Home

Description
Texts
Requirements
Outcomes
Attendance
Schedule
Contact
Syllabus

American Pragmatism

Spring 2001

Marist College

Dr. Greg Moses


Please consider the following links:

Course Description:

In this course we will survey classic texts in the development of American Pragmatism, first looking at James and Dewey's studies of religion and art; next exploring the ways in which Locke and Seigfried extend pragmatist philosophy into questions of race and gender; and finally inquiring into the ways that Peirce and Dewey philosophize about the general problem of being critically alive in the world.


Required Texts (in order of use):

  • James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience. New York: Penguin, 1982.
  • Dewey, John. Art as Experience. New York: Perigree, 1980.
  • Harris, Leonard (Ed.). The Philosophy of Alain Locke. Philadelphia: Temple, 1989.
  • Seigfried, Charlene. Pragmatism and Feminism. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1996.
  • Buchler, Justus (Ed.). Philosophical Writings of Peirce. New York: Dover, 1955.
  • Dewey, John. Experience and Nature. New York: Dover, 1958.

Assignments and Grades: The final grade will be based on the following components:

  • 25% Class Participation and Preparation
  • 25% Paper on James & Dewey on Religion and Art.
  • 25% Paper on Locke & Seigfried on Race and Gender.
  • 25 % Paper on Peirce & Dewey on Logic and Reality.

Outcomes:

By the end of the course, students should be familiar with some of the major contributions offered by American Pragmatism in questions about religion, art, race, gender, logic, science, and reality--and should be able to apply pragmatist philosophy to relevant questions from their own experience. Frequent assignments and papers will assess student competency in these areas.


Attendance Policy:

Regular attendance is expected. Documentation of an excused absence will be accepted within two weeks of the absence. More than two unexcused absences will result in the deduction of a letter from the final grade. More than three unexcused absences will result in the deduction of two letters. More than four unexcused absences and the instructor reserves the right to issue a failing grade for the course.


Schedule of inquiry:

Jan. 19-Introduction to course. Pragmatism: America's contribution to the world of philosophy. Preparing for a discussion-centered classroom. Student expectations.

Part One: James and Dewey discuss Religion and Art

In this section of the course we will review classic pragmatist treatments of religion and art by William James and John Dewey. At the end of the section, students will be asked to write a nine page paper that presents James' philosophy of religion (3 pages), Dewey's philosophy of Art (3pages), and the student's own response to these theories (3 pages). Assessment will be based on completeness of assignment, attention to scholarly habits of citation, composition, soundness of arguments, difficulty, and creativity of your chosen position.

Jan. 23-James on Religion, Part I

Read: The Varieties, Chs. 1-3.

Preparation: Two paragraphs, typed: (1) summarizing your selected chapter and (2) selecting a particular passage for critical response.

Workshops: Please allow each participant two to three minutes for initial presentation.

Forum: How James approaches religion through religious experience.

Jan. 26-James on Religion, Part II

Read: The Varieties, Chs. 4-6.

Preparation: Two paragraphs, typed: (1) summarizing your selected chapter and (2) selecting a particular passage for critical response.

Workshops: Sharing summaries and commentaries.

Forum: On the classification of religious experience.

Jan. 30-James on Religion, Part III

Read: The Varieties, Chs. 7-10.

Preparation: As before, two paragraphs, summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preparations.

Forum: On conversion and saintliness.

Feb. 2-James on Religion, Part IV

Read: The Varieties, Chs. 11-14.

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preparations.

Forum: On mysticism, philosophy, and the "live" questions of theology.

Early preparation for the paper

Feb. 6-Dewey on Art, Part I

Read: Art as Experience, Chs. 1-4.

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preparations.

Forum: On creature, experience, and expression.

Feb. 9-Dewey on Art, Part II

Read: Art as Experience, Chs. 5-8.

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preparations.

Forum: On object, substance, form, and energy.

Feb. 13-Dewey on Art, Part III

Read: Art as Experience, Chs. 9-11.

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Share preparations.

Forum: On the substances (common and varied) and the human contribution.

Feb. 16-Dewey on Art, Part IV

Read: Art as Experience, Chs. 12-14.

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Share preparations.

Forum: On philosophy, criticism, perception, and civilization.

Preparation for the paper

Feb. 20-Outlining the paper: preliminary workshop.

Prepare: A scholarly outline with your selected key quotes and page numbers, plus a conceptual outline of your anticipated commentary (i.e., what will you argue?).

Workshops: Sharing ideas.

Questions?

Feb. 23-Paper due: First paper workshop

Prepare: Complete paper. Note: failure to appear at this workshop will result in a grade reduction.

