Description
Book SynopsisHow is pragmatism to be understood? What has been its cultural and philosophical impact? Is it a crucial resource for current problems and for life and thought in the future? This book addresses these questions, situating them in personal, philosophical, political, American, and global contexts.
Trade ReviewOverall, this volume consists of well-written essays that ought to prompt a thoughtful reconsideration of William James's thought and its place in American culture. . . . Recommended.October 2010, Vol. 48, No. 2
* Choice *
A well-balanced, interdisciplinary critical assessment of the ways that James understood pragmatism and the ways that understanding is still valid, helpful, and in need of revision and amplification for today's culture and contemporary needs.
-- Richard Shusterman * Florida Atlantic University *
Table of ContentsContents
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: 100 Years of Pragmatism / John J. Stuhr
1. James's Pragmatism and American Culture, 1907–2007 / James T. Kloppenberg
2. The Enemies of Pragmatism / Mark Bauerlein
3. The Earth Must Resume Its Rights: A Jamesian Genealogy of Immaturity / Ross Posnock
4. Pragmatism and Death: Method vs. Metaphor, Tragedy vs. the Will to Believe / William J. Gavin
5. William James's Pragmatism: A Distinctly Mixed Bag / Bruce Wilshire
6. The Deconstruction of Traditional Philosophy in William James's Pragmatism / Richard M. Gale
7. James on Truth and Solidarity: The Epistemology of Diversity and the Politics of Specificity / José M. Medina
8. Pragmatism, Nihilism, and Democracy: What Is Called Thinking at the End of Modernity? / James Livingston
9. Active Tension / Linda Simon
10. Reflections on the Future of Pragmatism / Ruth Anna Putnam
11. Looking toward Last Things: James's Pragmatism beyond Its First Century / John J. Stuhr
List of Contributors
Index
