Pragmatism and the European Traditions: Encounters with Analytic Philosophy and Phenomenology before the Great Divide (Routledge Studies in American Philosophy)

by Maria Baghramian (Editor), Maria Baghramian (Editor), Sarin Marchetti (Editor)

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Hardcover
2017
$153.22

The turn of the twentieth century witnessed the birth of two distinct philosophical schools in Europe: analytic philosophy and phenomenology. The history of 20^th-century philosophy is often written as an account of the development of one or both of these schools, as well as their overt or covert mutual hostility. What is often left out of this history, however, is the relationship between the two European schools and a third significant philosophical event: the birth and development of pragmatism, the indigenous philosophical movement of the United States. Through a careful analysis of seminal figures and central texts, this book explores the mutual intellectual influences, convergences, and differences between these three revolutionary philosophical traditions. The essays in this volume aim to show the central role that pragmatism played in the development of philosophical thought at the turn of the twentieth century, widen our understanding of a seminal point in the history of philosophy, and shed light on the ways in which these three schools of thought continue to shape the theoretical agenda of contemporary philosophy.

Synopsis

The turn of the twentieth century witnessed the birth of two distinct philosophical schools in Europe: analytic philosophy and phenomenology. The history of 20^th-century philosophy is often written as an account of the development of one or both of these schools, as well as their overt or covert mutual hostility. What is often left out of this history, however, is the relationship between the two European schools and a third significant philosophical event: the birth and development of pragmatism, the indigenous philosophical movement of the United States. Through a careful analysis of seminal figures and central texts, this book explores the mutual intellectual influences, convergences, and differences between these three revolutionary philosophical traditions. The essays in this volume aim to show the central role that pragmatism played in the development of philosophical thought at the turn of the twentieth century, widen our understanding of a seminal point in the history of philosophy, and shed light on the ways in which these three schools of thought continue to shape the theoretical agenda of contemporary philosophy.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 306
Edition: 1
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 05 Dec 2017
ISBN 10: 1138094102
ISBN 13: 9781138094109

Media Reviews

American pragmatism saw itself as the culmination of a process of naturalizing Kant and Hegel in the direction of an empiricism focused on selectional developmental processes of the sort epitomized by evolution and individual learning. This naturalizing, historicizing process was in many ways rudely interrupted by Russell and Husserl, each in his own way inventing something philosophy could be apodeictic about from its armchair. This fascinating volume provides a novel perspective on the familiar twentieth century opposition between analytic philosophy and phenomenology, by viewing those traditions through the mediating lens of their interactions with contemporaneous pragmatism. -Robert Brandom, University of Pittsburgh, USA

Whether through Husserl's adaptations of James's psychology, Ramsey's refinements of Peirce's account of truth, Russell's adaptation of James's radical empiricism, or the later Wittgenstein's emphasis on concrete human life, two divergent traditions of twentieth century philosophy-phenomenology and analytic philosophy-were influenced by the pragmatists. The rich and varied essays in this collection break new ground not only in charting these and other pragmatic influences, but in helping us understand pragmatism's vitality today . -Russell B. Goodman, University of New Mexico, USA

Pragmatism and the European Tradition is an exemplary specimen of a new kind of collection of philosophical essays. It reviews, with a considerable range and expertise and fresh detail, the sources of doctrinal dissatisfaction involving intractable quarrels between analytic and continental philosophy (chiefly positivism and phenomenology) and the prospects of conceptual mediation by way of pragmatism. Quite a good idea. That's to say, philosophical rivals must now demonstrate a measure of dialectical skill in reconciling once insurmountable doctrinal divisions. Repays a careful reading. -Joseph Margolis, Temple University, USA

This collection offers a scholarly and timely corrective to the prevailing narrative of early 20^th-century philosophy. According to that narrative, analytic philosophy and phenomenology marginalized pragmatism and never engaged with pragmatism. The essays in this collection show that narrative to rely on either neglecting or misreading important figures. At a time when the very `divide' between analytic and Continental philosophy is being closely scrutinized from multiple perspectives, this book further complicates the story in productive ways. -Carl B. Sachs, Marymount University, USA

Author Bio

Maria Baghramian is Professor of American Philosophy at University College Dublin and current Head of School of Philosophy. She was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy in 2010 and was Fulbright Scholar in Harvard in 2014. Her research and publications, supported by the Irish Research Council, focus on Contemporary American Philosophy and the topics of relativism and disagreement. Sarin Marchetti is Assistant Professor at Sapienza Universita di Roma, where he teaches Moral Theories. He has written on ethics, metaphilosophy, Pragmatism, and the History of Analytic Philosophy. He is the author of Ethics and Philosophical Critique in William James (2015) and co-editor of Facts and Values: The Ethics and Metaphysics of Normativity (with G. Marchetti, 2016).