Books in the American Philosophy series

the essential reference for those seeking to understand the most profound registers of this major American thinker.

Donald Morse considers John Dewey's early philosophy & explicates its key ideas through the fullest treatment to date of his youthful masterwork, the Psychology.

This collection focuses primarily on Peirce's realism, pragmatism, and theism, with attention to his tychism and synechism.

Explores the theories of democratic individualism articulated in the works of the American transcendentalist writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, pragmatic philosophers William James and John Dewey, and African-American novelist and essayist Ralph Ellison.

Now back in print, and in paperback, these two classic volumes illustrate the scope and quality of Royce'sthought, providing the most comprehensive selection ofhis writings currently available.

Traces the concept of the imagination through German idealism of the 18th century, the American philosophy of Charles Sanders Peirce, and the findings of contemporary cognitive neuroscience in order to argue for the centrality of aesthetics in human cognition.

Places Levinas in the context of American philosophy

Susanne Langer (1895-1985) was one of American philosophy's most distinctive thinkers. This book shows how Langer's thought spans the sciences, aesthetics, psychology, religion, education, and music, and where it touches on concerns that were brought forward by American pragmatists, such as John Dewey and William James.

John Dewey, widely known as "America's philosopher," surprisingly never set down a complete moral or ethical philosophy. Showing that Dewey's ethics are compatible with the rest of his philosophy, this work corrects the reputation of American pragmatism as a philosophy committed to skepticism and relativism.

Although Josiah Royce was one of the towering figures of American pragmatism, his thought is often considered in the wake of his more famous peers. This book offers a philosophical exploration of Royce's ideas on conflict resolution, memory, self-identity, and self-development.

Deals with the place of the individual and community in democratic society. Mapping out a brief history of American legal thinking regarding rights, from communitarianism to liberalism, this book gives an account of how pragmatism worked to resolve conflicts of self-interest and community well-being.

A provocative interpretation of James and an open-ended claim for a religious view that does not fly in the face of what we know about ourselves and our world. Recommended.-Choice

Explores the theme of friendship in the lives and works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. This title offers a comprehensive view of how Emerson's and Thoreau's friendships took root and bolstered their individual political, social, and ethical projects.

Pragmatism has been called 'the chief glory of our country's intellectual tradition' by its supporters and 'a dog's dinner' by its detractors. Acknowledging pragmatism's direct ties to American imperialism and expansionism, this title considers the role pragmatism plays, for better or worse, in discussions of nationalism, war, race, and community.

A bold examination of questions about whiteness and race

What could it mean to speak of philosophy as ¿the education of grownups¿? This book takes Stanley Cavell¿s much-quoted, yet enigmatic phrase as the provocation for a series of explorations into themes of education that run throughout his work ¿ through his response to Wittgenstein, Austin and ordinary language philosophy, through his readings of Thoreau and of the moral perfectionism he identifies with Emerson, through his discussions of literature and film. Hilary Putnam has described Cavell not only as one of the most creative thinkers of today but as amongst the few contemporary philosophers to explore the territory of philosophy as education. Yet in mainstream philosophy his work is apt to be referred to rather than engaged with, and the full import of his writings for education is still to be appreciated. Cavell engages in a sustained exploration of the nature of philosophy, and this is not separable from his preoccupation with what it is to teach and to learn, with the kinds of transformation these might imply, and with the significance of these things for our language and politics, for our lives as a whole.In recent years Cavell¿s work has been the subject of a number of books of essays, but this is the first to address directly the importance of education in his work. Such matters cannot fail to be of significance not only for the disciplinary fields of philosophy and education, but in politics, literature, and film studies ¿ and in the humanities as a whole. A substantial introduction provides an overview of the philosophical purchase of questions of education in his work, while the essays are framed by two new pieces by Cavell himself. The book shows what it means to read Cavell, and simultaneously what it means to read philosophically, in itself a part of our education as grownups.

The book is a study of pragmatism and pragmatic pluralism in the philosophy of religion. Through critical examinations of James's, Dewey's, and recent neopragmatists' ideas, it argues that key issues in the field - including the debate between evidentialism and fideism, and the problem of evil - need rearticulation from a pragmatic pluralistic perspective.

How is pragmatism to be understood? What has been its cultural and philosophical impact? Is it a crucial resource for current problems and for life and thought in the future? This book addresses these questions, situating them in personal, philosophical, political, American, and global contexts.

Although he was born in Spain, George Santayana (1863-1952) became a uniquely American philosopher, critic, poet, and novelist. This collection presents a selection of Santayana's important and influential literary and philosophical work. It reveals the intellectual and literary diversity of one of the American philosophy's lively minds.

Reason, Experience, and God provides an important and comprehensive look at the work of John E. Smith by collected essays which each address aspects of his life-long work. A response by John E. Smith himself draws a line of continuity between the pieces.

The author of this book, arguing that religion has become an enigma for modern man, attempts to reconcile philosophy with religion. He shows that the prevailing attitude of indifference to religion in recent times can only be overcome through radical reflection and self-criticism.

Unravels the complex history of pragmatism and discusses contemporary conceptions

How do I live a good life, one that is deeply personal and sensitive to others? The author suggests that those who take this question seriously need to re-examine the work of Ralph Waldo Emerson. He argues that being true to ourselves requires recognition of our thoroughly dependent and relational nature.

X-The Problem of the Negro as a Problem for Thought offers an original account of matters African American, and by implication the African diaspora in general, as an object of discourse and knowledge.

This book, the result of cooperation between the Center for Dewey Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the Dewey Center at the University of Cologne, provides an excellent example of the international character of pragmatist studies agai

"... Exemplifies a vision of education as cooperative inquiry in which heterogenous voices resound yet experiential authority in its full force operates."-Journal of Philosophy of Education

Loyalty to Loyalty: Josiah Royce and the Genuine Moral Life clarifies the nature of loyalty and its role in ethical living, employing the philosophy of Josiah Royce as a theoretical frame. Loyalty to Loyalty provides original and extensive analysis of Royce's philosophy of loyalty, including applications to contemporary moral problems.

Explains Thoreau's philosophical significance and argues that we can still learn from his polemical conception of philosophy