Science, Community, & the Transformation of American Philosophy, 1860–1930 (Emersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith) - Hardcover

Wilson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226901432 ISBN 13: 9780226901435

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1990

Synopsis

In the first book-length study of American philosophy at the turn of the century, Daniel J. Wilson traces the formation of philosophy as an academic discipline. Wilson shows how the rise of the natural and physical sciences at the end of the nineteenth century precipitated a "crisis of confidence" among philosophers as to the role of their discipline. Deftly tracing the ways in which philosophers sought to incorporate scientific values and methods into their outlook and to redefine philosophy itself, Wilson moves between close analysis of philosophical texts and consideration of professional careers of illustrative philosophers, such as Charles Sanders Peirce, John Dewey, and Josiah Royce.

The author situates the emergence of professional philosophy in the context of the professionalization of American higher education and articulates, in the case of philosophy, the structures and values of a professional discipline. One of the most important consequences of this transformation was a new emphasis on communal theories of truth. Peirce, Dewey, and Royce all developed sophisticated and important theories of community as they were engaged in reshaping and redefining the limits of philosophy. This book will be of great importance for those interested in the history of philosophy, the rise of professions, and American intellectual and educational history, and to all those seeking to understand the contemporary revival of pragmatic thought and theories of community.

About this title

About the Author

Daniel J. Wilson is professor of history at Muhlenberg College. He is the author of four previous books, including Science, Community, and the Transformation of American Philosophy, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

From the Back Cover

The twentieth-century obsession with meaning often fails to address the central questions: Why are we here? Where are we going? In this radical critique of modernity, Eugene Rochberg-Halton resurrects pragmatism, pushing it beyond its traditional formulations to meet these questions head-on.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226901432
• ISBN 13: 9780226901435
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 239