Résumé
Résumé de Le pragmatisme : un nouveau nom pour d’anciennes façons de penser
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Readers who enjoy clear, spoken arguments, curious examples and big questions about truth, belief and meaning will love this book. It also suits those drawn to the dialogue between science and faith.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
Why would a quarrel over a squirrel on a tree trunk matter to philosophy? William James tells the tale early in this book. A camping party argues about whether a man who circles a tree goes around the squirrel clinging to the far side. James settles it with one move: ask what you practically mean by going around.
Pragmatism began as eight talks given in Boston in 1906 and in New York in 1907. James, a Harvard philosopher, wanted to give ordinary listeners a way of thinking that respects hard facts and human hopes together. You get a method for ending pointless disputes, a fresh account of truth, and a view of religion that leaves room for faith without shutting out science.
Dans ce résumé
- 1Philosophy begins in temperamentFree
- 2Both camps leave the modern thinker stranded
- 3Ask what practical difference an idea makes
- 4True ideas connect old beliefs to new facts
- 5Test the big questions by what they promise
- 6The world is one and many in definite ways
- 7Common sense is an ancient and successful tool
- 8Truth is a process of being led
- 9We help shape the truths we find
- 10Religion works when salvation stays possible
Point clé 1 sur 10
Philosophy begins in temperament
James opens with a claim that every philosopher is steered by temperament before reasons. They offer impersonal reasons, yet they trust whatever picture of the universe suits their nature.
To name it, he sorts thinkers into two kinds. The rationalist loves abstract principles and tends to be idealistic, optimistic and religious. The empiricist loves raw facts and tends to be materialistic, pessimistic and skeptical. James calls the first group tender minded and the second tough minded. Each side thinks poorly of the other, and each feels superior.
Most of us are mixtures. We want facts and principles both, and we drift between them as the mood takes us. Ask what temperament lies behind any philosophy, including your own.
Know your own temperament before you trust your conclusions.
That’s 1 of 10 key points.
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About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 49,700 words
- Reading timeAbout 3 h 30 min
Questions about Le pragmatisme : un nouveau nom pour d’anciennes façons de penser
What is pragmatism by William James about?
It presents pragmatism as a method that judges ideas by their practical consequences and as a theory of truth in which ideas become true by working and being verified. James applies both to metaphysics, science and religion.
What does tough minded versus tender minded mean?
These are James's labels for two temperaments. The tough minded love facts and tend to be materialistic and skeptical, while the tender minded love principles and tend to be idealistic and religious. Pragmatism is offered as a mediator between them.
What is the squirrel and tree example?
A camping party argues whether a man circling a tree goes around a squirrel that keeps the trunk between them. James settles it by distinguishing two practical meanings of going around, showing how the method ends needless disputes.
Was Pragmatism written as a book or as talks?
It consists of eight talks given at the Lowell Institute in Boston in 1906 and at Columbia University in New York in 1907. James printed them as delivered, so the voice is lively, direct and full of examples.
What does James mean by saying truth is made?
He means that an idea becomes true through the process of being verified and fitting with other experience, rather than holding a timeless status. Truth depends on facts and on earlier truths, so it is not a matter of whim.
Cite this edition
James, William. Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/pragmatism-a-new-name-for-some-old-ways-of-thinking.
James, W. (2026). Pragmatism: A new name for some old ways of thinking. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/pragmatism-a-new-name-for-some-old-ways-of-thinking (Original work published 1907)
James, William. Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/pragmatism-a-new-name-for-some-old-ways-of-thinking.
@book{james2026pragmatism,
author = {James, William},
title = {Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/pragmatism-a-new-name-for-some-old-ways-of-thinking},
note = {First published 1907}
}
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