The Things in Heaven and Earth: An Essay in Pragmatic Naturalism
The Things in Heaven and Earth: An Essay in Pragmatic Naturalism
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Abstract
The book makes a case for the conceptual plausibility and applied usefulness of pragmatic naturalism. Specifically, it draws on the too often neglected traditions of American naturalism and pragmatism associated primarily with Columbia University in the early and mid 20th century. The primary philosophical resources are Justus Buchler's ordinal ontology and John Dewey's instrumentalism. Pragmatic Naturalism rests on a relational ontology, i.e. the idea that whatever there is, is relational, all the way down. The first two parts of the book present the relational ontology, its connection with pragmatism, and make a case for the acceptability of the general concept. A relational ontology is a minority view in the history of philosophy, so the book addresses and responds to the more traditional views in their roots in the modern period and in Bertrand Russell and subsequent developments. The first two parts also explore the ontology, and related epistemology, through discussions of modernism and post-modernism, philosophical theology, and aesthetics. The pragmatic arguments advanced do not seek to establish deductive certainty, but aim instead to indicate the reasonableness and plausibility of the pragmatic naturalist ideas. In the end their acceptability will depend on the value of the conceptual work they do. The third part of the book extends the general idea into the more applied areas of political and social philosophy, specifically democratic theory, international relations, education, cosmopolitanism, and humanism.
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Front Matter
- Introduction
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Part One Contemporary Pragmatic Naturalism
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Part Two Being and Knowing
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Part Three Social Experience
- Conclusion Pragmatic Naturalism and the Big Narrative
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End Matter
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