Wittgenstein and William James

Bibliographic Data

ID23762934
AuthorsRussell B Goodman (corresponding author)
Year2002
Publication date2002-05-16
Open AccessYes
TypeBOOK
VenueWittgenstein and William James (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/cbo9780511498138
OpenAlexW1512500121
Open LibraryOL34440535M
ISBN9780511498138
LanguageEN
Citations received24

This 2002 book explores Wittgenstein's long engagement with the work of the pragmatist William James. In contrast to previous discussions Russell Goodman argues that James exerted a distinctive and pervasive positive influence on Wittgenstein's thought. For example, the book shows that the two philosophers share commitments to anti-foundationalism, to the description of the concrete details of human experience, to the priority of practice over intellect, and to the importance of religion in understanding human life. Considering in detail what Wittgenstein learnt from his reading of Principles of Psychology and Varieties of Religious Experience the author provides considerable evidence for Wittgenstein's claim that he is saying 'something that sounds like pragmatism'. This provocative account of the convergence in the thinking of two major philosophers usually considered as members of discrete traditions will be eagerly sought by students of Wittgenstein, William James, pragmatism and the history of twentieth-century philosophy.

Convergence (economics) · Epistemology · Foundationalism · Intellect · Linguistics · Pragmatism · Reading (process) · Philosophy · Wittgensteinian philosophy and applications · Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951)

Tools

Open DOI