William T. Myers - Böcker

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?

Process philosophy is fundamentally a metaphysical position. Its doctrine is that the universe is essentially to be understood not as substance and causality, as in the Cartesian tradition, but as process and creativity. Since the publication of the first edition of Philosophers of Process, interest in American Pragmatism - particularly Peirce and Dewey - has continued to grow. In addition, there is another group whose interest is more straightforwardly metaphysical. The interests of this group tend toward the works of Whitehead, Hartshorne, and sometimes Bergson and James. Between these two groups there are quite a number of philosophers interested in teaching process metaphysics on both the undergraduate and graduate level. This book is intended to fill the need for a single volume of primary texts in this area.