The idealist illusion and other essays

the long version

"This book presents three of Blondel's most important articles, which have not yet appeared in English. These are The Idealist Illusion (1898), The Elementary Principle of a Logic of the Moral Life (1903) and The Starting Point of Philosophy (1906). These essays became significant in Blondel's transition from the early Action (1893) to his later works on Thinking (1934), Being and Beings (1935) and Action (1936-7). They offer evidence for and explain the nature of the pragmatism in Blondel's thought, which developed as he began to articulate the logic of action in response to the criticism that he was an idealist. The Introduction argues that Blondel's measured response to this charge led to the development of a metaphysics of the concrete life and allied him closely to the common sense school of Reid. These articles should interest anyone who studies philosophy and theology and wants to explore the theme of concrete experience."--Jacket.