PHIL240L - Pragmatism

3 Credit(s)

Liberal Arts
This course will focus on the philosophy of pragmatism. Pragmatists reject the notion that theory can be separated from practice: a belief is true, the pragmatists argue, if it “works.” While not all thinkers who espouse pragmatism are American, the theory was primarily developed by a number of American philosophers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and has been described by some as a quintessentially “American” way of thinking. This course will examine the works of the “classical” American pragmatists, C. S. Peirce, William James and John Dewey, and it will also explore how the theory has been subsequently developed by contemporary thinkers such as Hilary Putnam, Richard Rorty, and Cornel West. Emphasis will be placed on the pragmatic conception of tuth, the pragmatic understanding of scientific and religious belief, and pragmatic approaches to art, education, and moral and political life.

Offered When: Every three years.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 101L