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Edward Caird [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
Edward Caird (1835-1908)
A Scottish philosopher of the latter half of
the nineteenth century, Edward Caird was one of the key figures of the
idealist movement that dominated British philosophy from 1870 until the
mid 1920s. Best known for his studies of Kant and Hegel, Caird exercised
a strong influence on the 'second generation' of idealists, such as John
Watson and Bernard Bosanquet. During his long and productive life, Caird
was active in university and local politics and in educational and social
reform. In his two series of Gifford lectures, he developed an important
‘evolutionary' account of religion.
Edward Caird was born in Greenock, Scotland,
on March 23, 1835. A younger brother of the theologian John Caird (1820-1898),
Edward began his studies at the University of Glasgow (which he briefly
abandoned due to ill health), later moving to Balliol College, Oxford,
from which he graduated in 1863. Following his graduation, he became Tutor
at Merton College, Oxford (1864-1866), but soon left for the Professorship
of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow (1866-1893). There, in addition to carrying
out his academic duties, Caird was active in university and local politics,
and was responsible for establishing the study of political sciences at
the University. Following the death of Benjamin Jowett (1817-1893), Caird
returned to Oxford, where he served as Master of Balliol College until
1907. He was a founding fellow of the British Academy (1902), a corresponding
member of the French Academy, and held honorary doctorates from the Universities
of St Andrews (1883), Oxford (1891), Cambridge (1898) and Wales (1902).
Along with T.H. Green (1836-1882), Caird
was one of the first generation of 'British idealists,' whose philosophical
work was largely in reaction to the then-dominant empiricist and associationist
views of Alexander Bain (1818-1903) and J.S. Mill. He had, however, an
ability of literary expression which Green did not possess; he was also
more inclined to discuss questions by the method of tracing the historical
development of the ideas involved. But while Green died at the early age
of 47, Caird enjoyed a relatively long and productive life. It is, in part,
for this reason that he exercised such a strong influence--particularly
on the relation of philosophy and religion--on later idealists such as
John Watson (1847-1939) and Bernard Bosanquet (1848-1923). Though often
considered to be 'Hegelian,' Caird was arguably more profoundly influenced
by Kant--though he was far from an uncritical reader.
Caird's first major work was A Critical
Account of the Philosophy of Kant (1877), focussing on the Critique
of Pure Reason and the Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics.
It was superseded in 1889 by The Critical Philosophy of Immanuel Kant
(two
volumes) in which Caird wished to show the relation of the three Critiques
and the continuity in the movement of Kant's thought. In general, Caird
was convinced that, though Kant had inaugurated a new era in philosophy
with his attempt to integrate the a priori and the a posteriori,
he failed to carry out this task fully. It was here that Caird's idealism
took over. In these volumes on Kant, Caird sought "to display in the very
argument of the great metaphysician, who was supposed to have cut the world
in two with a hatchet, an almost involuntary but continuous and inevitable
regression towards objective organic unity." Thus, he argued that "Kantian
philosophy is only a first stage, though of course a necessary stage, in
the transition of philosophy to higher forms of Idealism." (1877, p. 667)
A sympathetic exposition of Hegel's philosophy
is contained in his monograph on Hegel (1883) and, in 1885, his
Social
Philosophy and Religion of Comte (based on a collection of articles
that had been previously published in the magazine, Contemporary Review)
appeared. In these two works, Caird critically interprets these authors
on lines of his own. Concerning Comte, for example, Caird writes that there
cannot be a 'religion of Humanity' that is not, at the same time, a religion
of God. In his treatment of Hegel, as of Kant, Caird's purpose was to show
that there is a center of unity to which the mind must come back out of
all differences, however varied and alien in appearance. The analysis was
preliminary to reconstruction.
Caird's way of philosophizing differed from
that of many of his contemporaries. It was consistently and even obtrusively
constructive. According to Caird, "the true manner of honoring a thinker
is to force oneself to understand him from his own point of view," and
only then "to submit his ideas to as objective an examination as possible."
Thus, he seized on the truths contained in the authors with whom he dealt,
and was only incidentally concerned with their errors. One of the results
of this, however, was that Caird's own views are often to be found only
indirectly--that is, in his exposition and commentary of the views of others.
