American Pragmatism

American Pragmatism provides a thorough account of pragmatism’s development, themes, major figures, and critical issues. The book begins with an introductory overview of pragmatism, stressing its historical development, its principal topical concerns, and its complex relation to American culture (including its frequent characterization as a distinctively “American” philosophy).

The following four chapters explore the thought of the major pragmatists: Charles Peirce, William James, John Dewey, and George Herbert Mead. Chapter six deals with the development of pragmatism—and the proliferation of varieties of pragmatism—after Dewey. While issues concerning the philosophic adequacy of pragmatism are always close at hand, Chapter Seven attends explicitly to the critical assessment of pragmatism. The final Chapter examines not just the letter of pragmatism, but its moving spirit or, in the words of James, its temperament, strenuous mood, and Emersonian insistence on possibility.

American Pragmatism provides a contribution to the ongoing resurgence and advancement of pragmatism and provides an overview of the subject. Self-contained and accessible to newcomers to the field, its critical focus also merits the attention of scholars. No other book provides comparable breadth, critical acuity, or direct, lively style.