What Pragmatism Was

F. Thomas Burke believes that pragmatism, especially as it has been employed in politics and social action, needs a reassessment. He examines the philosophies of William James and Charles S. Peirce to determine how certain maxims of pragmatism originated. Burke contrasts pragmatism as a certain set of beliefs or actions with pragmatism as simply a methodology. He unravels the complex history of this philosophical tradition and discusses contemporary conceptions of pragmatism found in current US political discourse and explains what this quintessentially American philosophy means today.

Author: F. Thomas Burke
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: 06/14/2013
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9780253009586

Review Citation(s):
Choice 11/01/2014 pg. 458

About the Author

F. Thomas Burke is Professor of Philosophy at the University of South Carolina. He is author of Dewey's New Logic: A Reply to Russell (1994) and co-editor of Dewey's Logical Theory: New Studies and Interpretations (2002) and George Herbert Mead in the Twenty-First Century (2013).