Pragmatism (The Works of William James) - Hardcover

James, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674697359 ISBN 13: 9780674697355

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1975

Synopsis

"It is absolutely the only philosophy with no humbug in it," an exhilarated William James wrote to a friend early in 1907. And later that year, after finishing the proofs of his "little book," he wrote to his brother Henry: "I shouldn't be surprised if ten years hence it should be rated as 'epoch-making,' for of the definitive triumph of that general way of thinking I can entertain no doubt whatever―I believe it to be something quite like the protestant reformation."

Both the acclaim and outcry that greeted Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking helped to affirm James's conviction. For it was in Pragmatism that he confronted older philosophic methods with the "pragmatic" method, demanding that ideas be tested by their relation to life and their effects in experience. James's reasoning and conclusions in Pragmatism have exerted a profound influence on philosophy in this century, and the book remains a landmark.

About this title

About the Author:

Fredson Bowers is Linden Kent Professor of English, Emeritus, at the University of Virginia.

Ignas K. Skrupskelis is Professor of Philosophy at the University of South Carolina.

Review:

“The meanings―twenty? thirty?―of "pragmatism" continue to be a central question in American philosophy and intellectual history. A chance to see the development and working of James's own mind from the inside, as it were, should do much to help us understand where he himself stood and what he himself meant...In brief, scholars, students, and the general reading public should all display an interest in a critical edition of James's works.”―Charles Frankel

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 1975
• ISBN 10: 0674697359
• ISBN 13: 9780674697355
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 360
• Editor: Bowers Fredson