Josiah Royce

Josiah Royce,  (born Nov. 20, 1855, Grass Valley, Calif., U.S.—died Sept. 14, 1916, Cambridge, Mass.), versatile Idealist philosopher and teacher whose emphasis on individuality and will, rather than intellect, strongly influenced 20th-century philosophy in the United States.

As an engineering student at the University of California, Royce encountered the teachings of the geologist Joseph LeConte and the poet Edward Rowland Sill, and upon his graduation in 1875 he turned to philosophy. After studies in Germany, he returned to study in the United States under the philosophers William James and Charles Sanders Peirce at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. He taught English for four years at the University of California before beginning his teaching career at Harvard University, where James found him a position. He remained at Harvard for the rest of his career, eventually succeeding George Herbert Palmer as Alford professor (1914).

Considering himself an absolute Idealist and borrowing from ... (150 of 432 words)