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Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st Edition. NEW Library of America hardcover First Edition (Orig. 1988) Sixth Printing: NEW handsomely-designed mylar-protected jacket, NEW blue Brillianta fabric-over-boards cover w/ sharp NEW edges & corners & titles & LOA colophon handsomely gold-stamped on spine, IMPECCABLE smooth-cut text-block exterior, IMMACULATE white-on-blue patterned card-stock end-papers, PRISTINE interior printed in remarkably clear 10-point Linotron Galliard on SUPERB unblemished Ecusta Nyalite archival paper * 5.0" x 8.12" x 1.76", 0.88 kg, xvi+1394 (1410) pp * CONTENTS: The Varieties of Religious Experience (1), Pragmatism (479), A Pluralistic Universe (625), The Meaning of Truth (821), Some Problems of Philosophy (979), Essays (1107); Chronology (1321), Note on the Texts (1350), Notes (1359) * ABOUT THE BOOK: Philosopher & psychologist William James was the best known & most influential American thinker of his time. The 5 books & 19 essays collected in this LOA volume represent all his major work from 1902 until his death in 1910. Most were originally written as lectures addressed to general audiences as well as philosophers & were received w/ great enthusiasm. His writing is clear, energetic, & unpretentious, & is marked by the devotion to literary excellence he shared w/ his brother, Henry James. In these works William James champions the value of individual experience w/ an eloquence & enthusiasm that has placed him alongside Emerson & Whitman as a classic exponent of American democratic culture. In "The Varieties of Religious Experience" (1902) James explores "the very inner citadel of human life" by focusing on intensely religious individuals of different cultures & eras. W/ insight, compassion, & open-mindedness, he examines & assesses their beliefs, seeking to measure religion's value by its contributions to individual human lives. In "Pragmatism" (1907) James suggests that the conflicting metaphysical positions of "tender-minded" rationalism & "tough-minded" empiricism be judged by examining their actual consequences. Philosophy, James argues, should free itself from unexamined principles & closed systems & confront reality w/ complete openness. In "A Pluralistic Universe" (1909) James rejects the concept of the absolute & calls on philosophers to respond to "the real concrete sensible flux of life." Through his discussion of Kant, Hegel, Henri Bergson, and religion, James explores a universe viewed not as an abstract "block" but as a rich "manyness-in-oneness", full of independent yet connected events. "The Meaning of Truth" (1909) is a polemical collection of essays asserting that ideas are made true not by inherent qualities but by events. James delights in intellectual combat, stating his positions w/ vigor while remaining open to opposing ideas. "Some Problems of Philosophy" (1910) was intended by James to serve both as a historical overview of metaphysics & as a systematic statement of his philosophical beliefs. Though unfinished at his death it fully demonstrates the psychological insight & literary vividness James brought to philosophy. Among the essays included are the anti-imperialist "Address on the Philippine Question", "On Some Mental Effects of the Earthquake", a candid personal account of the 1906 California disaster, & "The Moral Equivalent of War", a call for the redirection of martial energies to peaceful ends, as well as essays on Emerson, the role of university in intellectual life, & psychic research. * THE LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an award-winning, nonprofit program dedicated to publishing America's best & most significant writing in handsome, enduring volumes, featuring authoritative texts. Hailed as "the most important book-publishing project in the nation's history" (Newsweek), this acclaimed series is restoring America's literary heritage in "the finest-looking, longest-lasting edition ever made" (New Republic). * SHIPPING: MNEMOSYNE carefully custom-packages this fine book for FREE domestic shipment via USPS MEDIA MAIL.…