The Revival of Pragmatism: New Essays on Social Thought, Law, and Culture (Post-Contemporary Interventions) (Paperback)

by Morris Dickstein (Editor), Richard Rorty (Contributor), John Patrick Diggins (Contributor), James T. Kloppenberg (Contributor), Ross Posnock (Contributor), Ray Carney (Contributor), David Luban (Contributor), Richard Weisberg (Contributor), Alan Wolfe (Contributor), Richard J. Bernstein (Contributor) "In 1911 a book appeared in Paris with the title Un Romantisme Utilitaire: Etude sur le Mouvement Pragmatiste..." (more)
Key Phrases: secondary race consciousness, pragmatist jurisprudence, freestanding legal pragmatism, New York, John Dewey, William James (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Beginning with a historical survey by editor Morris Dickstein of the 20th-century revival of pragmatism in American philosophical circles, this collection of academic essays continues with a typically bold assertion from pragmatism's most prominent modern advocate, Richard Rorty. "Mill's On Liberty provides all the ethical instruction you need," he writes, "all the philosophical advice you are ever going to get about your responsibilities to other human beings." Other contributors consider the influence of pragmatism on social thought, law, and culture. While most of the writers share to some degree the enthusiasm with which federal judge Richard A. Posner elaborates upon the notion of "pragmatic adjudication," there are some naysayers. Richard Weisberg, for example, in his proposal for a countertradition of "codifiers," suggests, "The challenge for us is to develop and perfect our own private beliefs and, if they are good enough, to make them public." And, in his concluding remarks, literary critic Stanley Fish throws some cold water on the fire:

Some people do philosophy, some people (lots more) don't and those who do have not ascended to some rarefied realm of reflection or critical self-consciousness from which they bring back the news to their less enlightened brethren; they merely have the knack of doing a trick some others can't do and the competence they have acquired travels no further than the very small arenas in which that trick is typically performed and rewarded.

The Revival of Pragmatism is an intriguing collection of essays that manages for the most part to achieve clarity of prose equal to its rigor of intellect. --Ron Hogan

Review
...a substantial collection of essays by some of the most distinguished philosophers, legal theorists, cultural historians and literary critics writing today. -- The New York Times Book Review, Alan Ryan

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Duke University Press (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822322455
• ISBN-13: 978-0822322450
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #194,655 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars important, February 10, 1999

By	David C N Swanson (Charlottesville VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent and important book of well-written positions from a variety of perspectives. A fan of pragmatism may be turned off by the 2nd through the 6th essays, but of the following 25 at least 23 or 24 are well worth reading. The section on law debates the question of whether philosophy influences or "supports" law. I came away, as I'd been before, convinced that moving to pragmatism in philosophy is likely to have a good effect on legal opinions and that Rorty is absurdly unfair to the value of his own work by stressing that law can get on without traditional philosophy. Of course it can, but what needs to be said is that we would be better off if it did. The concluding essay by Stanley Fish is wonderful and makes a point I've been trying to find someone to agree with for years, namely that religious tolerance is a contradiction in terms; tolerance is a restriction on religion.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, yet complex overview, August 9, 2007

By	William Gonch "Bill Gonch" (Rockhampton, QLD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The revival of pragmatism, which can largely be traced to Richard Rorty's work provides an important framework for a variety of problems ranging from philosophical, through legal, cultural and literary. For someone who wants a good overview of the debates around pragmatism, this volume provides a good introduction.

The variety of essays provides a good selection of the span of modern pragmatist thought. It includes excellent articles by both Rorty and Putnam, who have very different philosophical takes on pragmatism. A few excellent survey articles on the history of pragmatism and articles that engage specific applications of pragmatist thought. As might be expected, the summary article by Stanley Fish is sure to infuriate some readers.

This is a book for someone who has a background understanding of pragmatism, but wants to learn more the uses to which it is being put.