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American Pragmatism: An Introduction
In this comprehensive introduction, Albert Spencer presents a new story of the origins and development of American pragmatism, from its emergence through the interaction of European and Indigenous American cultures to its contemporary status as a diverse, vibrant, and contested global philosophy. Spencer explores the intellectual legacies of American pragmatism’s founders, Peirce and James, but also those of newly canonical figures such as Addams, Anzaldúa, Cordova, DuBois, and others crucial to its development. He presents the diversity of pragmatisms, old and new, by weaving together familiar and unfamiliar authors through shared themes, such as fallibilism, meliorism, pluralism, verification, and hope. Throughout, Spencer reveals American pragmatism's engagement with the consequences of US political hegemony, as versions of pragmatism arise in response to both the tragic legacies and the complicated benefits of colonialism. American Pragmatism is an indispensable guide for undergraduate students taking courses in pragmatism or American philosophy, for scholars wishing to develop their understanding of this thriving philosophical tradition, or for curious readers interested in the genealogy of American thought.
- GenresPhilosophyNonfiction
224 pages, Paperback
Published January 13, 2020
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March 16, 2025
A New Study Of American Pragmatism
There has been an increasing interest in pragmatism in recent years among philosophers, and this interest has been shared with a broader public in books such as Louis Menand's 2002 work, "The Metaphysical Club". Albert R. Spencer, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Portland State University, is one of the most recent scholars to write an overview of pragmatism that will appeal to non-specialists and to newcomers to pragmatic thought in his book, "American Pragmatism: An Introduction" (2020). With an enthusiasm that might be contagious for some readers, Spencer writes of his aims in the book:
"If any of my readers notice any significant omissions, I hope the work as a whole will inspire them to devote their lives to this thriving philosophical tradition -- and maybe also to engage in the perennial task of ameliorating the mistakes of the past."
The book has an ambitious scope. In the five chapters that comprise the body of his study, Spencer tells the story of the pragmatic tradition in philosophy from its founding in the late 19th century to the present. This story is told appealingly and well. In the Introduction to the study, Spencer makes some broader, more global claims about pragmatism. Some of the introduction gives the reader an overview of other books that have told the history of pragmatism, both popular and scholarly studies, including Menand's, among many others. Spencer also explores predecessors to the pragmatic tradition in American philosophy, particularly through insightful discussion of the work of Ralph Waldo Emerson. More broadly, Spencer discusses whether pragmatism is an "American" philosophy and what it might mean to consider a philosophy "American".
It is at this point that I think the Introduction becomes confused, especially because it is placed before any consideration of the philosophers themselves. Spencer develops a sense of the particularity of pragmatism's approach to many philosophical questions and sees pragmatism as based upon a "sense of place". In that respect, he places pragmatism in the context of a broad, largely uncomplimentary picture of American history focusing heavily on the dispossession of American Indians, the institution of slavery, westward expansion and the growth of the country from a colony to a bellicose superpower, environmental despoliation, and the like. Among many other things, Spencer writes at the outset in his Preface: "[T]his book approaches pragmatism through the critical lenses of settler colonialism, manifest destiny, and chattel slavery." Some may find the portrayal harsh and broader that what is needed to give context to pragmatism's development in the United States. Fortunately, Spencer also has at the outset meliorating, to use a pragmatic term, words to say about his project and about the historical critique. He writes:
"The purpose of this book is not be be anti-American; on the contrary, I love this nation, its people, and its land. They are my home. But love, and even patriotism, often require critical analysis, and an acknowledgment of the reality, scope, and magnitude of past problems, if healing is to occur."
Thus the book, in my view, unfortunately loses a degree of focus before it begins. The lengthy,careful expositions of pragmatist thought which follow in the book do not, in my view, require the harsh historical critique of the Introduction, and the critique is not at least expressly presupposed by most of the philosophers Spencer discusses. Other books, including historian Jill Lepore's two recent works, "These Truths" and "This America" offer a broader, more compelling story of the frequent tension between the United States's accomplishments and its ideals than does Spencer's study of American pragmatism.
Fortunately, the book largely rights itself following the long, wandering introduction. In his five chapters, Spencer offers good, specific discussions of the pragmatists and their thought and work. Each chapter contextualizes the philosophers under discussion by placing their thought in the context of their lives and of their times, avoiding sweeping generalizations. Spencer offers readable summaries of the thinking of the pragmatists with references to their important writings which will encourage readers to explore these writings for themselves. He shows that the term "pragmatism" must itself be used with care, as with most broad philosophical terms, as the pragmatic tradition in American philosophy is contested, with diverging but related teachings and emphases. Spencer also, commendably, broadens the pragmatic tradition by showing pragmatic elements in the thought of philosophers sometimes not primarily associated with pragmatism. He also frequently supplements his analysis of texts with examples from his own experience and reading and from popular culture.
