Genealogical Pragmatism

John J. Stuhr is Professor and Head of the Department of Philosophy at Pennsylvania State University. He is editor of Philosophy and the Reconstruction of Culture: Pragmatic Essays after Dewey, also published by SUNY Press, and has written or edited seven other books.

"The classical pragmatists—William James, Josiah Royce, and John Dewey—would welcome this superb rereading of their work … learned yet popular, playful, and risky." — CHOICE"The fifteen essays that make up this book are persuasively written and exhibit fine craftsmanship. They not only feature the classical pragmatists, but also include discussions of the work of many contemporary pragmatists and philosophers … This is an important book." — Peirce Project Newsletter"Stuhr's way of relating the American philosophical tradition to contemporary problems is genuinely enlightening. He contributes to the great revival of pragmatism by being one of its most sensible and sensitive interpreters." — John Lachs, Vanderbilt University"Stuhr is not only an informed expositor of the classical American pragmatists; he is also a pragmatic philosopher in his own right who makes use of the rich resources available to a contemporary critic of our social practices and institutions. This work is useful, engaging, and challenging." — Vincent Colapietro, author of Peirce's Approach to Self: A Semiotic Perspective on Human Subjectivity "What I like most about this book is its urgency and bravery. Stuhr moves effortlessly from abstract-seeming philosophical issues to extremely concrete political and personal concerns. In every case, there is the same sense of writing from need and commitment rather than professional exigency. By the time he's done, his notion of a 'disillusioned pragmatism' that faces death and urges us to action is very compelling indeed. The scholarship is beyond sound: the treatment of the major figures in American philosophy, particularly of James and Dewey, is masterly." — Crispin Sartwell, author of Obscenity, Anarchy, Reality"Makes pragmatism come alive. Stuhr is an engaging and very clear writer, and this book makes a vital contribution to the current, yeasty reevaluation and reappreciation of pragmatism." — Bruce Wilshire, editor of William James: The Essential Writings

• Preface Acknowledgments I.  Philosophy 1. The Humanities, Inc. 2.  Do American Philosophers Exist? Visions of American Philosophy and Culture 3.  Re-Visioning Philosophy and the Organization of Knowledges 4.  Pragmatism versus Fundamentalism 5.  The Idols of the Twilight: Pragmatism and Postmodernism II.  Experience 6.  Rorty as Elvis: Dewey's Reconstruction of Metaphysics 7.  Experience and the Adoration of Matter: Santayana's Unnatural Naturalism 8.  Socrates and Radical Empiricism 9.  Chronophobia 10.  Taking Time Seriously III. Community 11.  Theory, Practice, and Community in Peirce's Normative Science 12.  Bodies, Selves, and Individuals: Personalism and Pragmatism 13.  Education and the Cultural Frontier: Community, Identity, and Difference 14.  Community, Economic Growth, and Family Income: It's the Community, Stupid! 15.  Persons, Pluralism, and Death: Toward a Disillusioned Pragmatism Index