Workshops: Summarize your treatment, with special emphasis on the argument of your commentary.

Forum: Selected presentations, with emphasis on commentary.

Part Two: Locke and Seigfried on Race and Gender

In this section of the course we will review the critical pragmatisms of Alain Locke and Charlene Haddock Seigfried, who work to apply and revise pragmatism in order to address issues that arise in consideration of race and gender. At the end of the section, students will be asked to write a nine-page paper that presents philosophical positions of Locke (3 pages) and Seigfried (3 pages), with the student's own critical response (3 pages). Assessment will be based on completeness of assignment, attention to scholarly habits of citation, composition, soundness of arguments, difficulty, and creativity of your chosen position.

Feb. 27-Locke's Critical Pragmatism, Part I

Read: Phil. of Alain Locke, I: 1, "Values and Imperatives."

Prepare: Summary and response.

Workshops: Sharing responses.

Forum: On Locke's classification of value.

Mar. 2-Locke's Critical Pragmatism, Part II

Read: Phil. of Alain Locke, I: 2-4

Preparation: Paper due (see above.)

Workshops: Share results.

Forum: On pluralism, relativism, and the functional view of values.

Mar. 6-Locke's Critical Pragmatism, Part III

Read: Phil. of Alain Locke, I: 5 - II: 13.

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preps.

Forum: On peace, diversity, philosophy, etc.

Mar. 9-Locke's Critical Pragmatism, Part IV

Read: Phil. of Alain Locke, II: 14 - III: 22.

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preps..

Forum: On culture, race, and education.

Preliminary preparation for paper

Mar. 20-Seigfried's Feminist Turn, Part I

Read: Pragmatism and Feminism, Chs. 1-3.

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preps..

Forum: A feminist archaeology of pragmatism.

Mar. 23-Seigfried's Feminist Turn, Part II

Read: Pragmatism and Feminism, Chs. 4-5.

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preps..

Forum: Reform and education in Chicago.

Mar. 27-Seigfried's Feminist Turn, Part III

Read: Pragmatism and Feminism, Chs. 6-8.

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preps..

Forum: On the gender of reason.

Mar. 30-Seigfried's Feminist Turn, Part IV

Read: Pragmatism and Feminism, Chs. 9-11.

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preps..

Forum: On pluralism, ethics, and cooperative intelligence.

Preparing for the paper

Apr. 3- Outlining the paper: preliminary workshop.

Prepare: A scholarly outline with your selected key quotes and page numbers, plus a conceptual outline of your anticipated commentary (i.e., what will you argue?).

Workshops: Sharing ideas.

Questions?

Apr. 6- Paper due: Second paper workshop

Prepare: Complete paper. Note: failure to appear at this workshop will result in a grade reduction.

Workshops: Summarize your treatment, with special emphasis on the argument of your commentary.

Forum: Selected presentations, with emphasis on commentary.

Part Three: Dewey and Peirce on Logic and Reality

In this section of the course we will survey the writings of Charles S. Peirce on topics of logic, science, and knowledge, followed by John Dewey's metaphysical classic, Experience and Nature. At the end of the section, students will be asked to write a nine-page paper that presents the philosophy of Dewey (3 pages) and Peirce (3 pages) and the student's critical evaluation (3 pages). Assessment will be based on completeness of assignment, attention to scholarly habits of citation, composition, soundness of arguments, difficulty, and creativity of your chosen position.

Apr. 10-Peirce's Pragmatism, Part I

Read: Philosophical Writings, Chs. 2-3

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preps.

Forum: Pragmatism invented.

Apr. 17--Peirce's Pragmatism, Part II

Read: Philosophical Writings, Chs. 4-15

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preps.

Forum: On the pragmatist logic of science.

Apr. 20- Peirce's Pragmatism, Part III

Read: Philosophical Writings, Chs. 16-28

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preps.

Forum: On the pragmatist worldview.

Preliminary preparation for papers

Apr. 23-Dewey's Metaphysics, Part I

Read: Experience and Nature, Chs. 1&2

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preps.

Forum: On experience and existence (the precarious and stable).

Apr. 27-Dewey's Metaphysics, Part II

Read: Experience and Nature, Chs. 3-7

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preps.

Forum: On pragmatic naturalism.

May 1- Dewey's Metaphysics, Part III

Read: Experience and Nature, Chs. 8-10

Preparation: Summary and commentary.

Workshops: Sharing preps.

Forum: Existence and experience revisited.

Final Workshop-Sharing results and sample papers.

Contact:

Office: Fontaine 322

Phone: 575-3000 x2217

Email: Greg.Moses@Marist.edu

Web: gregmoses.net

Home

Top