Excerpt from American Philosophy Today and Tomorrow This book presents the views of twenty-five representative American thinkers on the problems with which the times confront the American as philosopher, and the solutions which Americans must find for tomorrow. The contributors are men living and working in all the diverse areas of the American scene - in Texas, in California, in the Middle West, in New England, in the Atlantic States. Few live where they were born and grew up; many follow vocations for which they were not trained and perhaps did not intend to seek. All but one or two have passed through the formal discipline in philosophy of the schools; they are "doctors of philosophy"; and most of them earn their livings by teaching philosophy or psychology in one or another of the institutions of higher learning of the land. But some have employed their philosophic training in the service of disciplines not strictly philosophic, such as education or economics; others have turned their training to non-pedagogical uses, such as literature, public service, the law, the labor movement, religion, politics, and racial betterment; several have combined academic teaching with these non-academic interests. Thus the volume derives directly not alone from the intrinsic interests of the philosophical discipline as such, but equally direct experience with major preoccupations of the national life also enters into the making of whatever message it conveys. This message may or may not have been uttered before; but the younger generation of American philosophers who figure most numerously in the pages of this book have not elsewhere made public their philosophic credos. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from American Philosophy Today and Tomorrow What each author presents here, he presents newly, and he presents it independently, as his personal Vision of today's philosophic problem and tomorrow's philosophic solution. Each has written down his own heart and mind, without any meeting with his fellow-contributors, without consultation, without dis cussion. Thus the book is automatically a representative cross section of American philosophy in the making 5 within the limits of its size and scope it provides a true sample of the disposition of living philosophy in the United States. These twenty-five essays come from the pens of twenty-five men of twenty-five different temperaments, origins, backgrounds, interests and avo cations. They tell in as many personal idioms why and how they come to believe as they do. From reading them there may arise a sense that an identical issue holds the attention of the various philosophers, with their different preoccupations and interests, that in Spite of the independence of their essays from one another, they manifest a consensus regarding the principles and methods of settling the issue. Or the reader may come to feel that no common View emerges, he may hear only separate and contradictory voices, each crying alone in its wilderness. Or he may find them separating into little groups and parties and sects, arrayed against one another and irreconcilable. Whichever of these three patterns the reader finds, he may be assured that he has a faithful picture of the struggle of ideas and ideals in American life upon the plane of philosophy. To give this picture an indispensable point of reference, the editors have suggested that each contributor write a brief ac count of himself with which to preface his essay. These, the editors believe, will be found not only to frame the picture, but to point it up. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The Ideal of Rationality presents an evaluation of all the main varieties of rationalism, in clear and jargon-free language. Different notions of rationality - such as means-end, conception, hedonism, and the evil-avoidance view - are examined and rejected, in favor of the theory that to act rationally is to 'act for the best', a theory Nathanson characterizes as "critical pluralism". Among present-day thinkers whose ideas are scrutinized are Richard Brandt, Bernard Gert, Gilbert Harman, John Kekes, Robert Nozick, Karl Popper, and John Rawls.

"What is it that makes American philosophy unique? {this book] answers this question by tracing the history of American thought from early Calvinists to the New England Transcendentalists and from contract theory to contemporary African American philosophy. ..."--Back cover.

This book presents the first introduction to African American academic philosophers, exploring their concepts and ideas and revealing the critical part they have played in the formation of philosophy in the USA. The book begins with the early years of educational attainment by African American philosophers in the 1860s. To demonstrate the impact of their philosophical work on general problems in the discipline, chapters are broken down into four major areas of study: Axiology, Social Science, Philosophy of Religion and Philosophy of Science. Providing personal narratives on individual philosophers and examining the work of figures such as H. T. Johnson, William D. Johnson, Joyce Mitchell Cooke, Adrian Piper, William R. Jones, Roy D. Morrison, Eugene C. Holmes, and William A. Banner, the book challenges the myth that philosophy is exclusively a white academic discipline. Packed with examples of struggles and triumphs, this engaging introduction is a much-needed approach to studying philosophy today.

The Encyclopedia of American Philosophy provides coverage of the major figures, concepts, historical periods and traditions in American philosophical thought. Containing over 600 entries written by scholars who are experts in the field, this Encyclopedia is the first of its kind. It is a scholarly reference work that is accessible to the ordinary reader by explaining complex ideas in simple terms and providing ample cross-references to facilitate further study. The Encyclopedia of American Philosophy contains a thorough analytical index and will serve as a standard, comprehensive reference work for universities and colleges. Topics covered include: Great philosophers: Emerson, Dewey, James, Royce, Peirce, Santayana Subjects: Pragmatism, Progress, the Future, Knowledge, Democracy, Growth, Truth Influences on American Philosophy: Hegel, Aristotle, Plato, British Enlightenment, Reformation Self-Assessments: Joe Margolis, Donald Davidson, Susan Haack, Peter Hare, John McDermott, Stanley Cavell Ethics: Value, Pleasure, Happiness, Duty, Judgment, Growth Political Philosophy: Declaration of Independence, Democracy, Freedom, Liberalism, Community, Identity

The epic wisdom contained in a lost library helps the author turn his life around John Kaag is a dispirited young philosopher at sea in his marriage and his career when he stumbles upon West Wind, a ruin of an estate in the hinterlands of New Hampshire that belonged to the eminent Harvard philosopher William Ernest Hocking. Hocking was one of the last true giants of American philosophy and a direct intellectual descendent of William James, the father of American philosophy and psychology, with whom Kaag feels a deep kinship. It is James’s question “Is life worth living?” that guides this remarkable book. The books Kaag discovers in the Hocking library are crawling with insects and full of mold. But he resolves to restore them, as he immediately recognizes their importance. Not only does the library at West Wind contain handwritten notes from Whitman and inscriptions from Frost, but there are startlingly rare first editions of Hobbes, Descartes, and Kant. As Kaag begins to catalog and read through these priceless volumes, he embarks on a thrilling journey that leads him to the life-affirming tenets of American philosophy—self-reliance, pragmatism, and transcendence—and to a brilliant young Kantian who joins him in the restoration of the Hocking books. Part intellectual history, part memoir, American Philosophy is ultimately about love, freedom, and the role that wisdom can play in turning one’s life around.