Collected Essays in Speculative Philosophy - (New Perspectives in Ontology) by James Bradley (Paperback)

About the Book

This collection of essays by James Bradley (1947-2012) showcases his unique vision: a speculative cosmology of the Trinity, drawing on the vast history of Western philosophy.

Book Synopsis

This collection of essays by James Bradley showcases his unique vision: a speculative cosmology of the Trinity, drawing on the vast history of Western philosophy. This journey led him into an intensive study of a number of different thinkers, ancient and modern, including Plato, John Scotus Eriugena, Duns Scotus, Hegel, Schelling, Peirce, Whitehead and Collingwood.

From the Back Cover

'Weaving together published articles with never-before published materials, Essays in Speculative Philosophy reveals for the first time the depth and breadth of James Bradley's philosophical thought, and how much was lost with his untimely death. These essays are valuable not only for the insightful and novel contributions they make to the understanding of often-overlooked aspects of the thought of philosophers such as F. H. Bradley, A. N. Whitehead and C. S. Peirce, but because, taken together, they reveal an eminent thinker making novel advances in metaphysics.' Brian G. Henning, Professor of Philosophy, Gonzaga University and Founding Executive Editor, Edinburgh Critical Edition of the Complete Works of Alfred North Whitehead 'In the standard analytic historiography, philosophy was transformed in the seventeenth century from the handmaiden of theology into the handmaiden of the natural sciences. Bradley challenges this pervasive narrative by exploring the persisting theological dimension, especially the ontological-trinitarian structures, of much modern metaphysics, and boldly defends the contemporary relevance of philosophical Idealism. These are learned, brilliant and provocative essays that illuminate the thought of an unjustly neglected British-Canadian philosopher.' Douglas Hedley, Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge 'Bradley deftly weaves through the traditions of British, American and Continental philosophy on his way to establishing a speculative metaphysics that places emphasis on the Trinity and Trinitarian thinking. Along the way, he encounters figures such as Plato, Plotinus, F.H. Bradley, Martin Heidegger, R. G. Collingwood and, of course, C. S. Peirce. Each of these, as well as others, serve to move Bradley's arguments inexorably towards a metaphysics from a Trinitarian standpoint. A superb reading of the history of metaphysics.' James Scott Johnston, Jointly Appointed Professor of Education and Philosophy, Memorial University of Newfoundland. James Bradley was Professor of Philosophy at Memorial University of Newfoundland from 1988-2012, and Head of the Department from 2003 until his death in 2012. Sean J. McGrath is Professor of Philosophy and Theology at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Review Quotes

Bradley deftly weaves through the traditions of British, American and Continental philosophy on his way to establishing a speculative metaphysics that places emphasis on the Trinity and Trinitarian thinking. Along the way, Bradley encounters figures such as Plato, Plotinus, F.H. Bradley, Martin Heidegger, R.G. Collingwood and, of course, C.S. Peirce. Each of these and others serve to move Bradley's arguments inexorably towards a metaphysics from a Trinitarian standpoint. A superb reading of the history of metaphysics.

--James Scott Johnston, Memorial University of Newfoundland

In the standard analytic historiography, philosophy was transformed in the 17th century from the handmaiden of theology into the handmaiden of the natural sciences. Bradley challenges this pervasive narrative by exploring the persisting theological dimension, especially the ontological-trinitarian structures, of much modern metaphysics, and boldly defends the contemporary relevance of philosophical Idealism. These are learned, brilliant and provocative essays that illuminate the thought of an unjustly neglected British-Canadian philosopher.

--Douglas Hedley, University of Cambridge

Weaving together published articles with never-before published materials, Essays in Speculative Philosophy reveals for the first time the depth and breadth of James Bradley's philosophical thought, and how much was lost with his untimely death. These essays are valuable not only for the insightful and novel contributions they make to the understanding of often-overlooked aspects of the thought of philosophers such F. H. Bradley, A. N. Whitehead and C. S. Peirce, but because, taken together, they reveal an eminent thinker making novel advances in metaphysics.

--Brian G. Henning, Gonzaga University

About the Author

James Bradley was Professor of Philosophy at Memorial University of Newfoundland from 1988-2012, and Head of the Department from 2003 until his death in 2012.

Sean J. McGrath is Professor of Philosophy and Theology at Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada. He is the author of The Philosophical Foundations of the Late Schelling: The Turn to the Positive (EUP, 2021), Thinking Nature. An Essay in Negative Ecology (EUP, 2019), The Dark Ground of Spirit: Schelling and the Unconscious(Routledge, 2012), Heidegger. A Very Critical Introduction (William B. Eerdmans, 2008) and The Early Heidegger and Medieval Philosophy (Catholic University of America Press, 2006). He is editor of The Palgrave Macmillan Handbook to Schelling (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2020), Rethinking German Idealism (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2016) and A Companion to Heidegger's Phenomenology of Religious Life (Rodopi, 2010).