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Pragmatism: The Classic Writings
A reprint of the New American Library edition of 1970.
- GenresPhilosophyNonfiction
383 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1982
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 26, 2012
Pragmatism is a book outlining the thoughts of its main founders – Pierce, Jameson, Dewey, Mead and Lewis. Coming to this book from an interest in Phenomenology, or continental philosophy, it does have several similarities, even if coming from different perspectives or positions, of which I found very rewarding.
Unlike Phenomenology, Pragmatism is accused of shutting down thought which is a tad unfair, as one of its main aims is to shut down metaphysical antinomies and to give a ‘cash value’ for thought; as in does the particular argument in question have any impact on reality, or not? As Pragmatism does tend to be a way of thought as opposed to a dogmatic system.
However, having said all this the old problems do tend to recur and some aren’t really addressed in the texts, or at least I found them untouched in an admittedly short-ish essay each Pragmatism has enclosed, which may be due to a lack of length in the essay or the audience they were addressing at the time.
Within the book and Pragmatic thought I did have a lot of sympathy towards Pierce and Jameson, especially Jameson’s thoughts on truth – although heavily criticised I do tend to agree with the pragmatic interpretation of thought on truth; as a conception of mutual agreement (similar to Heidegger and Phenomenology) as opposed to a universal a priori matter. The world is and our conceptions of it can be true or not, depending on their ‘cash value’ (do they work, do they fit into our world view, are they related to the question in hand, etc).
All in all, I would recommend this book. Whether it is a good reflection on Pragmatic thought in general or how it relates to contemporary Pragmatism I would not know. But as a reader of Heidegger and continental existentialism I did find some avenues of interest, which is strange for a philosophy based in scientific practice.
Unlike Phenomenology, Pragmatism is accused of shutting down thought which is a tad unfair, as one of its main aims is to shut down metaphysical antinomies and to give a ‘cash value’ for thought; as in does the particular argument in question have any impact on reality, or not? As Pragmatism does tend to be a way of thought as opposed to a dogmatic system.
However, having said all this the old problems do tend to recur and some aren’t really addressed in the texts, or at least I found them untouched in an admittedly short-ish essay each Pragmatism has enclosed, which may be due to a lack of length in the essay or the audience they were addressing at the time.
Within the book and Pragmatic thought I did have a lot of sympathy towards Pierce and Jameson, especially Jameson’s thoughts on truth – although heavily criticised I do tend to agree with the pragmatic interpretation of thought on truth; as a conception of mutual agreement (similar to Heidegger and Phenomenology) as opposed to a universal a priori matter. The world is and our conceptions of it can be true or not, depending on their ‘cash value’ (do they work, do they fit into our world view, are they related to the question in hand, etc).
All in all, I would recommend this book. Whether it is a good reflection on Pragmatic thought in general or how it relates to contemporary Pragmatism I would not know. But as a reader of Heidegger and continental existentialism I did find some avenues of interest, which is strange for a philosophy based in scientific practice.
February 11, 2024
Eh. Decent intro to pragmatic philosophy.
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September 14, 2009Pragmatism: The Classic Writings (1982)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews