Pragmatism (Works of William James) [Hardcover]

William James (Author), Fredson Bowers (Editor), Ignas K. Skrupskelis (Editor), H.S. Thayer (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674697359 | ISBN-13: 978-0674697355 | Publication Date: January 1, 1975

"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.

Editorial Reviews

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 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.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (January 1, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674697359
• ISBN-13: 978-0674697355
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,101,951 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Differences, December 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pragmatism (Great Books in Philosophy) (Paperback)

One is surprised to read in the first two reviews that James's pragmatism is a justification for relativism, nihilism, and even despotic tyranny. This evaluation comes from interpreting James in terms of utilitarianism, rather than understanding what he means by practical consequences. One will hear James claim in _Pragmatism_ that, "I am accustomed to put questions to my classes in this way: In what respects would the world be different if this alternative or that were true? If I can find nothing that would become different, then the alternative has no sense." The pragmatic maxim does not invite us to accept the most expedient point of view for the purpose of utility, but instead invites us to return to the world and experience in evaluating the nature of concepts. Thus, to adopt an example from Peirce, an application of the pragmatic maxim to a concept such as "salt" would lead us to look at the practical consequences of this concept for real world experience such as its hardness, seasoning capabilities, chemical nature, ability to combine with other elements, etc.. In other words, pragmatism, as James agrees, is also an empiricism. Given this, an application of the pragmatic maxim to the political concepts of democracy and fascism would indeed lead us to discern vast differences between the two doctrines and to ultimately reject the former by virtue of its practical consequences. In final analysis, _Pragmatism_ is a curative of philosophical abstractions which would ask us to turn away from empty first principles to see what difference those principles actually make in our actions and lives. Such an approach to philosophy would surely have the effect of clearing away much useless debate and of broadening our appreciation of difference and inquiry. As James says later in the book, "There can be no difference anywhere that doesn't make a difference elsewhere-- no difference in abstract truth that doesn't express itself in a difference in concrete fact and conduct consequent upon that fact, imposed on somebody, somehow, somewhere and somewhen. The whole function of philosophy ought to be to find out what definite difference it will make to you and me, at definite instants of our life, if this world-formula or that world-formula be the true one." Such a philosophy is truly timely in our increasingly multicultural age. The operative principle of pragmatism is not utilitarianism which can often be cold, cruel and heartless, but rather verification that demands of us that we return to experience to determine the difference that a conceptual difference makes. This book is an absolute must read for anyone interested in overcoming the abstractness of empty transcendental philosophies and who wish to see philosophy in its throbbing relavance for the life of action, ethics, and politics. In this respect, James stands shoulder to shoulder with the uncompromising and liberating philosophies of figures like Spinoza, Nietzsche, Bergson, Dewey, and Peirce.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant! Buy it! Read it! Live it! Think it!, February 10, 2001

By 

peculiar "andrew_eccentric" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pragmatism (Philosophical Classics) (Paperback)

The superlatives trip off my tongue when I think about this book. In it Harvard psychologist and philosopher Willaim James propounds the substance (not much) and import (massive!) of his philosophical method: pragmatism. He got this method from his lifelong friend Charles Sanders Peirce and it boils down, quite simply, to doing nothing which doesn't make a difference in terms of outcomes; what works is what matters. Not that this simplicity boils over into simplisticness. James is an astute operator and is aware of what criticism shall come his way. Thus, in this series of lectures he addresses all the realist, essentialist and foundationalist philosophers with their abstract, universal and idealistic arguments and demonstrates that it is the pragmatist who takes our obligations seriously. The pragmatist is guided by the experience of the senses and the working body of truth each person carries with them and these are no small trifles. The pragmatist is not one who is free to make anything up (contrast the external realist who can say anything and claim what they like since its beyond verification / falsification).

So read this classic piece of American philosophical writing and be entertained, educated and edified all in one go. It has changed my approach to life.

PoSTmodERnFoOL

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential to Understanding Contemporary Philosophies, February 26, 2004

By 

David J. Zehnder (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pragmatism (Philosophical Classics) (Paperback)

I rate this work 5 stars because of its immense influence on today's common ways of thinking and its importance in understanding the rise of science and capitalism in America.

James challenges philosophers of all ilks to give us a net value to their systems; that is, how do they affect human life or make the world we know better or worse for us? James insists that no philosophy finally matters unless it impacts life in concrete terms. To lock down his philosophy he fashions a new model of truth, stating that whatever is beneficial is true.

There are huge problems here, e.g., the rise of the subjective. James doesn't specify to whom truth should be beneficial (humanity in general? Subjective selves?), so his theory leads to strange quandaries. It would be "true" for a sound-minded criminal on trial to plead insanity, and it would also be "true" for the prosecutor to charge guilt and sanity. Obviously, confusing "useful" and "true" is a category obfuscation. As well, morality would suffer on this view. If lying is useful then regarding lies as truths is fully permissible by James's line of thought.

Nevertheless, the book is important to read because so much of today's world is run in terms of the useful rather than the ideal or intrinsically good. That is why art is marginalized, morality compromised, and capital generating systems glorified. We need James's Pragmatism to understand ourselves today.