Pragmatism A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking
- Language:
- English
- Status:
- Complete work
- Authorship:
- Written by the author
- Condition of the text:
- No scanning noise detected (automatic measure over the whole text, not checked by hand)
- Extent:
- ~54,700 words · 260 passages
Cite this work
- APAWilliam James. (n.d.). Pragmatism A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking. Digital reproduction: SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/en/works/william-james/pragmatism-a-new-name-for-some-old-ways-of-thinking
- MLAWilliam James. Pragmatism A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking. Digital reproduction, SigPhi, https://sigphiai.com/en/works/william-james/pragmatism-a-new-name-for-some-old-ways-of-thinking.
- ChicagoWilliam James. Pragmatism A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking. Digital reproduction, SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/en/works/william-james/pragmatism-a-new-name-for-some-old-ways-of-thinking.
Reference to the reproduced edition. SigPhi is the digital reproduction, not the publisher. Year, publisher and translator are included when recorded; “n.d.” means the year is unknown. Responsibility for an introduction or note depends on the passage cited.
What it is about
Pragmatism (1907) presents a method for clarifying disputes through their practical consequences, before developing an account of truth.
Context and history
Lecture II uses the man and the squirrel to explain why practical meanings matter. At this stage James describes a method without predetermined results or dogmas; the slogan “truth is what works” leaves out that distinction.
Editorial context, not a citable source: unlike the passages of the work itself, these statements cannot be checked against the corpus.
Rationalistic feeling about unity. Pragmatically considered, the world is one in many ways. One time and space. One subject of discourse. Its parts interact. Its oneness and manyness are co-ordinate. Question of one origin. Generic oneness. One purpose. One story. One knower. Value of pragmatic method. Absolute monism. Vivekananda. Various types of union discussed. Conclusion: We must oppose monistic dogmatism and follow empirical findings. Lecture V Pragmatism and Common Sense Noetic pluralism. How our knowledge grows. Earlier ways of thinking remain. Prehistoric ancestors DISCOVERED the common sense concepts. List of them. They came gradually into use. Space and time. 'Things.' Kinds. 'Cause' and 'law.' Common sense one stage in mental evolution, due to geniuses. The 'critical' stages: 1) scientific and 2) philosophic, compared with common sense. Impossible to say which is the more 'true.' Lecture VI Pragmatism's Conception of Truth The polemic situation. What does agreement with reality mean? It means verifiability. Verifiability means ability to guide us prosperously through experience. Completed verifications seldom needful. 'Eternal' truths. Consistency, with language, with previous truths. Rationalist objections. Truth is a good, like health, wealth, etc. It is expedient thinking. The past. Truth grows. Rationalist objections. Reply to them. Lecture VII Pragmatism and Humanism The notion of THE Truth. Schiller on 'Humanism.' Three sorts of reality of which any new truth must take account. To 'take account' is ambiguous. Absolutely independent reality is hard to find. The human contribution is ubiquitous and builds out the given. Essence of pragmatism's contrast with rationalism. Rationalism affirms a transempirical world. Motives for this. Tough-mindedness rejects them. A genuine alternative. Pragmatism mediates. Lecture VIII Pragmatism and Religion Utility of the Absolute. Whitman's poem 'To You.' Two ways of taking it.…
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