William James's "Springs of Delight"

Phil Oliver

Description

This enterprising book, written in the spirit of William James, urges our appreciation of the intensely personal character of spiritual transcendence. Phil Oliver's work has important implications for specialists concerned with the Jamesian concept of "pure experience," and it illuminates significant interdisciplinary ties among philosophy, literature, and other intellectual domains.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Philosophy

Informations

• Publié par: Vanderbilt University Press
• Date de parution: 31 décembre 2000
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780826591357
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

S t R o et L u i r fe n PR IN The GS WILLIAM M J AMES’S “SPRINGS OF DELIGHT” Phil Oliver

William James’s “Springs of Delight”

the vanderbilt library of american philosophyoffers interpretive perspectives on the historical roots of American philosophy and on present innovative developments in American thought, including studies of values, naturalism, social philosophy, cultural criticism, and applied ethics.

Series Editor Herman J. Saatkamp, