Title | : | Pragmatism and Other Writings |
Author | : | |
Rating | : | |
ISBN | : | 0140437355 |
ISBN-10 | : | 9780140437355 |
Language | : | English |
Format Type | : | Paperback |
Number of Pages | : | 400 |
Publication | : | First published January 1, 1907 |
Pragmatism and Other Writings Reviews
-
دوستانِ گرانقدر، این نادان 200 صفحه، فقط و فقط چرت و پرت نوشته و بس
انسان وقتی بیشعور و بی خرد شود، حاضر است سرِ خودش را هم کلاه بگذارد و خزعبلات بنویسد... این بیشعور موجوداتِ نادان و مذهبی را « عقل گرا» و « نرم اندیش» و « خوشبین» می داند... و انسانهایی که باخرد هستند و به دین و مذهب اعتقاد ندارند را « سخت اندیش» و « تجربه گرا» و « بدبین» میداند
عزیزانم، و دوستانِ خردگرا، فریبِ نوشته هایِ این نویسنده هایِ بی ارزش و سخیف را نخورید... و بدانید که کسی که به دین و مذهب اعتقاد دارد، نادان و بی خرد و بدبین است
این بی شعور نوشته: فلسفه ای که عقایدِ « داروین» و حقایقِ مربوط به زیست شناسیِ مغز را می پذیرد، یک شکست خورده است و فاقدِ « حیثیت و اعتبار» است... یعنی هر خزعبلاتی میتوانسته سرِ هم کرده و اسمش را کتاب گذاشته و عده ای احمق تر از خودش نیز پیروِ این بیشعور هستند
یعنی «زکریای رازی» و « آرتور شوپنهاور» و « داروین» و « برتراند راسل» و بسیاری از خردمندانِ تاریخ که به دین و مذهب و این چرت و پرت ها اعتقاد نداشتند، همه و همه « عقل گرا» نیستند... و این بیشعورهایِ مذهبی « عقل گرا» هستند!! جوک از این مسخره تر شنیده بودید؟! بدونِ تردید خیر
پیروز باشید و ایرانی -
James' method of explicating his ideas takes some time to get off the ground and running. But when he does, it's really damn good. Pragmatism is a wonderful metaphysics, and he's writing at such an interesting time in the development of human thought. When you read Nietzsche you think the seeds of postmodernism began with him, but it may be more developed with James' philosophy.
Pragmatism, for James, embraces both science and religion as means towards the improvement and progress of the process we call life. He waxes on this point both individually and cosmically. Pragmatism is centered on pivoting and adapting by means that are practical and successfully put into practice. It's all about that (re: those things; e.g.: beliefs, methods, habits, philosophies) which advance our goals.
James is not shy about his faith, but builds his argument such that his logic is accessible to every viewpoint: he speaks to the naturalists, rationalists, empiricists, idealists, and all the different flavors these categories come in, and espouses pragmatism as a humanism; as a creative process we all go about in our individual lives, one that is interdependent and built on the collective history of humanity.
Truth, with a capital T, is an ongoing process. The Universal, Absolute, God, Reality - whatever you'd like to call it - is not static. There may be some ultimate directionality to evolution, but James suggests a phenomenology that works to and measures itself for the value it engenders our lives. Pragmatism takes Truth as a process of "leading"; a process of improvement and ascent to the higher ideals. We, as individuals, must discern what this means for us; but the key point here is taking the reins of our vehicle and directing our lives with no fixed, stagnate (nor complacent) notion of how to live. We are to exist with the utmost possibility in our mind's eye, and iterate ourselves and our means of being based upon the interactions (success/fail rate) between the internal reality we are creating and the external reality that we all live by and through.
Pragmatism is a fun philosophy. It is empowering and creative and accepting. Its utility has only increased with the proliferation of globalization and the spread of foreign, new ideas for how to live. Buddhism in the West, Christianity in the East, transhumanism, shamanism, paganism: there's no culture or conception of reality - thus far - that is set in stone and proved to be better than the rest. We are swimming in an ocean of possibilities, and pragmatism gives us a compass to navigate the waters and facilitate our reaching some destination. The question remains, of course, but where do you wish to go? -
Fairly good and straightforwardly sober nuance from a time wherein positivism was becoming more dominant. Though I think his statements on hegel are misguided with regards to his understanding of the absolute and the significance of Hegel's project.