Each of the five chapters focus on a small group of thinkers and develops a critical aspect of pragmatic thinking. In the first, and probably best, chapter of the book, Spencer explores the nature of fallibilism as developed in the work of Charles Peirce and William James, who become emblematic of the fundamental division in pragmatic thinkers between the logical thought of Peirce and the experiential, pluralistic thought of James. Peirce is seen as engaging with Descartes and in exploring science while James is portrayed as engaging with the empiricism of Hume. Spencer discusses well James' "Varieties of Religious Experience" and "A Pluralistic Universe" as well as some of Peirce's important writings. Interestingly, Spencer also and properly includes the idealistic philosopher Josiah Royce together with Peirce and James in making a crucial contribution to the early history of pragmatism.
The second chapter moves from Cambridge to Chicago and the key concept becomes meliorism, or working towards social improvement in particular situations. Spencer begins with Jane Addams and Hull House. He is not the first philosopher to do so, but it is commendable for Spencer to make the case for Addams' philosophical importance. He then turns to John Dewey, a seminal figure in pragmatism, and shows how Dewey's philosophy developed from his own early work as a schoolteacher, as a student of Hegel, and as a colleague of Addams. Here again, Spencer expands the canon of pragmatists by calling attention to George Herbert Mead, a colleague of both Royce and Dewey, who made his own contribution to the melioristic work of Addams and Dewey.
Spencer's third chapter returns to Harvard and explores the work of several distinguished students of James and Royce that expanded the pluralistic character of James' pragmatism. These figures include George Santayana, W.E.B. DuBois, whose thought is shown to have elements beyond the pragmatism of his teachers, Horace Kallen, and Alain Locke. There is a great deal to learn from Spencer's sympathetic discussions of each of these thinkers.
Chapter four of the book explores the convergence between pragmatism and the growing American school of analytic philosophy. The concept largely explored in this chapter is verificationism, an important part of Peirce's thought and developed differently in the growth of analytic philosophy. Spencer offers the reader a good introduction to truth tables and meaning-reference distinctions, and the thorny question of analyticity as he explores the work of C.I. Lewis, Quine, Davidson, and others. This chapter culminates in the work of Richard Rorty who in his book "Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature" found the analytic project self-defeating. He proclaimed the "end of philosophy" and tried to move beyond philosophy be a new version of pragmatism, modifying and expanding the pluralism of James and Dewey.
The final chapter of the book explores a variety of contemporary thinkers under the pragmatic concept of "hope". This chapter is somewhat rushed and loses some of the continuity maintained in the previous four chapters. Spencer explores the political thought of the German philosopher Jurgen Habermas which owes a great deal to the American pragmatists. He explores the work of the Australian thinker How Price who tries to rehabilitate the concept of truth from the criticisms offered by Rorty and to combine the pragmatisms of Pierce and James. The chapter concludes with a discussion of American Indian and Latin American philosophers, some of whom are receiving a good deal of attention. The discussion moves quickly and, it seems to me, in a direction beyond the scope of pragmatism. I enjoyed being reminded of anthropologist Paul Radin's 1927 book, "Primitive Man as a Philosopher" which I read long ago and which is now back in print.
There is a lot to learn and to enjoy in Spencer's book about pragmatism, its history, and continued influence. I hope the book will encourage some of its readers to, in Spencer's words, "devote their lives" to pragmatist thought or, more modestly and pragmatically, to use pragmatism as a tool for better understanding their world and themselves. The publisher, Polity Press, kindly provided me with a review copy of this book.
Robin Friedman
There has been an increasing interest in pragmatism in recent years among philosophers, and this interest has been shared with a broader public in books such as Louis Menand's 2002 work, "The Metaphysical Club". Albert R. Spencer, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Portland State University, is one of the most recent scholars to write an overview of pragmatism that will appeal to non-specialists and to newcomers to pragmatic thought in his book, "American Pragmatism: An Introduction" (2020). With an enthusiasm that might be contagious for some readers, Spencer writes of his aims in the book:
"If any of my readers notice any significant omissions, I hope the work as a whole will inspire them to devote their lives to this thriving philosophical tradition -- and maybe also to engage in the perennial task of ameliorating the mistakes of the past."
The book has an ambitious scope. In the five chapters that comprise the body of his study, Spencer tells the story of the pragmatic tradition in philosophy from its founding in the late 19th century to the present. This story is told appealingly and well. In the Introduction to the study, Spencer makes some broader, more global claims about pragmatism. Some of the introduction gives the reader an overview of other books that have told the history of pragmatism, both popular and scholarly studies, including Menand's, among many others. Spencer also explores predecessors to the pragmatic tradition in American philosophy, particularly through insightful discussion of the work of Ralph Waldo Emerson. More broadly, Spencer discusses whether pragmatism is an "American" philosophy and what it might mean to consider a philosophy "American".
