THE METAPHYSICAL CLUB: A STORY OF IDEAS IN AMERICA - Rare Fine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing
Menand, Louis (Author); Dewey, John; Holmes, Oliver Wendell; James, William & Peirce, Charles
Language: English
Published by New York City, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2001, 2001
- First Edition
- Hardcover
- Used
Condition: Used - Fine
£ 85.64
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
1st Printing. 546 pages. Published in 2001. The author's ground-breaking account on American philosophy. One of the most valuable books of our time. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now rare. Presents Louis Menand's "The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas In America". His magisterial book about an informal gathering of formidable fugitives: Intellectuals, philosophers, and scholars who met intermittently in Cambridge, Massachusetts over a period of nine months in 1872. With this as the almost incidental context, Louis Menand tells the story of the development of American Pragmatic philosophy, as it emerged from the minds of four of the club's members: Oliver Wendell Holmes, William James, Charles Sanders Peirce, and John Dewey. Never pedantic and often witty, Menand describes the lives and thinking of these great men in a complex, engrossing, and visionary narrative. "Menand stresses the important role of intellectuals in times of chaos, when people's beliefs are put to the test. Suggests an intellectual course for the United States in the 21st century. Not a dry tome for academics, it is instead a wonderfully-told story of ideas that advances by turning the thinkers into characters and bringing them to life. It is difficult to describe what they accomplished though Menand takes a stab at it" (John Miller). Well, according to Menand, they helped bring about academic freedom, cultural pluralism, and foundationally, democracy itself. All of which matter in our deeply divided, ideological age, and given the dominance of a conservative, anti-intellectual intellectual tradition that is singularly American. Being extremists, conservatives are terrified - and react accordingly - of their irrelevance and imminent demise in a world that believes in concrete solutions to real problems, in a pragmatic world-view that makes America competitive and relevant in the Global Age. "They were more responsible than any other group for moving American thought into the modern world. They helped put an end to the idea that beyond the mundane business of making our way as best as we can in a world shot through with contingency, there exists some order, invisible to us, whose logic we transgress at our peril" (Louis Menand). Menand is referring, of course, to our American Religion. An absolute "must-have" title for Louis Menand and philosophy collectors. This title is a great book. This is one of few copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Almost ALL copies available online have serious flaws or are in multiple subsequent printings. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare copy thus. Winner of The Pulitzer Prize for History in 2002 for "The Metaphysical Club". One of the most brilliant American writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER LOUIS MENAND TITLES IN OUR CATALOG) ISBN 0374199639.…
Seller Inventory # 23577
- Title
- THE METAPHYSICAL CLUB: A STORY OF IDEAS IN AMERICA - Rare Fine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing
- Author
- Menand, Louis (Author); Dewey, John; Holmes, Oliver Wendell; James, William & Peirce, Charles
- Publisher
- New York City, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2001
- Publication year
- 2001
- Condition
- Fine
- Dust jacket
- Fine
- Signed
- no
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0374199639
- ISBN 13
- 9780374199630
- Edition
- 1st Edition.
A riveting, original book about the creation of modern American thought.
The Metaphysical Club was an informal group that met in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1872, to talk about ideas. Its members included Oliver Well Holmes, Jr., future associate justice of the United States Supreme Court; William James, the father of modern American psychology; and Charles Sanders Peirce, logician, scientist, and the founder of semiotics. The Club was probably in existence for about nine months. No records were kept. The one thing we know that came out of it was an idea -- an idea about ideas. This book is the story of that idea. Holmes, James, and Peirce all believed that ideas are not things "out there" waiting to be discovered but are tools people invent -- like knives and forks and microchips -- to make their way in the world. They thought that ideas are produced not by individuals, but by groups of individuals -- that ideas are social. They do not develop according to some inner logic of their own but are entirely depent -- like germs -- on their human carriers and environment. And they thought that the survival of any idea deps not on its immutability but on its adaptability. The Metaphysical Club is written in the spirit of this idea about ideas. It is not a history of philosophy but an absorbing narrative about personalities and social history, a story about America. It begins with the Civil War and s in 1919 with Justice Holmes's dissenting opinion in the case of U.S. v. Abrams-the basis for the constitutional law of free speech. The first four sections of the book focus on Holmes, James, Peirce, and their intellectual heir, John Dewey. The last section discusses some of the fundamental twentieth-century ideas they are associated with. This is a book about a way of thinking that changed American life.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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Modern Rare is exclusively an online bookstore. Email is usually the best way to reach us: modernrarenow@gmail.com We will respond to your email query within 24 hours. We are exclusively an online bookstore because we believe this is the best way to satisfy our customers' expectations. Unlike an open bookstore, where books are routinely handled and may deteriorate, we guarantee the condition of our books as described. We specialize in modern firsts, photography, the arts, and a little bit of erotica. You will also find a fine selection of signed copies, Limited Editions, and collectible items because our ultimate goal is to deepen the pleasure of collecting books. We carry titles that we ourselves like and believe in - books that we think will excite, enchant, and endure. Please note: Payment needs to be made directly through ABEBooks. If you wish to make any other payment arrangement, please get in touch with us before placing your order. For example, Paypal can only be processed through a direct sale because ABEBooks does NOT accept Paypal payments, NO exceptions. Thank you and happy collecting!…
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