IT is almost inevitable that anyone schooled in contemporary Anglo-
American philosophy will feel a not inconsiderable sense of dis-
location should they turn to consider such a topic as the metaphysical
theories of F. H. Bradley. For, notwithstanding the possibility that
a deeper understanding of his thought may yield significant sim-
ilarities with modern approaches, the initial impression at least
is one of a great difference. His way of tackling questions seems
quite alien to anything we usually encounter, his concepts obscure,
and his jargon out of date; while his subject-matter, metaphysics,
even if it is no longer something to dismiss out of court, is a
subject that, to this day, we rarely encounter undertaken in such
a bold and speculative fashion. The net result is that, although
only one hundred years old, his chief metaphysical work, Appear-
ance and Reality, seems more distant to those unfamiliar with it
than numerous works many times its age.

It is therefore of the utmost importance, before embarking on
any study of Bradleian metaphysics, to spend some time familiar-
izing ourselves with the nature of the project and the method of
its execution, in order that we may approach it in the right spirit.
Although this familiarization carries with it the danger of produc-
ing an over-sympathetic and uncritical response, unless we can
see through Bradley's eyes there can be no real understanding,
and thus no possibility of genuine criticism at all, sympathetic or
otherwise. Moreover, a high degree of familiarity is necessary in
order for us fully to recognize the differences and similarities
between his thought and our own. Under the pressure of placing
him in the context of their narrative, brief entries in histories of
philosophy tend either to obscure or to exaggerate these compar-
isons. That we should familiarize ourselves with the project and
approach is no mere platitude, for the task is a difficult one, and,
as will become apparent, too much previous criticism has simply
failed to achieve this, thus missing the mark entirely.

Before we begin this introductory investigation, some brief

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