-
Se podría ver a James como un escéptico que se volvió optimista. No sigue pensando hasta destruirlo todo. Se obliga a parar antes. Y se convence a sí mismo de la virtud del freno. Dice que es más fuerte frenar que seguir. Dice que el pragmatismo es un método de depuración de ideas y una teoría de la verdad que deriva en humanismo. En cualquier caso, lo mejor de estas conferencias y ensayos no está sólo en el contenido, en esas ideas luminosas llenas de fantasmas -tan de Henry, como de William, los hijos del teólogo racionalista-. Lo mejor es el estilo. Hay que seguir el hilo de las argumentaciones de James. Con atención flotante como un psicoanalista. Se ven las emociones. James piensa muy en serio. Se enoja. Se aburre. Se avergüenza. Se reafirma. Se defiende. Pide disculpas por pedir al lector que preste atención. Pide disculpas por ser desordenado, por no llegar a nada. A la vuelta de la página ya toca fondo y emerge con megalomanía. Dice que solucionó el problema de la verdad. Imagino a Nietzsche con la mirada estrábica por los horrores de su propia lucidez, por lo que logró ver, quizás James le arrancaría una sonrisa. Pienso que el filólogo loco vería al pragmatismo como un conejo, una presa fácil de otras filosofías. Contra todo, en el pragmatismo jamesiano hay una raíz profunda del liberalismo pluralista de la república moderna. También de muchas republiquetas.
-
One of my favorite philosophical texts. James is an eye opening read to many who feel dissatisfied with philosophy or that most ideas of the world are too extreme, in either direction. However, James' philosophy of Pragmatism is not "settling" for the average or picking the exact middleground. Pragmatism encourages what works. If an idea fits into what we experience, it is valuable. By the same token, it is a good idea to look at what the consequences would be if a particular idea or philosophy were true. How would this affect us if its tenets were fact? Pragmatism suggests that a lot of what we interact with in the world is in fact affected by our humanity. The world is in constant progress. Another way of saying this is that most of us tend to gravitate toward theories, ideals, morals, etc. to which we already have a propensity. Optimistic people tend to believe in optimistic ideas (religion, politics, etc.) Highly recommended for anyone who wants a new way to look at the world, that allows for anything that "works". James' The Will to Believe is also highly recommended.
-
I hated reading every minute of this book. It made no sense ti me. Am I making myself clear?
-
I have, for me, spent a long time reading this book. A sign that I did not enjoy it as much as I expected.
James’s philosophy of pragmatism is one that has much appeal to me with its empiricist basis, but with space for the human. It is a practical philosophy. But when I reflect I see I read this book as much as a piece of literature as a philosophical treatise, and although James often is a fine writer the style felt a little ponderous to me. You know there is an intelligent, artful and jolly soul behind these words, but the style is very 19th century and his frequent use of Latin, French or German phrases seems to be intellectual showing off rather than helping give clarity. This is a little ironic as in his day James was talking not to the professional philosopher, but instead trying to make philosophy accessible to a wider less specialist audience. Expectations change, and I have to remember this was not written with a 21st century audience in mind.
So, if this book was just Pragmatism, then I probably would have given it 3 stars. But the book is padded out with other articles James wrote and these I enjoyed much more. For example the opening paragraph of the short piece “Address at the Centenary of Ralph Waldo Emerson” - a piece I would never have read had it not been in this book, I found rather moving. There are other bits like this scattered through his writing. Perhaps then, he is a writer to cherry pick the best bits from rather than to read end-to-end. -
James is one of those guys who you hear about and kind of mentally file away as Important (Probably Boring). He's actually one of the most personable and intensely interesting writers who don't deal in fiction that I've come across. Pragmatism, the booklet that contains the most concise statement of the only contribution America has made to philosophy (this is what people say, I don't know, heck), is very interesting not just from a standpoint of the philosophy itself but also for the psychology, writing style, and Emersonian love of life that's in it. Really kind of a beautiful book, by the end:
And may not previous reality itself be there, far less for the purpose of reappearing unaltered in our knowledge, than for the very purpose of stimulating our minds to such additions as shall enhance the universe's total value [?]
James's Pragmatism is kind of a moral call to arms, or at least a call to wake up and try to be alive. Downright invigorating, in fact.
His "Will to Believe" is something I wish I had read before my Junior classes in Philosophy. It's a pleasure to see a philosopher and Harvard man shooing away over scrupulous skeptics who would tyrannically make their skepticism the rule.
But maybe the most impressive of all of the essays in here was the first chapter from his Briefer Course in Psychology, in the chapter where he apparently invented the phrase "Stream of Consciousness." I've never seen anyone talk about the basic acts of perceiving and thinking in the majestic but clear way that he does. This read like a gripping novel. I was sitting straight up in my chair with eyebrows raised. This is not exaggeration, and you should read this book. (Then talk to me about it.) -
I like this dude better than his brother...
-
Despite the brilliant mind of William James and how brilliant the school of thought Pragmatism is, James's writing style is too...american. This may just be a stubborn complaint from someone who's been entrenched in German, Russian, French, and Danish philosophy, all which flutter with beautiful prose, walking on the edge of poetry (especially in the case of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard). With James, I tend to beg for his essays to finally end, listening to his all-too-simplistic and bland voice, sometimes even threatening me with sleep. With that being said, there are essays worth reading in this collection. Surprisingly, James's most interesting and thought-provoking essays are those that don't grapple with Pragmatism but instead tackle existential issues of meaning, religion, and nihilism as was brilliantly done in his essays: On a Certain Blindness and What Makes a Life Significant. Additionally, I enjoy William James's deadly arguments against idealism and Kantianism that are spread out among the numerous essays. In summa: James is a great thinker who's thoughts require serious contemplation (especially in the modern world), but the process is not entirely pleasant as James's writing style is very seriously boring.
