Pragmatism as a Way of Life: The Lasting Legacy of William James and John Dewey

by Hilary Putnam, Ruth Anna Putnam, David Macarthur (Editor)

Overview

Throughout his diverse and highly influential career, Hilary Putnam was famous for changing his mind. As a pragmatist he treated philosophical “positions” as experiments in deliberate living. His aim was not to fix on one position but to attempt to do justice to the depth and complexity of reality. In this new collection, he and Ruth Anna Putnam argue that key elements of the classical pragmatism of William James and John Dewey provide a framework for the most progressive and forward-looking forms of philosophy in contemporary thought. The Putnams present a compelling defense of the radical originality of the philosophical ideas of James and Dewey and their usefulness in confronting the urgent social, political, and moral problems of the twenty-first century.

Pragmatism as a Way of Life brings together almost all of the Putnams’ pragmatist writings—essays they wrote as individuals and as coauthors. The pragmatism they endorse, though respectful of the sciences, is an open experience-based philosophy of our everyday lives that trenchantly criticizes the fact/value dualism running through contemporary culture. Hilary Putnam argues that all facts are dependent on cognitive values, while Ruth Anna Putnam turns the problem around, illuminating the factual basis of moral principles. Together, they offer a shared vision which, in Hilary’s words, “could serve as a manifesto for what the two of us would like philosophy to look like in the twenty-first century and beyond.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674967502
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	05/15/2017
Pages:	496
Sales rank:	695,647
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Hilary Putnam was Cogan University Professor, Emeritus, at Harvard University.

Ruth Anna Putnam was Professor Emerita of Philosophy at Wellesley College.

David Macarthur is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sydney. With Mario De Caro, he edited Naturalism in Question, Naturalism and Normativity, and Hilary Putnam’s Philosophy in an Age of Science. He also edited Hilary and Ruth Anna Putnam’s Pragmatism as a Way of Life.

Table of Contents

Standard Editions of the Works of the Classical Pragmatists ix

Introduction David Macarthur 1

The Insights of Classical and Neo-Pragmatism

1 Taking Pragmatism Seriously Ruth Anna Putnam with a reply Hilary Putnam 13

2 Pragmatism and Verificationism Hilary Putnam 21

3 What Makes Pragmatism So Different? Hilary Putnam 36

4 Pragmatism and Nonscientific Knowledge Hilary Putnam 55

5 Weaving Seamless Webs Ruth Anna Putnam 71

6 Rorty's Vision: Philosophical Courage and Social Hope Ruth Anna Putnam 87

7 Reflections on the Future of Pragmatism Ruth Anna Putnam 108

Key Topics in the Pragmatism of James and Dewey

8 Was James a Pragmatist? Ruth Anna Putnam 123

9 Pragmatism and Realism Hilary Putnam 140

10 What the Spilled Beans Can Spell: The Difficult and Deep Realism of William James Hilary Putnam Ruth Anna Putnam 159

11 James's Theory of Truth Hilary Putnam 167

12 James on Truth (Again) Hilary Putnam 188

13 James's Philosophical Friendships, 1902-1905 Hilary Putnam 201

14 What James's Pragmatism Offers Us: A Reading of the First Chapter of Pragmatism Hilary Putnam 225

15 Varieties of Experience and Pluralities of Perspective Ruth Anna Putnam 232

16 William James on Religion Ruth Anna Putnam 248

17 The Real William James: Response to Robert Meyers Hilary Putnam Ruth Anna Putnam 261

18 Dewey's Central Insight Hilary Putnam 276

19 Dewey's Epistemology Ruth Anna Putnam 293

20 Dewey's Faith Ruth Anna Putnam 314

Pragmatist Conceptions of Moral Value and Democracy

21 Philosophy as a Reconstructive Activity: William James on Moral Philosophy Hilary Putnam 331

22 The Moral Impulse Ruth Anna Putnam 349

23 The Moral Life of a Pragmatist Ruth Anna Putnam 360

24 Creating Facts and Values Ruth Anna Putnam 385

25 Perceiving Facts and Values Ruth Anna Putnam 405

26 Democracy and Value Inquiry Ruth Anna Putnam 421

27 Democracy as a Way of Life Ruth Anna Putnam 439

Appendix: Other Works on Pragmatism Hilary Putnam Ruth Anna Putnam 455

Works Cited 457

Acknowledgments 465

Index 469

Editorial Reviews

Clarifies our understanding of the development of Hilary’s thought in the late twentieth century, and, as Hilary put it, his ‘conversion’ to pragmatism under Ruth Anna’s influence…Philosophical marriages are rare enough; this one affected the development of philosophy in America…Macarthur has produced the best record of Hilary and Ruth Anna’s collaboration. American philosophy was indeed changed at the Putnams’ breakfast table.

Metaphilosophy - Lawrence Cahoone

Pragmatism as a Way of Life is, among other things, an argument for the value of philosophy. As the Putnams see it, pragmatism means thinking about the world ‘in ways that are relevant to the real problems of real human beings.’ It’s an approach to philosophy that manages to be humble and hopeful while, for the most part, keeping its feet firmly on the ground…The language of the Putnams tends to be blessedly lucid and conversational, even when dealing with fairly knotty quandaries. The book isn’t hammock reading, or Metaphysics for Morons, but it is a reminder of why philosophy might be useful to people who don’t park in the faculty-only lot.

Chronicle of Higher Education - Tom Bartlett