The Russell/Bradley Dispute and its Significance for Twentieth Century Philosophy (History of Analytic Philosophy)

In the early twentieth century an apparently obscure philosophical debate took place between F. H. Bradley and Bertrand Russell. The historical outcome was momentous: the demise of the movement known as British Idealism, and its eventual replacement by the various forms of analytic philosophy. Since then, a conception of this debate and its rights and wrongs has become entrenched in English-language philosophy. Stewart Candlish examines afresh the events of this formative period in twentieth-century thought and comes to some surprising conclusions. "In the early twentieth century a philosophical debate took place between F.H. Bradley and Bertrand Russell concerning a range of connected issues of apparently technical significance: the nature and unity of the proposition; the proper account of truth; and the status of relations. The historical outcome was momentous: the demise of the philosophical movement known as British Idealism and its eventual replacement by various forms of Analytic Philosophy. Since then, a conception of this debate and its rights and wrongs has become entrenched in English-language philosophy. Stewart Candlish examines afresh not only the events of this formative period in twentieth-century thought but also the standard conception of them, providing a reassessment of Bradley's contribution to modern philosophy, new insight into the development of Russell's thought, and some surprising conclusions."--Jacket In the early twentieth century a philosophical debate took place between F.H. Bradley and Bertrand Russell concerning a range of connected issues of apparently technical significance: the nature and unity of the proposition, the proper account of truth, and the status of relations. The historical outcome was momentous: the demise of the philosophical movement known as British Idealism, and its eventual replacement by the various forms of analytic philosophy. Since then, a conception of this debate and its rights and wrongs has become entrenched in English-language philosophy. Stewart Candlish examines afresh not only the events of this formative period in twentieth-century thought but also the standard conception of them, providing a reassessment of Bradley's contribution to modern philosophy, new insight into the development of Russell's thought, and some surprising conclusions In the early twentieth century, an apparently obscure philosophical debate took place between F.H. Bradley and Bertrand Russell. The outcome was momentous: the demise of British Idealism and the rise of analytic philosophy. Stewart Candlish examines afresh this formative period in twentieth-cenutry thought and comes to some surprising conclusions.