An Idealistic Pragmatism: The Development of the Pragmatic Element in the Philosophy of Josiah Royce

190 Pages·1972·9.878 MB·English

by  Mary Briody Mahowald (auth.)

AN IDEALISTIC PRAGMATISM

AN IDEALISTIC PRAGMATISM
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRAGMATIC ELEMENT
IN THE pmLOSOPHY OF JOSIAH ROYCE
by
MARY BRIODY MAHOWALD
MARTINUS NIJHOFF /THE HAGUE/ 1972
© 1972 by Martinus Nijhojf, The Hague, Netherlands
All rights reserved, including the right to translate or to
reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form
ISBN-13: 978-90-247-1184-0 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-010-2736-6
DOl: 10.1007/978-94-010-2736-6
PREFACE
When I first became acquainted with the thought of the American philoso
pher Josiah Royce, two factors particularly intrigued me. The first was Royce's
claim that the notion of community was his main metaphysical tenet; the
second was his close association with the two American pragmatists, Charles
Sanders Peirce and William James. Regarding the first factor, I was struck
by the fact that a philosopher who died in 1916 should emphasize a topic of
such contemporary significance not only in philosophy but in so many other
vital fields as well (sociology, psychology, politics, theology - to name only
a few). Regarding the second, I was curious as to whether the pragmatism of
Peirce and James might have influenced Royce during the course of their
professional and personal contacts. Similarly, I wondered whether the
idealism of Royce might have affected the thought of Peirce and James. To
have appeased my curiosity in regard to all three thinkers, however, would
have required (at least) three books. As a start I have now appeased it in
regard to one.
In researching the writings of Royce I found my way to the Houghton
Library and to the Archives of Harvard University at Cambridge, Massa
chusetts, where the unpublished manuscripts of Royce are preserved. (No
editing job has yet been done on this bulk of material, though such would
certainly be a welcome contribution to American philosophy.) Since Volumes
1 through 52 are for the most part the manuscripts of Royce's published
books and articles, my time at Harvard was spent mostly on Volumes 53
through 98. While I found no startling divergence from Royce's published
positions in the unpublished material, I was able, by researching the latter,
to discover certain texts more suited to the purpose of this study. On one
point in particular (the social aspect ofthe knowing process), I found a great
deal more material in the unpublished writings than in the published works.
On the whole, the access to both published and unpublished sources lent
more cogency to basic evaluations of the thought of Royce.
VI PREFACE
In pursuing the topic which titles and subtitles this work I have also ex
plored Royce's notion of community to the extent of having become greatly
appreciative of the contemporary relevance of his philosophy. As a result,
the present resurgence of interest in the works of Royce seems more than
justified. I delight that some of the vital insights of this American thinker
are being shared today to a greater extent than ever before. My hope is that
they be shared throughout our country and our world not only theoretically
but practically as well.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My sincere thanks to the philosophy faculty of Marquette University,
particularly Dr. Beatrice Zedler, Dr. Paul Byrne and Dr. Joseph O'Malley,
for their interest and assistance in preparing this work. I am also indebted
to Dr. John McDermott of Queens College of the City University of New
York and to Rev. Frank Oppenheim, S.J., of Xavier University for their
sharing of ideas in regard to the project. Finally, I am deeply grateful to
many unnamed friends whose encouragement "energized" me throughout
the undertaking.
KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS
The following is an alphabetical listing of the abbreviations used in the
Notes. Publication information is given in the first reference to each work.
CG The Conception of God
CI The Conception of immortality
CP Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce
EP "The Eternal and the Practical"
FE Fugitive Essays
HGC The Hope of the Great Community
1m "Immortality"
LMI Lectures on Modern Idealism
MHS "The Mechanical, the Historical and the Statistical"
M&R "Mind and Reality"
OP Outlines of Psychology
PC The Problem of Christianity
PL The Philosophy of Loyalty
Prag Pragmatism and Four Essay from the Meaning of Truth
RAP The Religious Aspect of Philosophy
SRI The Sources of Religious Insight
War Ward and Insurance
WI The World and the Individual
WJO William James and Other Essays on the Philosophy of Life
wvc "What is Vital in Christianity?"
CONTENTS
Preface v
Acknowledgments VII
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I: PROPAEDEUTIC TO A STUDY OF ROYCE 3
A. The nature of Royce's idealism 3
B. The religious content of Royce's thought 7
C. The empirical grounding of Royce's philosophy 10
CHAPTER II: POSSIBILITIES FOR A ROYCEAN PRAGMATISM 15
A. The pragmatists that influenced Royce 17
B. The notions of pragmatism that influenced Royce 20
C. A pragmatism consistent with idealism 25
PART ONE
THE EARLY ROYCE (c. 1875-90)
CHAPTER III: HIS THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE 31
A. Royce's early stress on the practical purposefulness of all speculation 31
B. The usefulness of doubt and postulate in philosophizing 34
C. The limited function of verification and the role of insight 37
D. The relativity oftruth and error 40
CHAPTER IV: HIS NOTION OF THE ABSOLUTE 43
A. The function of belief, its origin and constitution 43
B. The Absolute Thought, perfectly fulfilling experience 48
C. The Universal Will, aiming at organization of experience 51
D. The relationship of the Absolute to the problem of evil 53
x CONTENTS
CHAPTER V: HIS CONCEPTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL 57
A. Meaning, worth, and importance of the individual 57
B. A practical answer to individualism 61
C. The nature and significance of progress for the individual 64
PART TWO
THE MIDDLE PERIOD (c. 1890-1906)
CHAPTER VI: THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE PRAGMATICALLY ALLIED WITH
DOCTRINE OF INTERPRETATION 71
A. Other theories of being as interpretations 72
B. The synthetic view of Royce 75
C. The essentially social character of the knowing process 78
CHAPTER VII: NOTION OF THE ABSOLUTE MORE PRAGMATICALLY
ORIENTATED 86
A. An explanation and definition of God in terms of Experience 87
B. The relation of will to the Absolute 92
C. The union between God and man 96
CHAPTER VIII: CoNCEPTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL PRAGMATICALLY
LEADS TO CoNSIDERATION OF CoMMUNITY 101
A. Royce's conception of the self 101
B. Love as the principle of individuation 104
C. Freedom and responsibility of the self 107
D. Community as fulfilling the individual 110
PART THREE
THE MATURE ROYCE (c. 1906-16)
CHAPTER IX: KNOWLEDGE BY INTERPRETATION, A MEDIATING PRIN
CIPLE 119
A. Perception, conception, and interpretation 119
B. The community of interpretation 124
C. The role of the mediator 128