Pragmatism, Then and Now
Pragmatism Today, Vol. 1, No. 2, Winter 2010
University of Miami Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2011-14
21 Pages Posted: 13 Aug 2012 Last revised: 7 Sep 2012
Date Written: December 1, 2010
Abstract
Chinese philosopher Sun Yong interviews Susan Haack on the history of pragmatism, its present standing, and its future. The interview begins with Haack’s account of the origins and evolution of pragmatism; then moves to Peirce’s, James’s, and Dewey’s understandings of truth; to Dewey’s ideas about epistemology and ontology; to Quine’s place in the pragmatist tradition (and specifically his work on logic and his ideas about truth, ontological commitment, and analyticity); Rorty’s Vulgar Pragmatism; and finally to the prospects for pragmatism in the future.
Keywords: pragmatism, pragmatic maxim, meaning, truth, epistemology (theory of inquiry), ontology, Peirce, James, Dewey, Quine, Rorty
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