In contemporary philosophical debates in the United States "redefining pragmatism" has become the conventional way to flag significant philosophical contests and to launch large conceptual and programmatic changes. This book analyzes the contributions of such developments in light of the classic formulations of Charles S. Peirce and John Dewey and the interaction between pragmatism and analytic philosophy. American pragmatism was revived quite unexpectedly in the 1970s by Richard Rorty's philosophical heterodoxy and his running dispute with Hilary Putnam, who, like Rorty, is a professed Deweyan.

Reinventing Pragmatism examines the force of the new pragmatisms, from the emergence of Rorty's and Putnam's basic disagreements of the 1970s until the turn of the century. Joseph Margolis considers the revival of a movement generally thought to have ended by the 1950s as both a surprise and a turn of great importance. The quarrel between Rorty and Putnam obliged American philosophers, and eventually Eurocentric philosophy as a whole, to reconsider the direction of American and European philosophy, for instance in terms of competing accounts of realism and naturalism.

About the Author

Joseph Margolis is Laura H. Carnell Professor of Philosophy at Temple University. He has published more than thirty books and is the author, most recently, of Moral Philosophy after 9/11, Selves and Other Texts: The Case for Cultural Realism and What, After All, Is a Work of Art? Lectures in the Philosophy of Art.

Reviews
"In this often brilliant treatment of the first- and second-wave pragmatists, Joseph Margolis displays a knack for weaving together a complex history and an important contemporary philosophical debate. Margolis's analyses are bold, original, and intellectually exciting. He has succeeded in spinning out a narrative that is both insightful and entertaining." -- Armen T. Marsoobian, Professor of Philosophy, Southern Connecticut State University, and Editor in Chief, Metaphilosophy
"Margolis's account of pragmatism's relation to modern philosophy is useful and illuminating." -- John McGowan, University of North Carolina, Perspectives on Politics 2:1, March 2004
"Reinventing Pragmatism is a memorable, intelligent, and stylish book. Joseph Margolis puts his finger on the central nerve in the conflict between Richard Rorty and Hilary Putnam." -- Russell Goodman, University of New Mexico
"With this book, Joseph Margolis steps into the fray over what the revival of pragmatism should entail, and how it may best confront current realist trends.... There is much in Margolis's work that resonates well with current sociological approaches to knowledge and belief... and it would be interesting to see just how Margolis's relativism might be of use in providing philosophical cover for the sociology of knowledge." -- Rod Nelson, McGill University, Contemporary Sociology 33:2



Book Information
ISBN 9780801439957
Author Joseph Margolis
Format Hardback
Page Count 200
Imprint Cornell University Press
Publisher Cornell University Press
Weight(grams) 454g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 21mm