The Idealist Illusion and Other Essays

This volume presents for English readers, three of Blondel's most important articles: "Idealist Illusion" (1898), "The Elementary Principle of a Logic of the Moral Life" (1903), and "The Starting Point of Philosophy" (1906). The 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. The articles should interest students of philosophy and theology who want to explore the theme of concrete experience.