Background
Caird, Edward was born on March 22, 1845 in Greenock, Scotland.
Hegelian idealist tots: History of philosophy: philosophy of religion
Caird, Edward was born on March 22, 1845 in Greenock, Scotland.
University of Glasgow, University of St Andrews and Balliol College, Oxford.
1866-1893, Professor of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow. 18931907, Master of Balliol College.
Like his teacher T. H. Green, Edward Caird’s Hegelian idealism owed much to Kant. He thought that Kant’s meaning could only be understood if his philosophy was seen to lead to Hegel. Caird quickly acquired a reputation as an expositor of the thought of others. His monumental works on Kant established him. according to Bosanquet. ‘in the first rank of Kantian interpreters’. He wrote only a short work on Hegel but this was rated as ‘the best textbook that could be written in the space’. For Caird, as for Green, critical exposition and constructive philosophy were closely interwoven. Thus his own speculative idealism arose from a conception of philosophy as concerned to reconcile different elements of the spiritual life, such as subject and object, religion and science, freedom and determination. Contrary to Kant, Caird held that ‘all opposition is capable of reconciliation’ and that there are no antagonisms that ‘cannot be reconciled’. Thus, although science and religion might appear to be opposed, the apparent opposition between them can be overcome in the higher unity sought by philosophy. Caird’s ethical theory was similar to that of Green. He held that human beings had the power to determine their conduct as satisfactions of their selves, conceived as permanent centres. Human freedom consisted in such self-determination rather than behaviour determined by fragmentary desires. His religious theory emphasized the unity of humankind, including the notion of a common rationality. It also stressed the notion of evolution or development. The historian Metz rated Caird, after Green, as ‘the next great Pioneer of Idealism in Britain’. It was thanks to Caird that Glasgow became a ‘stronghold’ of idealism. He was a dedicated teacher and his personal influence was very considerable. His disciples included some who were to turn out as distinguished philosophers in their own right, such as Henry Jones, J. H. Muirhead. J. S. Mackenzie and John Watson. Caird’s idealism was very influential in Australia, particularly at Sydney, where it was maintained by Francis Anderson. Although he himself avoided religious controversy, many of his students were destined to be clerygmen. and left his hands infused with his thought that Christianity was a revelation of reason. They were disposed to reject ‘the principle of authority’ and the opposition of faith and reason enshrined in the ultra-Calvinism of the leading Presbyterian denominations in Scotland. Thus, as well as inspiring philosophers with something of a missionary zeal, Caird encouraged a more philosophical spirit in Scottish religion and theology.