Free Downloads

Pragmatism, Old And New: Selected Writings

Morris R. Cohen once described pragmatism as "a philosophy for people who cannot think"; and Bertrand Russell feared that pragmatism would lead philosophy into "cosmic impiety." Nothing could be further from the truth. Pragmatism was one of the most fruitful philosophical movements of the late nineteenth century, and has continued to be a significant influence on some of the major figures in philosophy — F. P. Ramsey, W. V. Quine, Sidney Hook, Nelson Goodman, Hilary Putnam, and many others.Today some even speak of a remarkable renaissance of pragmatism. Very often, though, what they have in mind is not the rich heritage of the classical pragmatist tradition, but a radical self-styled neo-pragmatism that has of late transmuted the reformist aspirations of classical pragmatism into a kind of revolutionary anti-intellectualism — a radical neo-pragmatism that seems to confirm Russell’s worst fears.Asking what we can learn from the older pragmatist tradition, and what we can salvage from the intellectual shipwreck of the new, Susan Haack, with the assistance of Robert Lane, has put together a wide-ranging anthology that tells the story of the evolution of pragmatism from its origins in C. S. Peirce’s hopes of making philosophy more scientific and William James’s of "unstiffening our theories," to the radical literary-political neo-pragmatism recently popularized by Richard Rorty. Opening with a history of pragmatism from its inception to the present day, and closing with Haack’s famous "interview" with Peirce and Rorty, the book presents a broad and diverse selection of pragmatist writings — classical and contemporary, reformist and revolutionary — on logic, metaphysics, theory of inquiry, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, aesthetics, philosophy of education, and moral, social, and political philosophy.

Hardcover: 560 pages

Publisher: Prometheus Books (April 30, 2006)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1591023599

ISBN-13: 978-1591023593

Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.9 x 9.3 inches

Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #797,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #83 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Movements > Pragmatism #1689 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > History & Surveys

Although this is pretty good collection of pragmatist works (albeit with some suspicious inclusions/omissions), the binding of book started falling off after a couple of weeks. Needed to patch it together with duck tape just to get through the semester, and so did the majority of my classmates who had the same volume.

I purchased this book to be used in a class. Aside from that, I can tell that it is well contained with those who prove themselves to be true pragmatists. In other texts, I see authors included who have written maybe ONE thing that could be considered a different discipline from their foundation. This book does not do this. The compiler of this book clearly imagined the 'all or nothing' principle when compiling authors.

OK

Pragmatism has been described as a 'philosophy for people who cannot think', but it was one of the biggest philosophical movements of the late 19th century and influenced major philosophers of its times. Susan Haack worked with Robert Lane to create an anthology tracing the evolution of pragmatist thought, from William James to modern times. Haack is Cooper Senior scholar and a professor, Lane an assistant professor of philosophy. Both have published extensively: their collection of selected writings should be considered definitive.Diane C. DonovanCalifornia Bookwatch

Pragmatism, Old And New: Selected Writings Pragmatism: The Classic Writings Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking Perspectives on Pragmatism: Classical, Recent, and Contemporary American Pragmatism and Communication Research (Routledge Communication Series) Rationalism, Empiricism and Pragmatism: An Introduction The Pragmatism Reader: From Peirce through the Present Selected Shorts: New American Stories (Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story) Philosophy and Law: Contributions to the Understanding of Maimonides and His Predecessors (Suny Series in the Jewish Writings of Leo Strauss) (Suny Series, Jewish Writings of Strauss) By Any Means Necessary (Malcolm X Speeches and Writings) (Malcolm X speeches & writings) Prophets and Prophecy in the Ancient Near East (Writings from the Ancient World) (Writings from the Ancient World) Yourself in the World: Selected Writings and Interviews (Whitney Museum of American Art) Che Guevara Speaks: Selected Speeches and Writings Selected Writings and Speeches of Marcus Garvey (Dover Thrift Editions) Selected Speeches and Writings of Theodore Roosevelt Edmund Burke: Selected Writings and Speeches A Book to Burn and a Book to Keep (Hidden): Selected Writings (Translations from the Asian Classics) Style and Idea: Selected Writings René Magritte: Selected Writings Not Nothing: Selected Writings by Ray Johnson 1954-1994