PHL 210 — PHL-210. American Philosophy. 3 Credits
LECT 45 hrs This course surveys important ideas, perspectives, and theories in the writings of prominent 19th and 20th century American philosophers, focusing on the classical pragmatism of Peirce, James, Dewey, and Mead. We will examine the larger intellectual and cultural context of American thought, referencing pivotal historical, legal, and intellectual events and traditions, especially the Civil War, Transcendentalism, and Darwinian evolutionary biology. This course aims to provide an understanding of the classical American pragmatist tradition and the relation of American philosophy to the history of philosophy and to American culture. Of central importance is the pragmatist connection between theory and action, that is, the effort not merely to make thought practical, but to make our practices, and our lives, intelligent.