British Empiricism and American Pragmatism: New Directions and Neglected Arguments PDF
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British Empiricism and American title: Pragmatism : New Directions and Neglected Arguments author: Roth, Robert J. publisher: Fordham University Press isbn10 | asin: 0823213927 print isbn13: 9780823213924 ebook isbn13: 9780585148373 language: English Empiricism, Philosophy, British, subject Pragmatism, Philosophy, American. publication date: 1993 lcc: B816.R68 1993eb ddc: 144/.3/0973 Empiricism, Philosophy, British, subject: Pragmatism, Philosophy, American. Page iii British Empiricism and American Pragmatism New Directions and Neglected Arguments by Robert J. Roth, S. J. Fordham University Press New York 1993 Page iv Copyright © 1993 by Fordham University Press All rights reserved LC93-3064 ISBN 0-8232-1391-9 (clothbound) ISBN 0-8232-1392-7 (paperback) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Roth, Robert J. British empiricism and American pragmatism: new directions and neglected arguments / Robert J. Roth. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8232-1391-9. ISBN 0-8232-1392-7 (pbk.) 1. Empiricism. 2. Philosophy, British. 3. Pragmatism. 4. Philosophy, American. I. Title. B816.R68 1993 144'.3'0973dc20 93-3064 CIP Printed in the United States of America Page v Contents Preface vii Acknowledgments ix Abbreviations x 1. Experience 1 2. Cause and Effect, and Necessary Connection 29 3. Personal Identity 60 4. Moral, Social, and Political Theories: The Empiricists 90 5. Moral, Social, and Political Theories: The Pragmatists 136 6. New Directions and Neglected Challenges 182 Bibliography 195 Index 201 Page vii Preface It is not unusual for philosophers to talk about the various "turns" that philosophy has taken in the course of its history. By this they mean new directions begun by individuals or traditions that have departed significantly from previous currents of thought. Thus Socrates initiated the "turn inward," away from a consideration of the material cosmos and toward the person as a citizen of the polis. Descartes took the "subjectivist" or ''epistemological turn" toward the self as the starting point and foundation of knowledge. There followed the "empiricist turn" as a reaction against rationalism, quickly succeeded by the ''Kantian" or "idealist turn." In more modern times, we have become familiar with the positivist, linguisticmay we even say deconstructionist?turns, proceeding successively or sometimes simultaneously. It can be argued that none of these directions represented a totally new beginning, wholly detached from what went before. Socrates had roots in the pre-Socratic tradition, and Descartes was more of a medievalist than he himself realized. Moreover, the turns that were taken were not one-dimensional, focusing on a single issue, but included many problems clustered tightly or loosely around a central perspective. I have tried in the present volume to describe the "pragmatic turn" in relation to British empiricism. Over many years of teaching and writing on British empiricism and American pragmatism, I have long been conscious of the influence of the former on the latter. This does not imply any great insight on my part, since to anyone working in these two traditions the links between them as well as their sharp differences are readily apparent. But it is only lately that I have focused more directly on some specific problems with which the pragmatists have taken issue with their predecessors and have given the empirical tradition new directions. Moreover, there is no attempt to repeat or supplant other fine works that have already been done on empiricism and pragmatism. I have simply selected a number of Page viii themes which in my opinion have not been sufficiently aired and which deserve further consideration. These can be called "neglected arguments," an obvious reference to Peirce's defense of theism, though with a different purpose. The philosophers treated are the empiricists John Locke and David Hume and the pragmatists Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey. Not all five philosophers have discussed explicitly and in detail every topic included in this volume. For example, Hume and Peirce did so regarding necessary connection and causality, but not Locke and James. But it is possible to draw from the writings of the latter two their own positions on these topics. There will indeed be some overlap between my own explorations and those of others. After all, what new can be said on the pragmatic notion of experience? But I am pretentious or deluded enough to think that I can offer some new and perhaps even controversial interpretations which may prompt others to go back and read these philosophers from a fresh perspective. In the long run and in true pragmatic fashion, I shall have to wait for the consequences as expressed by the reactions of whatever readers may peruse these pages! Page ix Acknowledgments I wish to acknowledge with gratitude the editors of the following journals for giving me permission to use, with some modifications, articles of mine which they have published: "Hume's Theory of Human Nature and Community," The New Scholasticism, 57 (1983), 331-51; "Did Peirce Answer Hume on Necessary Connection?" The Review of Metaphysics, 38 (1985), 867-80; ''Hume and James on Personal Identity," American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, 64 (1990), 233-47; "John Dewey's 'Moral Law' Ethics,'' and "The Empiricism of Hume's Political Theory," International Philosophical Quarterly, 20 (1980), 127-42, and 31 (1991), 403-17. Especially do I wish to thank my friends and colleagues at Fordham, Vincent M. Colapietro and Vincent G. Potter, They have read large S.J. portions of the manuscript and have offered wise counsel. I have not always followed their advice regarding Peirce and James. But they have undoubtedly prevented me from making many more mistakes than the ones that may be evident in my own rendition. My thanks are due also to the following: Mrs. Lydia Ocasio, who typed the manuscript with great efficiency and extraordinary patience; Ms. Nancy McCarthy, Fordham University Director of Research, who kindly made grants available to me at critical stages; and Dr. Mary Beatrice Schulte, Executive Editor of Fordham University Press, who by her competence, graciousness, and buoyancy has seen this volume, as so many others, to completion. Page x Abbreviations For complete information regarding these abbreviations, see Bibliography. John Locke An Essay Concerning Human EU Understanding T2 Second Treatise of Government David Hume Essays Moral, Political and Literary E EN1An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding EN2An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals H The History of England, 6 vols. T A Treatise of Human Nature Charles Sanders Peirce Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce, 8 CP vols. William James The Meaning of Truth MT P Pragmatism PP The Principles of Psychology, Vol. I PU A Pluralistic Universe
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