Like many other idealists, such as D.G. Ritchie
(1853-1903), Caird was concerned to show the relation of evolutionary theory
to the development of thought and culture. His first set of Gifford lectures,
The
Evolution of Religion (2 volumes, 1893), deals less than his other
works with an exposition of the views of other philosophers. These lectures
focussed on the possibility of a science of religion and the nature of
religion from Greek times, but were especially centered on the development
of the Christian faith through to the Reformation. Caird shows the spiritual
sense of humanity as at first dominated by the object, but constrained
by its own abstractions to swing around so as to fall under the sway of
the subject.
In 1904 Caird's second set of Gifford lectures,
The
Evolution of Theology in the Greek Philosophers, appeared. Here, he
provides again an evolutionary account of religious conceptions (e.g.,
the idea of the good, the soul, God, and the relation of God to humanity)
toward a 'reflective religion' or theology. The story of Greek philosophy,
which Caird considered mainly (but not exclusively) in its relation to
theology, was carried from Plato through Aristotle, the Stoics, and Philo,
to Plotinus and--in the final lecture--to Christian theology and St. Augustine.
In general, Caird's views on religion were
importantly related to his understanding of ethics, and Caird borrows from
Hegel (and Goethe) the ethical idea of self sacrifice, or 'dying to live,'
which was to have an important role in the work of Bosanquet. Caird consistently
emphasized the importance of religion, and that a genuine metaphysics must
be able to provide an account of it.
Like many of the British idealists, Caird
had a strong interest in classical literature. In his two volumes of Essays
on Literature and Philosophy (1892), he brought together critical essays
on Goethe, Rousseau, Carlyle, Dante and Wordsworth, with a discussion (in
Volume II) of Cartesianism (Descartes, Malbranche and Spinoza) and metaphysics.
Caird's politics were generally liberal and
progressive. He supported the education of women, opposed the Anglo-Boer
War (1899-1902) and, like Green, was involved in the 'university settlement'
programs--particularly in Glasgow and in London--where recent university
graduates and professionals attempted to narrow the gap between social
classes by living and working among and with the poor.
In 1907, Caird resigned his position as Master
of Balliol, and died the following year on November 1. He is buried in
St Sepulchre's Cemetery, Oxford, alongside Jowett and Green.
Suggestions for Further Reading
The Collected Works of Edward Caird,
12 Volumes, Ed. and Introd. Colin Tyler, Bristol, UK: Thoemmes Press, 1999.
A Critical Account of the Philosophy of
Kant, with an Historical Introduction. Glasgow: J. Maclehose, 1877.
The Problem of Philosophy at the Present
Time: an Introductory Address Delivered to the Philosophical Society of
the University of Edinburgh. Glasgow, James Maclehose & sons, 1881.
(43 p.)
Hegel, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott
and co.; Edinburgh: W. Blackwood and sons, 1883.
The Social Philosophy and Religion of
Comte. Glasgow: J. Maclehose and sons, 1885. New York, Macmillan, 1885.
The Moral Aspect of the Economical Problem;
Presidential Address to the Ethical Society. London, Swan Sonnenschein,
Lowrey & Co., 1888. (18 p.)
The Critical Philosophy of Immanuel Kant,
Glasgow: J. Maclehose & sons, 1889; New York: Macmillan, 1889. 2 v.
Essays on Literature and Philosophy,
Glasgow, J. Maclehose and sons, 1892. 2 v. [v. 1. Dante in his relation
to the theology and ethics of the Middle Ages. Goethe and philosophy. Rousseau.
Wordsworth. The problem of philosophy at the present time. The genius of
Carlyle; v. 2. Cartesianism. Metaphysic.]
The Evolution of Religion. 2 v., Glasgow:
James Maclehose, 1893; New York: Macmillan, 1893. [Gifford lectures; 1890/1891-1891/1892]
Address on Plato's Republic as the Earliest
Educational Treatise, Delivered by Edward Caird at the Closing Ceremony
of the Session 1893-94. Bangor: Jarvis & Foster, 1894 (22 p.)
The Evolution of Theology in the Greek
Philosophers. 2 v., Glasgow: J. Maclehose and sons, 1904. [Gifford
lectures, Glasgow; 1900/1901 and 1901-1902].
Idealism and the Theory of Knowledge.
London: Henry Frowde, 1903 (14 p.)
Lay Sermons and Addresses : Delivered
in the Hall of Balliol College, Oxford. Glasgow : J. Maclehose; New
York: Macmillan, 1907.
The standard assessment of Caird's work is:
The Life and Philosophy of Edward Caird
by Sir Henry Jones and John Henry Muirhead. Glasgow: Maclehose, Jackson
and co., 1921.
Author Information:
Revised by William Sweet
© 2006
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