Abstract

This book formulates and defends a form of idealism that shows the influences of Kant, Leibniz, Peirce, and Anglo-American neo-Hegelians. The general position is characterized as conceptual idealism. "It maintains that the concepts we standardly employ in constituting our view of reality—even extramental, material reality-involves an essential reference to minds and their capabilities." Conceptual idealism is distinct from the causal version; it is essentially concerned with the deployment of our present conceptual framework. "A concept is mind-involving in the present, conceptualistic sense if its full and adequate explication—not just on the side of its semantical meaning-content, but also on that of its applicability-conditions—cannot be carried out without reference to those functions which, like thinking, imagining, assuming, etc., are characteristic capabilities of mind."