Synopses & Reviews
Nancy A. Stanlick and
Bruce S. Silver have put together an anthology that captures the principal figures in American philosophy from the Colonial era into the twenty-first century. The editors are committed to the principle that philosophy in America was vital before there was a United States, and that it remains vigorous into the present. This collection can be appropriately augmented by
Philosophy in America: Critical and Interpretive Essays, Volume II, a collection of interpretive and critical chapters on individual philosophers, themes, and leading ideas in the development of American philosophy and speculative thought.
Features of Philosophy in America: Primary Readings - The book is arranged both historically and thematically.
- Part I covers major works in American epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of religion.
- Part II covers works in American ethics, social and political philosophy.
- Each part arranges the writings chronologically.
- Each chapter begins with a brief introductory essay.
- Review questions anal a list of suggested readings close each chapter.
Synopsis
This anthology presents selections from American philosophy, 1720 to the present, and a critical narrative of important philosophers working during the same time period. The selected works represent some of the defining and persistent trends in the development of American thought—historically significant and important as they point to the development of ideals and expectations that characterize the American experience. In-depth coverage includes primary selections from Jonathan Edwards (1703-58), to very recent philosophers such as Robert Nozick, John Rawls, Virginia Held, and Richard Rorty. It also looks at important elements of the development in American women's rights, civil rights, and mainstream philosophy. MARKET For individuals interested in American philosophy and literature.
Table of Contents
Volume I (NOTE:
Each chapter contains an Introduction, Study Questions, and Suggestions for Further Reading.)
I. AMERICAN METAPHYSICS AND EPISTEMOLOGY. 1. Jonathan Edwards: The Great Awakening and Beyond.
2. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine: The Enlightenment in America.
3. The New England Transcendentalists: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.
4. Chauncey Wright: Positivist and Precursor to Pragmatism.
5. Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey: Pragmatism, A Philosophy Made in America.
6. Josiah Royce: Idealism, Absolute Pragmatism, and the Search for Unity.
7. George Santayana: Naturalism and Realism.
8. C.I. Lewis, W.V.O. Quine, and Richard Rorty: American Analytic Philosophy and Pragmatism Prolonged.
II. AMERICAN ETHICS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY. 9. The New American Republic: Revolutionary Ideas and Canonical Documents.
10. The Continuing Revolution: American Women's Rights and Civil Rights.
11. American Ethics and Politics: The Individual and the Community.
Volume II
1. Jonathan Edwards: Philosophy Takes Hold.
2. Benjamin Franklin: Self-Made Man and Man-Made Self.
3. Philosophies of Revolution and Resolution.
4. New England Transcendentalism: Emerson, Thoreau, and the Case for Completing the American Revolution.
5. Chauncey Wright, A Positivist Precursor to American Pragmatism.
6. Charles Sanders Peirce, William James and John Dewey: Founders of Pragmatism, A Philosophy Made in America.
7. Josiah Royce, Idealist and Absolute Pragmatist: Unity, the Absolute and Loyalty.
8. George Santayana, Philosophical Naturalist Par Excellence and More.
9. Philosophical Analysts and the Persistence of Pragmatism.
10. The Continuing Revolution: American Women's Rights and Civil Rights.
11. American Ethics and Politics: The Individual and the Community.