Abstract

Idealism offers a distinctive perspective on the methods of philosophical inquiry and on the nature of reality. In the version that dominated Britain at the end of the nineteenth century, there was a strong emphasis on the search for unity, for the connections between and among the diverse aspects of experience, and the many spheres of human interest, such as natural science, psychology, ethics, and politics. While each distinct science or area of study tries to explain and to provide a coherent account of the phenomena falling within its sphere, such studies are limited in that they must begin from various conceptions, or “working hypotheses,” as Bradley often called them. It is the unique role of metaphysical inquiry to attempt to get behind and beyond these assumptions and lay everything bare to the questioning mind.