Free eBooks
Pragmatism: A Reader
Available To Downloads

Pragmatism has been called America's only major contribution to philosophy. But since its birth was announced a century ago in 1898 by William James, pragmatism has played a vital role in almost every area of American intellectual and cultural life, inspiring judges, educators, politicians, poets, and social prophets.Now the major texts of American pragmatism, from William James and John Dewey to Richard Rorty and Cornel West, have been brought together and reprinted unabridged. From the first generation of pragmatists, including the Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and the founder of semiotics, Charles Sanders Peirce, to the leading figures in the contemporary pragmatist revival, including the philosopher Hilary Putnam, the jurist Richard Posner, and the literary critic Richard Poirier, all the contributors to this volume are remarkable for the wit and vigor of their prose and the mind-clearing force of their ideas. Edited and with an Introduction by Louis Menand, Pragmatism: A Reader will provide both the general reader and the student of American culture with excitement and pleasure.

Paperback: 560 pages

Publisher: Vintage; 1st edition (October 7, 1997)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0679775447

ISBN-13: 978-0679775447

Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.2 x 8 inches

Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #287,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #27 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Movements > Pragmatism #684 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Modern #10928 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

This book is astounding! It manages to accomplish in around 500 pages the twin tasks of giving a functional outline of the rise and rise of pragmatic thought and also to give examples, old and new, of that same pragmatic thought. The three more well-known "founders" (popularisers) of this philosophical method slash attitude are here in C.S. Peirce, William James and John Dewey along with an interesting selection of more modern pragmatists, such as Richard Rorty (of course!), Cornel West and Hilary Putnam. One name that is missing from the contemporary selection is Stanley Fish, but since he seems to aim his sights indiscriminately he may be thought to be rather roguish for this sane and coherent selection of writings that the editor, Louis Menand, has pulled together.In his introductory piece Menand charts Pragmatism's birth in the universities of north eastern America in the second half of the nineteenth century and points up some of its distinctives (of which there are very few and deliberately so). This piece is worth the price of the book itself for its clarity, insight and authority. The choices Menand makes in presenting the pragmatic thinkers will always be one of judgment and decision (Are the two writings he chooses from Richard Rorty's work, "Philosophy as a Kind of Writing" and "Postmodernist Bourgeois Liberalism" really more appropriate to this collection? I would choose others.) and we may quibble with one or two and suggest others but Menand has made his choices and given his rationale and we, as readers, can ask no more.

Pragmatism: A Reader William James, Pragmatism, and American Culture (American Philosophy) Pragmatism and Other Writings (Penguin Classics) Shusterman's Pragmatism: Between Literature and Somaesthetics (Central European Value Studies) Consequences Of Pragmatism: Essays 1972-1980 Pragmatism, Critique, Judgment: Essays for Richard J. Bernstein (MIT Press) The Essential Dewey, Volume 1: Pragmatism, Education, Democracy Uncle John's Canoramic Bathroom Reader (Uncle John's Bathroom Reader) Uncle John's Fully Loaded 25th Anniversary Bathroom Reader (Uncle John's Bathroom Reader) Uncle John's Heavy Duty Bathroom Reader (Uncle John's Bathroom Reader) Spanish Reader Intermediate 1: Short Stories in Spanish (Spanish Reader For Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced Students nº 3) (Spanish Edition) Spanish Reader For Advanced Students (Spanish Reader for Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced Students nº 5) (Spanish Edition) Spanish Reader Advanced III: Spanish Short Stories (Spanish Reader for Beginners, Intermediate & Advanced Students nº 7) (Spanish Edition) Spanish Reader Intermediate II: Short Stories in Spanish (Spanish Reader for Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced Students) (Spanish Edition) Spanish Reader for Beginners-Elementary 2-Short Paragraphs in Spanish: Spanish to English Translation (Spanish Reader for Beginners-Elementary 1, 2 & 3) (Spanish Edition) Levinas' 'Totality and Infinity': A Reader's Guide (Reader's Guides) The Red Book: A Reader's Edition: A Reader's Edition (Philemon) SAM 2013 Assessment, Training and Projects with MindTap Reader for Discovering Computers & Microsoft Office 2013: A Fundamental Combined Approach Printed Access Card Bundle: New Perspectives Microsoft Office 365 & Office 2016: Introductory, Loose-leaf Version + SAM 365 & 2016 Assessments, Trainings, and Projects with 1 MindTap Reader Multi-Term Printed Access Card Richard Scarry's Watch Your Step, Mr. Rabbit! (Pictureback Reader)