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The Absolute is the totality of things; all that is, whether it has been discovered or not. It is usually conceived of as a unitary state of the external cosmos and internal spiritual consciousness — at least insofar as it can be acknowledged by the human mind — and is intelligible. In some varieties of philosophy, the Absolute describes ultimate reality. It contrasts with finite things, considered individually, known collectively as Relative. The concept was adopted into neo-Hegelian British idealism (though without Hegel's complex logical and dialectical apparatus), where it received an almost mystical exposition at the hands of F.H. Bradley. Bradley (followed by others including Timothy L.S. Sprigge) conceived the Absolute as a single all-encompassing experience, rather along the lines of Shankara and Advaita Vedanta. Likewise, Josiah Royce in the United States conceived the Absolute as a unitary Knower Whose experience constitutes what we know as the "external" world. Recently, certain philosophers have attempted to reconceive Christianity as a Gnostic religion (see Mary Magdalene). Here "The Absolute" is referred to as "The All".[citation needed] The concept need not be taken to imply a universal unitary consciousness, however. American philosopher Brand Blanshard, for example, conceived the Absolute as a single overarching intelligible system but declined to characterize it in terms of consciousness or experience.
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