Andrew Vincent

Although we value Guyer’s particular reading of British Idealist works, we nonetheless consider that his largely textualist-focused approach narrows both the scope and ultimate comprehension of Idealist ethics, particularly in relation to Kant. We consider that Guyer’s analysis misses the depth of their moral understanding. Such Idealist argumentation embodies a rich blending of historical, sociological, political, and evolutionary theory, which was employed consistently in their ethical reflections. To miss this contextual point can make many of their writings almost unintelligible. Thus, we consider it of central importance to understand British Idealist moral philosophy within this much broader philosophical frame.

After a brief overview of Cassirer’s symbolic form argument, the discussion turns to one question: does Cassirer offer a lucid normative position in politics? My core argument is that he does not. Three arguments providing potential insights into his moral and political sensibilities are contested: the first concerns his The Myth of the State text; the second, the Bildung tradition; and third, his arguments on the contract and natural rights tradition. The latter argument, in particular, underpins the claim that Cassirer was sympathetic to liberalism. The concept of left-Kantianism is then examined in the context of the German socialist tradition.

This paper focuses on the critical relation of reason and language in the work of Kant and Hamann. The biographical and intellectual relationship between Kant and Hamann is briefly outlined. The focus then shifts to Hamann’s essay ‘The Metacritique on the Purism of Reason’. The central themes of Hamann’s essay are unpacked. The discussion then considers the central, if ambiguous, role played by Hume in the whole Kant/Hamann debate. The discussion then moves to Hamann’s critique of transcendental idealism and finally to Kant and the question of language.

ABSTRACTThe argument focuses on a Victorian perception of spiritual crisis and its unanticipated relation to nationalism. This issue is analyzed in the context of the British Idealist movement for whom the roots of the crisis derived largely from a misleading transcendental understanding of religion. The Idealists re-conceptualized religion as immanent within a humanized incarnational understanding of Christ, which was in turn seen to be implicit in the everyday moral conduct of all humans. This latter idea had immediate social implications. Morality is seen to be rooted within institutions aspiring to achieve the common good. In this context, a specific ‘sense’ of nationalism is seen to embody this aspiration to the common good. There is an explicit distinction between forms of nationalism which facilitate, as against those which hinder, the common good. Thus, the Idealist immanent understanding of religion - configured through the common good - forms the intrinsic value substance to a unique understanding of nationalism.