Victoria Welby

Description

In 1880s Britain, Victoria Welby (1837-1912) began creating a rich, wide-ranging metaphysical system. At its heart lies Motion, 'the great fact, the supreme category'. Drawing extensively on archive materials, this Element offers the first study of Welby's metaphysics. It portrays her universe as a complex of motions: motions comprise material bodies, living beings, and conscious minds. This dynamic universe, 'Motion', underlies many other elements of her thought, including her views on idealism, panpsychism, change, space, and anti-realism about time. This study shows that Welby's metaphysics are deeply embedded in the scientific-philosophical debates of her period, and variously draw on vortex theories of matter in physics; Victorian panpsychisms, fuelled by debates over the continuity of mind in Darwinian evolution; and new conceptions of time as the 'fourth dimension' of space. Victoria Welby significantly advances our understanding of Welby's philosophy, opening paths for future scholarship. Cover Title page Copyright page Victoria Welby Contents 1 Introducing Welby’s Metaphysics 2 Sketching Welby’s Life and Works 3 Material Bodies as Motions 3.1 Introducing Welby’s Puzzling Claims on Matter and Motion 3.2 Welby’s Engagement with Vortex Theories of Matter 3.3 Welby’s Metaphysic of Motion 4 Minds as (Immortal) Motions 5 Idealism: Motion as Spirit 6 Panpsychism: ‘Mind„-Activity’„ and Novelty in Nature 6.1 Clifford, Lloyd Morgan, and Welby’s ‘Mind-Activity’ 6.2 Complicating Welby’s Panpsychism: Novelty in Nature 6.3 Networking with Metaphysicians of Mind 7 Time 7.1 Introducing Welby’s Work on Time 7.2 Welby’s Block Universe (1881 Onwards) 7.3 Arriving at the Derivation of Time from Space (circa 1897) 7.4 Welby’s Anti-Realist Metaphysic of Time (1900s) 7.5 The Victorian ‘Fourth Dimension’ 8 Motion-Space 9 Final Thoughts: Motion and God References Acknowledgements