Pragmatism and the Problem of Race

Description

Contemporary pragmatist views on the problems of race and racism in America.

How should pragmatists respond to and contribute to the resolution of one of America's greatest and most enduring problems? Given that the most important thinkers of the pragmatist movement—Charles S. Peirce, William James, John Dewey, and George Herbert Mead—said little about the problem of race, how does their distinctly American way of thinking confront the hardship and brutality that characterizes the experience of many African Americans in this country? In 12 thoughtful and provocative essays, contemporary American pragmatists connect ideas with action and theory with practice to come to terms with this seemingly intractable problem. Exploring themes such as racism and social change, the value of the concept of race, the role of education in ameliorating racism, and the place of democracy in dealing with the tragedy of race, the voices gathered in this volume consider how pragmatism can focus new attention on the problem of race.

Contributors are Michael Eldridge, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Judith M. Green, D. Micah Hester, Donald F. Koch, Bill E. Lawson, David E. McClean, Gregory F. Pappas, Scott L. Pratt, Alfred E. Prettyman, John R. Shook, Paul C. Taylor, and Cornel West.

Preliminary Table of Contents:
Preface
Introduction Donald F. Koch and Bill E. Lawson
Part I. Pragmatism as a General Approach to the Problem of Race
1. Dewey on Race and Social Change Michael Eldridge
2. Distance, Abstraction, and the Role of the Philosopher in the Pragmatic Approach to Racism Gregory Fernando Pappas
3. "Discovering a Problem": A Pragmatic Instrumentalist Approach to Educational Segregation Donald F. Koch
4. Dewey's Vision of Equal Opportunity for Education in a Democracy John R. Shook
5. Situating the Self: Grounding an Ethics of Culture and Race D. Micah Hester
6. Tragedy and Moral Experience: John Dewey and Toni Morrison's Beloved Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.
Part II. Pragmatism and Means
7. Booker T. Washington: A Pragmatist at Work Bill E. Lawson
8. Pragmatism and Race Paul C. Taylor
9. Should We Conserve the Notion of Race? David E. McClean
10. Civil Smother: Folkways of Renewed Racism in the United States Alfred E. Prettyman
11. Race, Education, and Democracy Scott L. Pratt
12. Building a Cosmopolitan World Community through Mutual Hospitality Judith M. Green
Afterword Cornel West
Contributors
Index

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie de la psychologie
• PHILOSOPHY
• Philosophie et théologie
• Social
• Discrimination

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 21 avril 2004
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253027696
• Langue: English

