Classical American Philosophy

Charles S. Peirce, William James, Josiah Royce, George Santayana, John Dewey, and George Herbert Mead: each of these individuals is an original and historically important thinker; each is an essential contributor to the period, perspective and tradition of classical American philosophy; and each speaks imaginatively and wisely about our global society, its problems, and possibilities for improvement. From the initiative of pragmatism in approximately 1870 to Dewey's final work after World War II, classical American philosophy has come to represent the critical articulation of attitudes, outlooks, and forms of life embedded in the culture from which it arose. John Stuhr has collected the works of these foremost thinkers to present a comprehensive collection in American philosophy, and provides introductory, interpretive and critical thoughts about the vision, strengths, difficulties and contemporary significance of these formative philosophers.