inaccurate form. Moreover, they connect interestingly with many
ideas and themes which are current today. Fortunately, in recent
years there has been once again a small, but growing, interest in
his philosophy. While this has already reached several aspects of
his work, his metaphysics have not yet received much renewed
attention. This book aims to fill that gap. It begins with an intro-
ductory chapter and then works progressively through the basic
elements of his system.

Before we can embark on any such exegetical or critical study,
a question necessarily arises about the integrity of the Bradleian
corpus. It is sometimes said that over his fifty-year-long career he
considerably changed his opinions on a number of crucial issues. ²
Assessment of this claim is greatly complicated by the fact that his
views about any one subject are rarely all found in a single place
(for instance, his two major discussions of relations are separated
by nearly thirty years). While not wishing to deny that changes
occurred, the most significant of which are noted and discussed in
the book, I have taken the stance of treating his work as a whole.
The ultimate justification for this lies in the coherent and unitary
position that we are able to draw as a result.

I am grateful to John Watling, who first taught me about Bradley
while I was an undergraduate at University College, London; St
Anne's College, Oxford, for giving me the opportunity to work on
Bradley as a Junior Research Fellow; my colleagues at Manchester
College, Oxford, for their encouragement; and to the anonymous
Oxford University Press readers for their comments on the manu-
script. Most of all, I would like to thank my wife, Avril, without
whose patience and support this book would never have been
written.

W. J. M.

Manchester College, Oxford

10 April 1993

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