Not available to order

Publication date:

16 April 2015

Length of book:

252 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739190326

Despite there being deep lines of convergence between the philosophies of Alfred North Whitehead, C. S. Peirce, William James, John Dewey, and other classical American philosophers, it remains an open question whether Whitehead is a pragmatist, and conversation between pragmatists and Whitehead scholars have been limited. Indeed, it is difficult to find an anthology of classical American philosophy that includes Whitehead’s writings. These camps began separately, and so they remain. This volume questions the wisdom of that separation, exploring their connections, both historical and in application. The essays in this volume embody original and creative work by leading scholars that not only furthers the understanding of American philosophy, but seeks to advance it by working at the intersection of experience and reality to incite novel and creative thought. This exploration is long overdue. Specific questions that are addressed are: Is Whitehead a pragmatist? What contrasts and affinities exist between American pragmatism and Whitehead’s thought? What new questions, strategies, and critiques emerge by juxtaposing their distinct perspectives?
The intellectual fortunes of the classical American pragmatism of Peirce, James, and Dewey and of the process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead are on the upswing today, after a long period of neglect and then the invention of neo-pragmatism and the turn of process thought to Hartshornean lines. This wonderful volume calls attention to the affinities, divergences, and often unnoticed mutual influences of pragmatism and Whitehead. Largely though not entirely the work of younger scholars, these essays come at the process-pragmatism double-helix from many fascinating angles. It deserves to be read by anyone promoting pragmatism or process philosophy, as well as by their opponents!