John McTaggart

Cambridge philosopher J. M. E. McTaggart (b. 1866–d. 1925) was a major proponent of British idealism. Today, he is especially remembered for his argument against the unreality of time. McTaggart’s broader metaphysical system, delivered in his two-volume The Nature of Existence, argued for a personal idealism on which the universe comprises many minds and their perceptions. McTaggart produced lengthy critiques of Hegel’s philosophy, and his system borrows from Hegel, but the final result is uniquely his own. McTaggart wrote on many other topics too, including the philosophy of religion, love, and ethics. Although he belonged to the British idealist school, McTaggart enjoyed close relationships with several Cambridge “new realists”—his pupils included Bertrand Russell, G. E. Moore, and C. D. Broad. Most of the scholarship on McTaggart concerns his views on time, but several studies also cover his idealism and other aspects of his thought.