Extrait

Pragmatism and the Problem of Race
EDITED BY BILL E. LAWSON AND DONALD F. KOCH
Pragmatism and theProblem of Race
INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS Bloomington and Indianapolis
Publication of this book is made possible in part with the assistance of a Challenge Grant from the NationalEndowment for the Humanities, a federal agency that supports research, education, and public programmingin the humanities.
None of the individual essays in this book may be reproduced without permission from the author.
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© 2004 by Indiana University Press
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No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, includingphotocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission inwriting from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutesthe only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for InformationSciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pragmatism and the problem of race / edited by Bill E. Lawson and Donald F. Koch.         p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-253-34361-5 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-253-21647-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)   1. Pragmatism. 2. Racism—United States. 3. United States—Race relations. I. Lawson, Bill E., date II. Koch, Donald F., date.
    B832.P7565 2004     305.8′00973—dc22
2003015566
1 2 3 4 5 09 08 07 06 05 04
To Renée and William
To Barb, Leah, and Will
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Bill E. Lawson and Donald F. Koch
PART ONE: PRAGMATISM AS A GENERAL APPROACH TO THEPROBLEM OF RACE
1. Dewey on Race and Social Change
Michael Eldridge
2. Distance, Abstraction, and the Role of the Philosopher in thePragmatic Approach to Racism
Gregory Fernando Pappas
3. “Discovering a Problem”: A Pragmatic Instrumentalist Approachto Educational Segregation
Donald F. Koch
4. Dewey’s Vision of Equal Opportunity for Education in aDemocracy
John R. Shook
5. Situating the Self: Concerning an Ethics of Culture and Race
D. Micah Hester
6. Tragedy and Moral Experience: John Dewey and Toni Morrison’s Beloved
Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.
PART TWO: PRAGMATISM AND MEANS
7. Booker T. Washington: A Pragmatist at Work
Bill E. Lawson
8. Should We Conserve the Notion of Race?
David E. McClean
9. Pragmatism and Race
Paul C. Taylor
10. Civil Smother: Folkways of Renewed Racism in the UnitedStates
Alfred E. Prettyman
11. Race, Education, and Democracy
Scott L. Pratt
12. Building a Cosmopolitan World Community through MutualHospitality
Judith M. Green
Afterword
Cornel West
Contributors
Index
  Preface
The idea for this volume originated in serious, mutually enriching conversation.We would walk and talk about jazz, philosophy, our families, ethical theory, andrace. During these open and frank discussions we gradually developed the hypothesisthat pragmatists should discuss racial questions. We continued discussionduring the editing process. Each submitted paper forced us to grapple withconcerns raised about the enduring problem of race raised by the contributor.We had to communicate.
Communication as we conceive of it is not an adversarial event wherein participantsdefend “positions” on contested “issues” such as affirmative action.It requires constructive engagement which addresses genuine difficulties andsearches for the solution to them. The two of us, black and white persons, havetime and time again been called upon to work together morally: to develop aworking relationship and take on the task of shaping the contents of this volume.Our experience together has been and will continue to be a source of mutualenrichment.
We hope that the essays in this volume will initiate ongoing discussion of theproblems of race by pragmatists as well as others and the search for resolutionsto them. The proposed resolutions must emerge from our shared understandingof the ever-evolving American experience. They must be so rooted, or they accomplishnothing.
Unless otherwise indicated, references to Dewey are to the standard editionof his works, edited by Jo Ann Boydston (Carbondale: Southern Illinois UniversityPress, 1969–93), designated as The Early Works, 1882–1898 (EW), TheMiddle Works, 1899–1924 (MW), and The Later Works, 1925–1953 (LW).
Pragmatism and the Problem of Race
Introduction
Bill E. Lawson and Donald F. Koch
The Origin and Character of Pragmatism
The idea for a volume connecting pragmatism and the problem of racearises from two widely accepted premises. Pragmatism is a philosophical movementwhich originated within the American experience. It attempts to respondto difficulties which arise within that experience. The “race problem” generatedby slavery and its aftermath was, and still is, a uniquely American problem. Howthen should pragmatists respond to and contribute to the resolution of one ofour greatest and perhaps most enduring American problem?
The movement of thought designated by the term “pragmatism” is currentlyundergoing a significant revival. Originally developed by Charles S. Peirce,William James, John Dewey, and George Herbert Mead in the late nineteenthcentury and first half of the twentieth century, its central feature is the beliefthat ideas are connected with action, theory with practice. This expectation thatwe should “tackle difficulties,” “get things done,” is characteristically American,and it is not surprising that pragmatism is commonly regarded as the mostsignificant American contribution to philosophy.
Yet contemporary pragmatists must ask themselves whether they are contentto restate the old ideas of the founders of the movement or use these ideas towork out a reconstruction of pragmatism to deal with contemporary problemsand issues. The question takes on added poignancy in view of the fact that pragmatistswere not major contributors to what we might call the “practical philosophymovement” that began about thirty-five years ago. Where were theyduring the civil rights protests, the demonstrations against the Vietnam war,the period of Black Power and Black Nationalism, the rise of feminism, and thedeveloping public interest in problems centering around health care and thepractice of medicine? The search for an explanation for the relative silence ofthe pragmatists with regard to these matters digresses from the subject matterof this anthology. But their failure to participate in the practical philosophymovement entails that if they are to deal with current problems of race theymust find a way to utilize the aforementioned old ideas which were generatedduring a time when racial segregation and racism were taken for granted andreconstruct them to deal with contemporary problems of race. 1 We cannot carryout this reconstruction here, but we can set forth the hypothesis that there isone basic essential element in the old pragmatism which must be carried over to any reconstructed pragmatism. This is the new account of inquiry developedthe founders.
One of the central tenets of classic pragmatism is that it calls into questionthe traditional account of the connection between thought and action. This accounttakes it for granted that philosophers must first formulate, explain, andjustify some fundamental ideas and principles. If they are successful, every rationalperson must then acknowledge these fundamental ideas and principlesand apply them to specific situations. Then rational persons must act accordingly.So, for example, if it is morally reasonable to respect other persons andnot treat them as means to your own special ends, this fundamental moral idealeads us to the conclusion that slavery and racial prejudice are wrong. All rationalpersons must act to get rid of these practices.
In other words, the traditional standpoint asserts that inquiry begins witha search for knowledge. Action comes after knowledge is attained. The foundersof pragmatism challenged this account by introducing the hypothesis thatthinking and doing are aspects of, phases within, a single human activity introduced because of and in response to experienced trouble. With Peirce, anomaliesare discovered in currently acceptable scientific explanations or as widely acceptedscientific explanations suggest new problems, which in turn lead inquirersto pursue new discoveries. Peirce’s account of the general process of inquiryas initiated by doubt in the form of irritation about some unsatisfactory stateof affairs and ending in a satisfactory state has been found to have broad application.James focuses upon the trouble experienced by an individual engaged inthe search for a better life, and his great book Psychology (1890) set forth an accountof ongoing consciousness seeking to restore normal functioning in dealingwith the vicissitudes of life. For Dewey, consciousness becomes experienceand troubles of life become problematic situations which function as the genericelement in the initiation of an inquiry.
In sum, pragmatism introduces the radical hypothesis that thought is a phasewithin active, working human experience. Inquirers do not “step outside” thatexperience to cognize true ideas and then somehow “go back into experience”to act upon these ideas because they are true. Inquiry arises within experienceas an attempt to work out a response to some difficulty within experience. Thisnew conception of the role of intelligence leads us to rethink and presumablyreconstruct the traditional account of the relation of thought to action.Thought is not preparatory to action