Books in the American Philosophy series

Considers the tension between art and morality in literature, artistic performance, economics, statecraft, and human rights; in religion, drama, sculpture, philosophical methodology, biography, and attitudes toward mortality; in the work of Gotthold Lessing, Lewis Carroll, Charles Peirce, Leo Tolstoy, William James, Jean-Paul Sartre, Monroe Beardsley, and George Santayana.

Freedom and Limits is a defense of the value of freedom in the context of human finitude. Working out of the American pragmatist tradition, the book aims to reclaim the role of philosophy as a guide to life.

William James (1842-1910) is a canonical figure of American pragmatism. Trained as a medical doctor, James was more engaged by psychology and philosophy and wrote a foundational text, Pragmatism, for this characteristically American way of thinking. Distilling the main currents of James's thought, William J. Gavin focuses on "e;latent"e; and "e;manifest"e; ideas in James to disclose the notion of "e;will to believe,"e; which courses through his work. For students who may be approaching James for the first time and for specialists who may not know James as deeply as they wish, Gavin provides a clear path to understanding James's philosophy even as he embraces James's complications and hesitations.

In Process and Reality and other works, Alfred North Whitehead struggled to come to terms with the impact the new science of quantum mechanics would have on metaphysics.This ambitious book is the first extended analysis of the intricate relationships between relativity theory, quantum mechanics, and Whitehead's cosmology.

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

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

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.

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.

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

These two volumes illustrate the scope and quality of Royce's thought, providing comprehensive selection of his writings. They offer a detailed presentation of the viable relationship Royce forged between the local experience of community and the demands of a philosophical and scientific vision of the human situation.

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.

Conversations on Peirce provides a loosely related set of essays dealing with the philosophy of American pragmatist Charles Peirce that developed out of conversations between the authors over the last decade. The essays deal generally with the ways in which Peirce was both a realist and an idealist. Several of the essays also explore the consequences of these ideas in Peirce's thought.

A biography of the Supreme Court Justice of 34 years, Hugo Black, (1886-1971). He once was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and went on to be one of the most celebrated and important civil libertarians in the history of the USA and the 20th century's chief proponent of the First Amendment.

This collection of essays examine the norms and social practices in epistemology and in moral and social philosophy. The contributors examine the issue across a range of subjects, including logic, education, foundations of morality, philosophy of law, and the pragmatic character of reason.

"Extremely well done... will universally be referred to, not by its title, but as 'Kraus's Companion'..." -Transactions of the C. S. Peirce Society

William James' celebrated lecture on "The Will to Believe" has kindled spirited controversy since the day it was delivered. In this title, the author contributes some fresh contentions: that James' argument should be viewed against his indebtedness to Pascal and Renouvier; that it works primarily to validate our over-beliefs.