The Story of Pragmatism

This paper examines the first of William James’ Lowell lectures, the lectures that became his famous book Pragmatism; A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking, and particularly the way in which that lecture connects the idea of philosophy as a way of life with the important role of temperament in forming philosophical systems. The way in which Dewey left Idealism to become James’ successor as the leader of the pragmatist movement is then recounted, and the way in which Dewey was already a philosopher of education in his idealist period is emphasized. The essay closes by explaining how neither James nor Dewey were “Rortian relativists”, and by emphasizing James’ realism.