The successful three volumes of Nineteenth Century Religious Thought in the West provide a fresh appraisal of the most important thinkers of that time. Soames essays centre on major figures of the period; others cover topics, trends and schools of thought between the French Revolution and the First World War.
Josiah Royce (1855–1916) has had a major influence on American intellectual life — both popular movements and cutting-edge thought — but his name often went unmentioned while his ideas marched forward. The leading American proponent of absolute idealism, Royce has come back into fashion in recent years. With several important new books appearing, the formation of a Josiah Royce Society, and the re-organization of the Royce papers at Harvard, the time is ripe for Time, Will, and Purpose. Randall Auxier delves into the primary texts written by Royce to retrieve the most poignant ideas, the ideas we need most in the present day, while he also offers a new framework for understanding the development of Royce’s philosophy. Auxier responds to everything that has been written about Royce, both early and recent.
This new approach to Josiah Royce shows one of American philosophy's brightest minds in action for today's readers. Although Royce was one of the towering figures of American pragmatism, his thought is often considered in the wake of his more famous peers. Jacquelyn Ann K. Kegley brings fresh perspective to Royce's ideas and clarifies his individual philosophical vision. Kegley foregrounds Royce's concern with contemporary public issues and ethics, focusing in particular on how he addresses long-standing problems such as race, religion, community, the dangers of mass media, mass culture, and blatant individualistic capitalism. She offers a deep and fruitful philosophical exploration of Royce's ideas on conflict resolution, memory, self-identity, and self-development. Kegley's keen understanding and appreciation of Royce reintroduces him to a new generation of scholars and students.
James believed that philosophy was meant to articulate, and help answer, a single existential question, one which lent itself to the title of one of his most famous essays: "Is life worth living?" Through examination of an array of existentially loaded topics covered in his works-truth, God, evil, suffering, death, and the meaning of life-James concluded that it is up to us to make life worth living. He said that our beliefs, the truths that guide our lives, matter-their value and veracity turn on the way they play out practically for ourselves and our communities. For James, philosophy was about making life meaningful, and for some of us, liveable. This is the core of his "pragmatic maxim," that truth should be judged on the bases of its practical consequences. Kaag shows how James put this maxim into use in his philosophy and his life and how we can do so in our own. .
Consisting of some 572 letters with annotations, with another 460 summarized by date, this tenth volume in a projected set of 12 offers all of James's known correspondence during a pivotal period in his development as a philosopher. The introduction notes that among the torrent of philosophical works that James (1842-1910) wrote during a time of poor health were The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) and articles on what he called "radical empiricism." Skrupskelis (emeritus, philosophy, U. of South Carolina) and Berkeley (editorial coordinator, The Works of William James) include a chronology of the letters, many to novelist brother, Henry James, and fellow philosophers including Dewey, Schiller, and Bergson; a biographical register; textual record of major revisions; and James family tree. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
