Pragmatism

March 20, 2023
Shook (Dewey’s Social Philosophy), a professor of philosopy at Bowie State University, scrutinizes pragmatism in this accessible intellectual history. Though pragmatism’s “ideas travel everywhere,” Shook points out that the philosophical movement has American origins and is most frequently associated with Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey, a loose triumvirate of 19th- and 20th-century polymaths who sought to explain “how thinking and knowing undergo modifications and develop over time.” Dismissing ideas of “pure ideality untainted by materiality,” pragmatists define knowledge, truth, and morality as the product of the interaction of biology and culture. This view has become so widespread in the modern world to almost be taken for granted, according to Shook, who notes that pragmatism has applications in countless fields other than philosophy: the first electronic logic computer was constructed by a student of pragmatism in 1886, and pragmatic theories of mind have been applied to such fields as psychology and social evolutionary biology. Shook also examines what pragmatism has to say about key philosophical preoccupations, including morality (“There is nothing about humanity... that is irredeemably irrational or immune from improvement”) and the nature of reality (“fluctuating, pluralistic, holistic, interdependent, and dynamic”). The book’s solid structure, helpful glossary, and discerning list of further readings make it a worthwhile resource for newcomers. Philosophy students will want to check this out. (May)Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly identified the author as a professor of history.