ABSTRACT
The first half of the twentieth century marks a change in philosophical attitudes towards metaphysics which is as sharp and dramatic as any in the history of philosophy in the English-speaking world. For the preceding three centuries, metaphysics had been a central concern of European philosophers. The central assumption of these metaphysical philosophers - that the human intellect is capable of uncovering important aspects of the nature of reality which the sciences and common sense cannot - was widespread from the time of Descartes until the present century. The bolder metaphysical systems associated with continental rationalism held that many of the most important truths about reality are of this type. Further, it cannot be denied that the work of their leading British counterparts - even those associated with the more cautious empiricist tradition - included striking metaphysical claims and rested upon deep metaphysical assumptions.
