num_pages: 193
description: The Hafner Library of Classics is a refreshing approach to the study of major Western philosophers. Introductory essays by noted scholars enliven each volume with insights into the human side of the great thinkers, &amp; provide authoritative discussions of the historical background, evolution &amp; importance of their ideas. Highly recommended as classroom texts. The seven papers brought together in this volume provide an introduction to the philosophy of Wm James. The 1st &amp; 6th deal with questions of method, asks what philosophy is &amp; how it should go about its job. The remaining five deal with free will, morals, science &amp; religion, his own views in religion &amp; the nature of truth. It would be difficult to suggest more persistent problems in philosophy. These papers introduce a reader to James. They do more than that. Few authors are better able to communicate the spirit of humane philosophizing. These papers therefore provide a valuable introduction to American philosophy &amp; to philosophy itself. To the extent that there is a perennial philosophy, concerning itself with humans as rational animals, James, like Plato, provides a genial &amp; colorful introduction to many of its problems &amp; arguments. These papers were written between 1879 &amp; 1907. Darwinism was 20 years in the air when James wrote The Sentiment of Rationality, &amp; WWI was just seven years around the corner when Pragmatism was published. These papers express the interests of an alert &amp; sensitive mind during one of the most critical quarter centuries in modern history. Darwin &amp; Spencer, Newman &amp; Huxley, Arnold &amp; Pater, Tolstoy &amp; Dostoyevsky, Ibsen &amp; Zola, Marx &amp; Nietzsche formed the climate of opinion within which James' ideas took shape. They were the elder statesmen. James' 1879 paper has the character of a manifesto addressed by a younger man to the world of their making. During the quarter century which followed new intellectual leaders arrived, James himself among them. They included Bergson &amp; Poincarg, Butler &amp; Shaw, Bradley &amp; Royce, Wells &amp; Chesterton, Santayana &amp; Croce, Dewey &amp; Schiller, Belloc &amp; Babbitt, Kipling &amp; Anatole France. These were his contemporaries. Hi 1907 volume, Pragmatism, has the character of a testament addressed to them by way of challenge or confirmation.
language: English
title: Essays in Pragmatism
titlecomplete: Essays in Pragmatism (Hafner Library of Classics)
genres: Essays, American, Philosophy, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 67
publisher: Hafner Press (NY)