In the fields of metaphysics and epistemology, ethics and political thought, idealism can generate controversy and disagreement. This title is part of the "Idealism" series, which finds in idealism new features of interest and a perspective which is germane to our own philosophical concerns. David George Ritchie (1853-1903) was a key figure in the Idealism movement. Influenced by Hegel, Bradley, Toynbee, and above all, T.H. Green, his political philosophy was rooted in a concern for practical application. The foundation of his ethics was the ideal of the citizen's social well-being. He aimed to organize the fields of practical philosophy with the principles of Idealism, and in doing so combined his critical philosophy with his interest in modern science, history and Darwinism. In the history of political thought he was an important channel for the development and transfer of T.H. Green's ideas into the New Liberalism and socialist thinking. This is a collection of all Ritchie's philosophically important works.
Together they represent the wide range of philosophical interests - from the philosophy of history, metaphysics, religion, and evolution, to animal rights, the morality of war, and the philosophy of art. Volumes one to five contain the main philosophical works in their definitive editions - including "Philosophical Studies" with its memoir of Ritchie by Robert Latta, and "Darwin and Hegel", which tried to incorporate Darwinism into Idealism. Volume six includes all the philosophically substantial and significant articles, discussions, and reviews which he published in the major periodicals, and his previously uncollected contributions to books. It features his pieces on the South African war and a selection of his letters on philosophical and political topics.