(Fall 2001. Tuesdays & Thursdays 4:00-5:15pm, Rm BS 2006)
Professors Paul Nagy, Herman Saatkamp, & Nathan Houser
(Course website: http://www.iupui.edu/~philosop/american_philosophy_homepage.htm)
Course Description: This course is a
study of the American philosophical tradition of pragmatism as a unique and original
contribution to Western philosophy. The focus of the course is on the thought of four
classical American philosophers: Peirce, James, Santayana, and Dewey. It will also
consider the origin of pragmatism in American intellectual history, keeping in mind social
and cultural influences, and will look ahead to the influence and relevance of pragmatism
for present-day culture.
Text: Pragmatism and Classical American Philosophy, ed. John J. Stuhr, 2nd edition (Oxford Univ. Press).
Requrements: Four take-home writing assignments Class
presentation
(20% each)
(20%).
— Writing assignments will be non-cumulative but final exam will be comprehensive. —
Syllabus
Class |
Date |
Readings |
Comments |
1 |
23
Aug |
|
Course intro. Nagy (with Saatkamp & Houser) |
2 |
28
Aug |
Emerson introduction (13–16) “The American Scholar” (17–26) |
Nagy |
3 |
30
Aug |
“Self-Reliance” (27–40) |
Nagy |
4 |
4
Sep |
James introduction (140–50) |
Nagy |
5 |
6
Sep |
“The Stream of Thought” (161–81) |
Nagy |
6 |
11
Sep |
“World of Pure Experience”
(181–93) |
Nagy |
7 |
13
Sep |
“What
Pragmatism Means” (193–202) |
Nagy (hand
out 1st Assignment) |
8 |
18
Sep |
“The Will to Believe” (230–41) |
Nagy |
9 |
20
Sep |
Peirce introduction
(43–54) |
Houser
(1st Assignment Due) |
10 |
25
Sep |
“Some Consequences” (54–67) |
Houser |
11 |
27
Sep |
“Fixation of Belief” (67–76) |
Houser |
12 |
2
Oct |
“Make Ideas Clear” (77–88) |
Houser |
13 |
4
Oct |
“What Pragmatism Is” (105–15) |
Houser |
14 |
9
Oct |
“Fixation of Belief” (67–76) |
Houser
(hand out 2nd Assignment) |
|
11
Oct |
(work
on 2nd Assignment and next reading) |
No Class Meeting |
15 |
16
Oct |
“Neglected Argument” (126–37) |
Houser |
16 |
18
Oct |
Santayana Introduction (340–48) |
Saatkamp (2nd Assignment Due) |
17 |
23
Oct |
The Genteel Tradition (348-359) |
Saatkamp |
18 |
25
Oct |
Scepticism
(368-370) |
Saatkamp |
19 |
30
Oct |
Teleology
and Psyche (388-397) |
Saatkamp (hand out 3rd Assignment) |
20 |
1
Nov |
Liberation (415-429) |
Saatkamp |
21 |
6
Nov |
Dewey introduction (431–43)
|
Nagy
(3rd Assignment Due) |
22 |
8
Nov |
“Need for Recovery of Philosophy
(445–55) “Experience & Philosophic Method (460–71) |
Nagy |
23 |
13
Nov |
“Existence as Precarious & Stable
(471–76) “Nature, Communication & Meaning (476–82) |
Nagy
(Presentation Topic Due) |
24 |
15
Nov |
“Education as Growth” (491–97) |
Nagy |
25 |
20
Nov |
“Search for the Great Community” (504–17) |
Nagy (hand
out 4th Assignment) |
|
22
Nov |
|
Thanksgiving Recess |
26 |
27
Nov |
“Live
Creature & Aesthetic Experience”
(518–30) |
Nagy |
25 |
29
Nov |
“Faith and Its Object” (530–38) |
Nagy |
26 |
4
Dec |
Student
presentations |
(4th
Assignment Due) |
30 |
6
Dec |
Student
presentations |
Final
class |
The following websites may be helpful:
Dewey Center, http://www.siu.edu/~deweyctr/
Santayana Edition, http://www.iupui.edu/~santedit/
Frederick Douglass Papers, http://www.iupui.edu/~douglass/
Peirce Edition, http://www.iupui.edu/~peirce/
Peirce Telecommunity, http://www.door.net/ARISBE/arisbe.htm
Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, http://www.american-philosophy.org/
Especially see the "Internet Resources" section on the Philosophy
Department’s website: http://www.iupui.edu/~philosop/whatelse.htm