Philosophy Americana

Anderson

Description

In this engaging book, Douglas Anderson begins with the assumption that philosophy-the Greek love of wisdom-is alive and well in American culture. At the same time, professional philosophy remains relatively invisible. Anderson traverses American life to find places in the wider culture where professional philosophy in the distinctively American tradition can strike up a conversation. How might American philosophers talk to us about our religious experience, or political engagement, or literature-or even, popular music? Anderson's second aim is to find places where philosophy happens in nonprofessional guises-cultural places such as country music, rock'n roll, and Beat literature. He not only enlarges the tradition of American philosophers such as John Dewey and William James by examining lesser-known figures such as Henry Bugbee and Thomas Davidson, but finds the theme and ideas of American philosophy in some unexpected places, such as the music of Hank Williams, Tammy Wynette, and Bruce Springsteen, and the writingsof Jack Kerouac.The idea of "philosophy Americana" trades on the emergent genre of "music Americana," rooted in traditional themes and styles yet engaging our present experiences. The music is "popular" but not thoroughly driven by economic considerations, and Anderson seeks out an analogous role for philosophical practice, where philosophy and popular culture are co-adventurers in the life of ideas. Philosophy Americana takes seriously Emerson's quest for the extraordinary in the ordinary and James's belief that popular philosophy can still be philosophy.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Philosophy

Informations

• Publié par: Fordham University Press
• Date de parution: 29 janvier 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780823285129
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

                  

                  

Making Philosophy at Home in American Culture



       .       

                     

      

   

CopyrightFordham University Press

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

American Philosophy Series, No. ISSN

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data Anderson, Douglas R. Philosophy Americana : making philosophy at home in American culture / Douglas R. Anderson. —st ed. p. cm. — (American philosophy series ; no.) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBNX (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN(pbk. : alk. paper) . Philosophy, American—th century.. Unites States— Civilization—I. Title. th century. II. Series B.A  —dc

Printed in the United States of America        First edition

Acknowledgments Preface ix

vii

Contents 

Introduction: Inheritance, Teaching, and the Insane Angels of American Culture: Our Cultural Invisibility Some Preliminary Remarks on the Origins of Pragmatism Royce, Philosophy, and Wandering: A Job Description Wilderness as Philosophical Home Working Certainty and Deweyan Wisdom Wildness as Political Act ‘‘After All, He’s Just a Man’’: The Wild Side of Life in Country Music William James and the Wild Beasts of the Philosophical Desert John Dewey’s Sensible Mysticism ‘‘Born to Run’’: Male Mysticism on the Road Philosophy as Teaching: James’s ‘‘Knight Errant,’’ Thomas Davidson Learning and Teaching: Gambling, Love, and Growth (with Michael Ventimiglia) Emerson’s Platonizing of American Thought

{v}



         

 

        

  

     

 



v i

       

American Loss in Cavell’s Emerson Emerson and Kerouac: Grievous Angels of Hope and Loss Pragmatic Intellectuals: Facing Loss in the Spirit of American Philosophy

Notes Bibliography Index



  

  

  

Acknowledgments 

would like to thank the following journals for permission to re I print here, in whole or in part, articles that were previously pub lished. ‘‘Philosophy as Teaching: James’s ‘Knight Errant’ ’’ appeared inThe Journal of Speculative Philosophyin fall. ‘‘Unrespectability and the Wild Beasts of the Philosophical Desert’’ appeared in the same journal in winter. ‘‘Creative Teachers: Risk, Responsibility, and Love’’ was published inJournal of Educationin. An essay on Thoreau, entitled ‘‘Wildness as Political Act,’’ appeared inPersonalist Forumin spring. Finally, ‘‘American Loss in Cavell’s Emerson’’ was published by theTransactions of the Charles S. Peirce Societyin winter. I would like also to thank David O’Hara for the cover photography and Gary Green for the generous use of his College Heights Exxon station.

{v i i}

Preface 

lthough the classical American philosophers published books, A the great majority of these were collections of essays. Indeed, with the exception of Royce, who worked in a variety of ways, the American philosophical tradition is a tradition of essays, talks, and lectures collected into single volumes.Philosophy Americanais writ ten with this tradition in mind. Nevertheless, a book of essays has its own kind of economy. Though I hope that each essay can stand alone, I also hope that they work together to provide a landscape or at least a horizon of my own philosophical outlook. The one generic theme I might venture as unifying the essays is the relationship be tween American philosophy and other features of American culture. I am interested in how philosophers work in this culture. I employ the term ‘‘Americana’’ to draw a rough analogy to the musical genre of the same name. Americana music is twice ‘‘American.’’ It is rooted in the traditional musical practices of the immigrants to the United States: blues, gospel, Celtic, folk, country, TexMex, swing, bluegrass, oldtime, rock and roll, reggae, and, I would add, more recently, rap and hiphop. No doubt there are some category mistakes in this list, but part of the import of ‘‘Americana music’’ is precisely its indeter minateness, and thus its openness to new and innovative musical styles. At the same time, Americana music, especially in its lyrical content, tells us much about our American culture—about ourselves. InPhilosophy AmericanaI aim at doing something similar, drawing on the philosophical practices of American thinkers and addressing issues that arise in popular culture.

{i x}