1st Edition

Pragmatism and Objectivity Essays Sparked by the Work of Nicholas Rescher

Edited By Sami Pihlström Copyright 2017
    292 Pages
    by Routledge

    292 Pages
    by Routledge

    Pragmatism and Objectivity illuminates the nature of contemporary pragmatism against the background of Rescher’s work, resulting in a stronger grasp of the prospects and promises of this philosophical movement. The central insight of pragmatism is that we must start from where we find ourselves and deflate metaphysical theories of truth in favor of an account that reflects our actual practices of the concept. Pragmatism links truth and rationality to experience, success, and action. While crude versions of pragmatism state that truth is whatever works for a person or a community, Nicholas Rescher has been at the forefront of arguing for a more sophisticated pragmatist position. According to his position, we can illuminate a robust concept of truth by considering its links with inquiry, assertion, belief, and action. His brand of pragmatism is objective and organized around truth and inquiry, rather than other forms of pragmatism that are more subjective and lenient. The contingency and fallibility of knowledge and belief formation does not mean that our beliefs are simply what our community decides, or that truth and objectivity are spurious notions. Rescher offers the best chance of understanding how it is that beliefs can be the products of human inquiry yet aim at the truth nonetheless. The essays in this volume, written by established and up-and-coming scholars of pragmatism, touch on themes related to epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and ethics.

    Foreword

    Cheryl Misak

    Introduction

    Sami Pihlström

    Part I: Truth and Reality

    Chapter 1. Pragmatic Realism, Idealism, and Pluralism: A Rescherian Balance?

    Sami Pihlström

    Chapter 2: Pragmatism and Metaphilosophy

    Scott F. Aikin and Robert B. Talisse

    Chapter 3. Prospects for an Objective Pragmatism: Frank Ramsey on Truth, Meaning, and Justification

    Griffin Klemick

    Chapter 4: Pragmatism and Science

    Robert Almeder

    Chapter 5. Is Kant a Confused Pragmatist?

    Tom Rockmore

    Chapter 6. Toward a More Peircean Version of Pragmatic Realism

    Vincent Colapietro

    Part II: Reasoning

    Chapter 7. Ramsey’s Theory of Belief and the Problem of Attitude Divergence

    Jessica Wright

    Chapter 8. Concrete Reasonableness and Pragmatist Ideals: Peirce and Rescher on Normative Theory

    Rosa Mayorga

    Chapter 9. Obliquely about Realism: The State of Play of a Minor Affair

    Joseph Margolis

    Part III: Value

    Chapter 10. Rescherean Pragmatism

    Joseph C. Pitt

    Chapter 11. Pragmatism and the Inseparability of Objectivity and Solidarity: Rescher on Rhetorical Rationality, Method and Cooperative Interaction

    Helmut Pape

    Chapter 12. Psychology of Desire and the Pragmatics of Betterment

    Timo Airaksinen

    Chapter 13. From Method to Medicine: A Pragmatist Approach to Bioethics

    Diana B. Heney

    Chapter 14. Moral Responsibility and the Cognitive Status of Ethical Ideals

    John R. Shook

    Biography

    Sami Pihlström is Director of the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies and Professor of Philosophy of Religion at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

    "Rescher's masterly corpus is legendary in its scope and volume. This collection focuses on issues prompted by his avowed pragmatism. Philosophers who have long studied and commented on Rescher's work have been asked to share this focus, which results in a welcome avenue to understanding pragmatism, as well as Rescher's system and its unifying themes."Ernest Sosa, Rutgers University, USA