An Idealistic Pragmatism: The Development of the Pragmatic Element in the Philosophy of Josiah Royce

ISBN-13: 9789024711840 / Angielski / Miękka / 1972 / 186 str.

Mary Briody Mahowald; M. B. Mahowald

Opis

When I first became acquainted with the thought of the American philoso pher Josiah Royce, two factors particularly intrigued me. The first was Royce's claim that the notion of community was his main metaphysical tenet; the second was his close association with the two American pragmatists, Charles Sanders Peirce and William James. Regarding the first factor, I was struck by the fact that a philosopher who died in 1916 should emphasize a topic of such contemporary significance not only in philosophy but in so many other vital fields as well (sociology, psychology, politics, theology - to name only a few). Regarding the second, I was curious as to whether the pragmatism of Peirce and James might have influenced Royce during the course of their professional and personal contacts. Similarly, I wondered whether the idealism of Royce might have affected the thought of Peirce and James. To have appeased my curiosity in regard to all three thinkers, however, would have required (at least) three books. As a start I have now appeased it in regard to one. In researching the writings of Royce I found my way to the Houghton Library and to the Archives of Harvard University at Cambridge, Massa chusetts, where the unpublished manuscripts of Royce are preserved. (No editing job has yet been done on this bulk of material, though such would certainly be a welcome contribution to American philosophy."

Spis treści

I: Propaedeutic to a Study of Royce.- A. The nature of Royce’s idealism.- B. The religious content of Royce’s thought.- C. The empirical grounding of Royce’s philosophy.- II: Possibilities for a Roycean Pragmatism.- A. The pragmatists that influenced Royce.- B. The notions of pragmatism that influenced Royce.- C. A pragmatism consistent with idealism.- One The Early Royce (c. 1875–90).- III: His Theory of Knowledge.- A. Royce’s early stress on the practical purposefulness of all speculation.- B. The usefulness of doubt and postulate in philosophizing.- C. The limited function of verification and the role of insight.- D. The relativity of truth and error.- IV: His notion of the Absolute.- A. The function of belief, its origin and constitution.- B. The Absolute Thought, perfectly fulfilling experience.- C. The Universal Will, aiming at organization of experience.- D. The relationship of the Absolute to the problem of evil.- V: His Conception of the Individual.- A. Meaning, worth, and importance of the individual.- B. A practical answer to individualism.- C. The nature and significance of progress for the individual.- Two The Middle Period (c. 1890–1906).- VI: Theory of Knowledge Pragmatically allied with Doctrine of Interpretation.- A. Other theories of being as interpretations.- B. The synthetic view of Royce.- C. The essentially social character of the knowing process.- VII: Notion of the Absolute More Pragmatically Orientated.- A. An explanation and definition of God in terms of Experience.- B. The relation of will to the Absolute.- C. The union between God and man.- VIII: Conception of the Individual Pragmatically Leads to Consideration of Community.- A. Royce’s conception of the self.- B. Love as the principle of individuation.- C. Freedom and responsibility of the self.- D. Community as fulfilling the individual.- Three The Mature Royce (c. 1906–16).- IX: Knowledge by Interpretation, a Mediating principle.- A. Perception, conception, and interpretation.- B. The community of interpretation.- C. The role of the mediator.- X: God as Pragmatic Postulate.- A. The Absolute, filling our need for Truth, Reality, and a Cause.- B. Solving the religious paradox.- C. Christianity as interpretation of man’s experience.- XI: Community as Perfective of the Individual.- A. Community in general.- B. Community as end: the Beloved Community.- C. Communities as means.- Conclusion.- XII: The Roycean Pragmatic.- A. Recapitulation.- B. Critique.- C. Result.