teachers G.F. Stout and James Ward were significant contributors to the late 19 th century debates in mental science and the developing new science of psychology. Henry Sidgwicks criticisms of Kant and Bradley and his leading work in ethics were key influences on Moore. Moores Trinity Fellowship Dissertations are essential historical evidence of the development of Moore's new theory of judgment, a theory whose defining role in the origins of analytic philosophy cannot be overstated. Moores study of Kant in his dissertations ultimately formed the groundwork for his Principia Ethica (1903), which evolved from ideas that manifested in Moores earliest Apostles papers, developed through his dissertations, and were refined through his Elements of Ethics lectures (1898-99). This monumental work of early twentieth century ethics is thus shown to be the culmination of Moores early philosophical development.