Book Cover of Pragmatism

Pragmatism

by William James

'Pragmatism' contains a series of public lectures held by William James in Boston 1906–7. James provides a popularizing outline of his view of philosophical pragmatism while making highly rhetorical and entertaining lashes towards rationalism and other competing schools of thought. James is especially concerned with the pragmatic view of truth. True beliefs should be defined as, according to James, beliefs that can successfully assist people in their everyday life. This is claimed to not be relativism. That reality exists is argued to be a fact true beyond the human subject. James argues, nevertheless, that people select which parts of reality are made relevant and how they are understood to relate to each other. Charles Sanders Peirce, widely considered to be the founder of pragmatism, eventually chose to separate himself intellectually from James, renaming his own theory to ‘pragmaticism’.

Book Details

Language

English

Original Language

English

Published In

1907

Author

William James image

William James

United States

William James was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat...

More on William James

Listen/Download Audiobook

Read by:
00:00
Playback Speed 1.0
00:00
  • Select Speed

Related books

Kokoro: Hints and Echoes of Japanese Inner Life  Cover image

Kokoro: Hints and Echoes of Japanese Inner Life by Lafcadio Hearn

"The papers composing this volume treat of the inner rather than of the outer life of Japan, for which reason they have been grouped under the title K...

Three Essays on Religion  Cover image

Three Essays on Religion by John Stuart Mill

In this essay, Mill argues the idea that the morality of an action can be judged by whether it is natural or unnatural. He then lays out the two main...

Woman and War Cover image

Woman and War by Olive Schreiner

What is the true cost of war on women? Woman and War by Olive Schreiner is a powerful and moving novel that explores the impact of war on women. Set...

Essays, First Series Cover image

Essays, First Series by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Essays: First Series, is a series of essays written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, published in 1841, concerning transcendentalism. This book contains: • "H...

The National Geographic Magazine Vol. 03 Cover image

The National Geographic Magazine Vol. 03 by National Geographic Society

National Geographic (formerly the National Geographic Magazine, sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is the long-lived official monthly magazine of the Natio...

The Note-Books of Samuel Butler Cover image

The Note-Books of Samuel Butler by Samuel Butler

Step into the captivating world of Samuel Butler's "The Note-Books," a collection of insightful observations, philosophical musings, and personal refl...

Of the Injustice of Counterfeiting Books Cover image

Of the Injustice of Counterfeiting Books by Immanuel Kant

This essay of Kant’s on copyright argues that the unlicensed copying of books cannot possibly be permissible, due to the fact that it assumes a consen...

Life in the Sick-room: Essays by an Invalid Cover image

Life in the Sick-room: Essays by an Invalid by Harriet Martineau

Imagine being confined to a sickbed for years, with no cure in sight. How would you cope with the physical and emotional challenges? What would you le...

The Meaning of Life and Other Essays Cover image

The Meaning of Life and Other Essays by Alban Goodier, S.J.

Even with the best intentions, we can often get caught up in the affairs of this world and forget about God. To stay on the path to Heaven we must mak...

The Fringes Of The Fleet  Cover image

The Fringes Of The Fleet by Rudyard Kipling

The Fringes of the Fleet is a booklet written in 1915 by Rudyard Kipling. The booklet contains essays and poems about nautical subjects in World War I...

Reviews for Pragmatism

No reviews posted or approved, yet...