It is at this point that I think the Introduction becomes confused, especially because it is placed before any consideration of the philosophers themselves. Spencer develops a sense of the particularity of pragmatism's approach to many philosophical questions and sees pragmatism as based upon a "sense of place". In that respect, he places pragmatism in the context of a broad, largely uncomplimentary picture of American history focusing heavily on the dispossession of American Indians, the institution of slavery, westward expansion and the growth of the country from a colony to a bellicose superpower, environmental despoliation, and the like. Among many other things, Spencer writes at the outset in his Preface: "[T]his book approaches pragmatism through the critical lenses of settler colonialism, manifest destiny, and chattel slavery." Some may find the portrayal harsh and broader that what is needed to give context to pragmatism's development in the United States. Fortunately, Spencer also has at the outset meliorating, to use a pragmatic term, words to say about his project and about the historical critique. He writes:
"The purpose of this book is not be be anti-American; on the contrary, I love this nation, its people, and its land. They are my home. But love, and even patriotism, often require critical analysis, and an acknowledgment of the reality, scope, and magnitude of past problems, if healing is to occur."
Thus the book, in my view, unfortunately loses a degree of focus before it begins. The lengthy,careful expositions of pragmatist thought which follow in the book do not, in my view, require the harsh historical critique of the Introduction, and the critique is not at least expressly presupposed by most of the philosophers Spencer discusses. Other books, including historian Jill Lepore's two recent works, "These Truths" and "This America" offer a broader, more compelling story of the frequent tension between the United States's accomplishments and its ideals than does Spencer's study of American pragmatism.
Fortunately, the book largely rights itself following the long, wandering introduction. In his five chapters, Spencer offers good, specific discussions of the pragmatists and their thought and work. Each chapter contextualizes the philosophers under discussion by placing their thought in the context of their lives and of their times, avoiding sweeping generalizations. Spencer offers readable summaries of the thinking of the pragmatists with references to their important writings which will encourage readers to explore these writings for themselves. He shows that the term "pragmatism" must itself be used with care, as with most broad philosophical terms, as the pragmatic tradition in American philosophy is contested, with diverging but related teachings and emphases. Spencer also, commendably, broadens the pragmatic tradition by showing pragmatic elements in the thought of philosophers sometimes not primarily associated with pragmatism. He also frequently supplements his analysis of texts with examples from his own experience and reading and from popular culture.
Each of the five chapters focus on a small group of thinkers and develops a critical aspect of pragmatic thinking. In the first, and probably best, chapter of the book, Spencer explores the nature of fallibilism as developed in the work of Charles Peirce and William James, who become emblematic of the fundamental division in pragmatic thinkers between the logical thought of Peirce and the experiential, pluralistic thought of James. Peirce is seen as engaging with Descartes and in exploring science while James is portrayed as engaging with the empiricism of Hume. Spencer discusses well James' "Varieties of Religious Experience" and "A Pluralistic Universe" as well as some of Peirce's important writings. Interestingly, Spencer also and properly includes the idealistic philosopher Josiah Royce together with Peirce and James in making a crucial contribution to the early history of pragmatism.
The second chapter moves from Cambridge to Chicago and the key concept becomes meliorism, or working towards social improvement in particular situations. Spencer begins with Jane Addams and Hull House. He is not the first philosopher to do so, but it is commendable for Spencer to make the case for Addams' philosophical importance. He then turns to John Dewey, a seminal figure in pragmatism, and shows how Dewey's philosophy developed from his own early work as a schoolteacher, as a student of Hegel, and as a colleague of Addams. Here again, Spencer expands the canon of pragmatists by calling attention to George Herbert Mead, a colleague of both Royce and Dewey, who made his own contribution to the melioristic work of Addams and Dewey.
Spencer's third chapter returns to Harvard and explores the work of several distinguished students of James and Royce that expanded the pluralistic character of James' pragmatism. These figures include George Santayana, W.E.B. DuBois, whose thought is shown to have elements beyond the pragmatism of his teachers, Horace Kallen, and Alain Locke. There is a great deal to learn from Spencer's sympathetic discussions of each of these thinkers.
Chapter four of the book explores the convergence between pragmatism and the growing American school of analytic philosophy. The concept largely explored in this chapter is verificationism, an important part of Peirce's thought and developed differently in the growth of analytic philosophy. Spencer offers the reader a good introduction to truth tables and meaning-reference distinctions, and the thorny question of analyticity as he explores the work of C.I. Lewis, Quine, Davidson, and others. This chapter culminates in the work of Richard Rorty who in his book "Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature" found the analytic project self-defeating. He proclaimed the "end of philosophy" and tried to move beyond philosophy be a new version of pragmatism, modifying and expanding the pluralism of James and Dewey.
