John Grote, Cambridge University and the Development of Victorian Thought

John Grote struggled to construct an intelligible account of philosophy at a time when radical change and sectarian conflict made understanding and clarity a rarity. This book answers three questions:

* How did John Grote develop and contribute to modern Cambridge and British philosophy?

* What is the significance of these contributions to modern philosophy in general and British Idealism and language philosophy in particular?

* How were his ideas and his idealism incorporated into the modern philosophical tradition?

Grote influenced his contemporaries, such as his students Henry Sidgwick and John Venn, in both style and content; he forged a brilliantly original philosophy of knowledge, ethics, politics and language, from a synthesis of the major British and European philosophies of his day; his social and political theory provide the origins of the 'new liberal' ideas later to reach their zenith in the writings of Green, Sidgwick, and Collingwood; he founded the 'Cambridge style' associated with Moore, Russell, Broad, McTaggart and Wittgenstein; and he was also a major influence on Oakeshott.

"One cannot help but admire the dedicated research reflected in this work - and the sheer love of its subject... This is to be sure a book that can teach a great deal about the Victorian era, Cambridge University and John Grote - not to mention Oakshott."

(Bart Schultz Times Higher Education)