Williams, Huw L.  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7577-8816
2023.
The national spirit and the moral good: Henry Jones and the case for home rule.
Collingwood and British Idealism Studies
29
(1)
, pp. 55-94.
|
Abstract
Henry Jones as a public philosopher took a keen interest in the issues of the day. The question of the UK's political structure — and greater autonomy for Wales within it — was of particular interest to him. This article explores his ideas and reflections in the context of his philosophy of the state, with reference to other Welsh thinkers with contrasting arguments. Arguably Jones articulates a vision of the UK (and Wales's place within it) that is the most congruent with today's notion of a 'family of four nations'. Beginning with some comparative reflections, the more recent, explicitly Welsh separatist views of his compatriot J. R. Jones are explored, likewise the almost austere yet persistently British civic republican nationalism of a fellow Welshman Richard Price, who wrote over a century before Henry Jones. Price and J. R. Jones provide a foil against which to draw out Henry Jones's views. What we discover is an engaging notion of the Welsh nation articulated within a sophisticated political philosophy, with the potential to fit the current political terrain and provide a philosophical grounding for a disaggregated UK. However, a more critical engagement alerts us to the primary importance of Empire in Jones's worldview, provoking some concluding thoughts on how his ideas might today be valued and reformulated.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Date Type: | Publication |
| Status: | Published |
| Schools: | Schools > English, Communication and Philosophy |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BJ Ethics J Political Science > JC Political theory |
| Publisher: | Imprint Academic |
| ISSN: | 1744-9413 |
| Date of Acceptance: | 2024 |
| Last Modified: | 03 Dec 2025 11:01 |
| URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/182795 |
Actions (repository staff only)
 |
Edit Item |
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)