The final chapter of the book explores a variety of contemporary thinkers under the pragmatic concept of "hope". This chapter is somewhat rushed and loses some of the continuity maintained in the previous four chapters. Spencer explores the political thought of the German philosopher Jurgen Habermas which owes a great deal to the American pragmatists. He explores the work of the Australian thinker How Price who tries to rehabilitate the concept of truth from the criticisms offered by Rorty and to combine the pragmatisms of Pierce and James. The chapter concludes with a discussion of American Indian and Latin American philosophers, some of whom are receiving a good deal of attention. The discussion moves quickly and, it seems to me, in a direction beyond the scope of pragmatism. I enjoyed being reminded of anthropologist Paul Radin's 1927 book, "Primitive Man as a Philosopher" which I read long ago and which is now back in print.
There is a lot to learn and to enjoy in Spencer's book about pragmatism, its history, and continued influence. I hope the book will encourage some of its readers to, in Spencer's words, "devote their lives" to pragmatist thought or, more modestly and pragmatically, to use pragmatism as a tool for better understanding their world and themselves. The publisher, Polity Press, kindly provided me with a review copy of this book.
Robin Friedman
October 25, 2020
Review by an amateur philosopher: this is an excellent book. Spencer's enthusiasm for the subject and his clear explanations are great for introductory readers (like myself) who may or may not have prior knowledge about pragmatism or certain philosophies more broadly. That being said, it is an academic book, clearly intended for students or the general public that is familiar with scholarly writing. I would put it somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between "pop" and academia.
I had no idea that American pragmatism was a philosophical tradition; I knew that pragmatism was a form of thought (imagining a form of lifestyle rather than a structure philosophy) and that there was a uniquely American flavor of it which we apply to foreign and domestic policy. Spencer's book shows that American pragmatism is a deep, structure philosophy with many different branches and variants that look to give us a solid understanding of our world.
Personally, I found the first chapter on the Classical pragmatists (Peirce and James) to be the most mind-changing. The concept of fallibilism - that we cannot be certain of anything because future data can always prove it to be false - is the most influential thought in the entire book. This then sparks two ways at looking at pragmatism: a theory of truth and a method of experience. The rest of the book seems to be philosophers and theories that build on this initial concept.
In the introduction, Spencer says that he wants pragmatism to be a tool for fighting against the propaganda of American exceptionalism. Although I do understand where he is coming from, I think it's a stretch for the readers to make that connection. On one hand, we are told that pragmatism is about the real world and a tool to uncover false or misleading claims that Americans currently hold, but on the other hand we are led down an overly academic study of each philosophy and find it hard to connect it to the real world. I'm not inherently against one approach or the other, but I think that Spencer's introduction is somewhat confusing and misleads us on what the book is really about.
That being said, I realize that's a personal interpretation. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and Spencer's writing. I would love to take one of his courses, as his passion for teaching is made clear in his writing. My only qualm is that for a philosophy that prides itself off of real world results, making the connection to the real world from the philosophy is a little too difficult for the amateur philosopher.
Full review on my website: The Inquiring Reader - American Pragmatism Review
I had no idea that American pragmatism was a philosophical tradition; I knew that pragmatism was a form of thought (imagining a form of lifestyle rather than a structure philosophy) and that there was a uniquely American flavor of it which we apply to foreign and domestic policy. Spencer's book shows that American pragmatism is a deep, structure philosophy with many different branches and variants that look to give us a solid understanding of our world.
Personally, I found the first chapter on the Classical pragmatists (Peirce and James) to be the most mind-changing. The concept of fallibilism - that we cannot be certain of anything because future data can always prove it to be false - is the most influential thought in the entire book. This then sparks two ways at looking at pragmatism: a theory of truth and a method of experience. The rest of the book seems to be philosophers and theories that build on this initial concept.
In the introduction, Spencer says that he wants pragmatism to be a tool for fighting against the propaganda of American exceptionalism. Although I do understand where he is coming from, I think it's a stretch for the readers to make that connection. On one hand, we are told that pragmatism is about the real world and a tool to uncover false or misleading claims that Americans currently hold, but on the other hand we are led down an overly academic study of each philosophy and find it hard to connect it to the real world. I'm not inherently against one approach or the other, but I think that Spencer's introduction is somewhat confusing and misleads us on what the book is really about.
That being said, I realize that's a personal interpretation. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and Spencer's writing. I would love to take one of his courses, as his passion for teaching is made clear in his writing. My only qualm is that for a philosophy that prides itself off of real world results, making the connection to the real world from the philosophy is a little too difficult for the amateur philosopher.
Full review on my website: The Inquiring Reader - American Pragmatism Review
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