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Crosslistings: PHIL 218 |
If there is a "philosophical movement" rooted in North American soil, it is pragmatism, a set of variations on the theme that mental and theoretical life get their content and significance from practice and experience. Pragmatists aim their inquiry neither at the shining ideals of the a priori, nor the "cold hard facts" of positivist science, but at jumping in midstream and fine-tuning our attitudes and orientation to the "live" problems of experience and public life. Famous pragmatist thoughts inc lude Peirce's view that belief amounts to the establishment of a habit, and James' argument that what to believe (and believe in) presents a moral choice, not simply a dictate of reason. Pragmatists have been especially unwilling to segregate facts from values, mind from physical nature, essence from relations and context. While these commitments also find their way into existentialist and postmodernist continental philosophy, typical pragmatist writing conveys a distinctive optimism about our human predicament.
Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.
COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS COL Grading Mode: Student Option
Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.
Last Updated on MAR-26-2001
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459