Meaning, Truth, and Action: A Classic Reader in Pragmatism

Author: Susan Haack [USA]
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-02-01
Features: Peirce and James rarely regarded pragmatism as a complete doctrine but more as a method. They hoped that the meaning criteria of pragmatism could both end endless and meaningless debates and provide a way to address legitimate philosophical problems. (Although pragmatism shares some similarities with later logical positivism in its focus on meaning criteria, unlike logical positivism, classical pragmatism is not anti-metaphysical in either its intent or actual effects.) No single collection can do complete justice to a philosophical school as rich, complex, and full of competing or even contradictory ideas as pragmatism. However, the author has included some essays that aim to reflect Peirce's notable contributions to logic, metaphysics, and the philosophy of science; James's contributions to the philosophy of psychology, the philosophy of religion, metaphysics, and ethics; Dewey's contributions to political philosophy, the philosophy of education, epistemology, and the philosophy of art; and Mead's foundational contributions to social psychology. – The author hopes this is sufficient to reflect the extraordinary scope and richness of pragmatism. Moreover, when selecting works by contemporary and modern supporters of pragmatism, the author intentionally included pieces that reflect both the more conservative, wing and the more radical, revolutionary wing.