-
I walked away after reading this book a little deflated. I admit- it was a hard read being that it was technical and meant for an audience of Harvard students in the early 1900's. But the concept of Pragmatism and William James' lectures about how to use it and what its value it, has found its way into my thoughts ever since. It's worth skimming through, or even reading a few of the lectures.
"Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that – very broadly – understands knowing the world as inseparable from agency within it. " - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Read more here:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pr... -
در دادن rate بین سه و چهار شک داشتم واق��ا.
یه جورایی اینکتاب هم یهکتاب دیگه در مسیر خط فکری اروپاست.
اون چیزیکه نویسنده میگه، تعریفی که از حقیقت ارائه میده، و چیزی که ما در عمل قراره از حقیقت تعریف کنیم، باعث میشه از دید من تعریفش یکم غیرعملی بشه، با این حال، یه سری حرفهای خوب در باب طرز دیدن مسائل مختلف مثل خدا و مذهب میزنه.
شاید برای من قبل از خواندن کتاب existentialism سارتر،بهتر بود این کتاب رو میخوندم. -
was a tough read with tough concepts (but this is my interpretation and thoughts), but I enjoyed the tender vs Tough-minded, and pragmatism as what practically works for the meaning of truth and how humans create our reality because it works is a fascinating concept, and religion and science are no different, one just has evidence, the other has emotion, which are just as true to humans, one is just true to the reality outside humans
-
Essential essays by James. Great insights into his analysis and thoughts. Pragmatism is the name he gave to his own philosophic system and is and important contribution to thinking in general. A simple attitude to clear thinking.
-
از نظر نویسنده حقیقت مطلق وجود نداره. حقیقت رو نوعی سودمندی در نظر می گیره. حقیقتی که به عمل منجر بشه. حقیقی یا غیر حقیقی بودن مهم نیست، مهم تاثیری که در زندگی میذاره. کاربرد عقیده و باور مهم تر از حقیقی بودن اونه.
-
A good collection of lectures and articles to become acquainted with William James's philosophy, not only his pragmatism and psychology, but also his vital philosophy in essays such as "Is Life Worth Living?," "The Moral Philosopher and the Moral Life," and "What Makes a Life Significant."
-
James's question seems more valuable every day: what do ideas and ideologies actually look like in the world, enacted?
-
I liked Pragmatism. Some of the other essays did not work as well for me.
-
Prose? Lovely. Content? The worst.
-
If your going to read one book by William James. This is not the collection of essays you’re looking for. Instead try:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... -
Pragmatism, it appears, tries to answer a question that hasn't been asked.
Henry James wants to bridge the gap between materialism and idealism, or maybe between rationalism and empiricim. But both sides of those issues are clearly drawn; I saw no need to introduce any bridging concept, and even at that time, James's proposal was anachronistic.
Here, too, one finds James's curious theory of truth: that truth is what works for the immediate purpose. This has a limited application in the field of education, but I don't see any further use for it -- not to say that it hasn't been employed anyhow in the equivocal reasoning of modern deliberations.
Throughout the book, though, I found lots of tidbits -- observations on diverse matters -- that make this short read a worthwhile endeavor. Many of the author's remarks about the state of philosophy at that time are insightful, even if his conclusions bear skepticism.
I found the essays, drawn from a 1907 lecture series, well presented in easily readable. The writing is clear and the entire work is blessedly short. It is suitably interesting and informative enough to recommend to people with a general interest in philosophy and learning. -
The original philosophy of Pragmatism says that the meaning of words is largely a matter of agreement between speaker and listener (or in many cases, disagreement), and not inherent in words themselves. This has nothing to do with the current usage, in which pragmatic is taken to mean practical. The change in meaning of the word "Pragmatic" is a good example of the theory.
Dashiell Hammett used the ideas of the Pragmatists, including James and Charles Sanders Peirce, in writing The Maltese Falcon, particularly the Flitcraft tale, which Sam Spade uses to illustrate his philosophy of detective work. Brigid O'Shaughnessy completely fails to understand, as do most readers. As with a Buddhist koan, getting it means making a change in your point of view, not having an explanation. -
It's easy to see how this would be so readily adopted by Dewey and other reformers, since Truth is really just a conveyance to an end. I'm not quite as critical as that might seem. James is convincing in his argument that the other philosophers rely too much on abstraction and logic, when much of that rationality becomes too unwieldy for use.
-
I had never read philosophy before: While some of the essays included are great to think about and interesting to go through, I found some unfitting with the rest of the book in that they were extremely boring (or perhaps just extremely advanced and abstract). Especially the last essay, don't think I got anything from it! Pragmatism though, makes complete sense and is an awesome world view.
-
This book should be the basis of everything human. Required reading for every high school student. Oh yeah, it shows us where existentialism led to if your into the history of philosophy or something.