num_pages: 292
description: Taking Emerson as his starting point, West’s basic task in this enterprise is to chart the emergence, development, decline &amp; recent resurgence of American pragmatism. Dewey is the central figure in this pantheon of pragmatists, but he treats as well such varied mid-century representatives of the tradition as Sidney Hook, C. Wright Mills, DuBois, Niebuhr &amp; Trilling. West’s genealogy is a personal work, for it's imbued throughout with the author’s conviction that a thoro reexamination of American pragmatism may help inspire &amp; instruct contemporary efforts to remake &amp; reform American society &amp; culture. "West...may well be the pre-eminent African American intellectual of our generation."—The Nation "The American Evasion of Philosophy is a highly intelligent &amp; provocative book. Cornel West gives us illuminating readings of the political thought of Emerson &amp; James; provides a penetrating critical assessment of Dewey, his central figure; &amp; offers a brilliant interpretation—appreciative yet far from uncritical—of the contemporary philosopher &amp; neo-pragmatist Richard Rorty...What shines thru, throughout the work, is West's firm commitment to a radical vision of a philosophic discourse as inextricably linked to cultural criticism &amp; political engagement."—Paul S. Boyer, professor emeritus of history, University of Wisconsin–MadisonAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 The Emersonian prehistory of American pragmatism. Emerson on power &amp; tradition; Emerson on provocation &amp; the market; Emerson on personality &amp; race; Emerson as organic intellectual2 The historic emergence of American pragmatism. Peirce on scientific method, community &amp; Christian love; James on individuality, reconciliation &amp; heroic energies3 The coming-of-age of American pragmatism: John Dewey. Dewey on historical consciousness, critical intelligence &amp; creative democracy4 The dilemma of the mid-century pragmatic intellectual. Sidney Hook: the Deweyan political intellectual; C. Wright Mills: the neo-Deweyan radical social critic; W.E.B. Du Bois: the Jamesian organic intellectual; Reinhold Niebuhr: the Jamesian cultural critic; Lionel Trilling: the pragmatist as Arnoldian literary critic; The decline &amp; resurgence of American pragmatism: Quine &amp; Richard Rorty5 Prophetic pragmatism: cultural criticism &amp; political engagement. Roberto Unger &amp; 3rd-Wave Left romanticism; The challenge of Michel Foucault; Tragedy, tradition &amp; political praxis; Prophetic pragmatism &amp; postmodernityNotesIndex
language: English
title: The American Evasion of Philosophy: A Genealogy of Pragmatism
titlecomplete: The American Evasion of Philosophy: A Genealogy of Pragmatism (Wisconsin Project on American Writers)
genres: Academic, Politics, Philosophy, American History, Criticism, African American, The United States Of America, Nonfiction, Sociology, History
ratings_count: 148
publisher: University of Wisconsin Press (Madison)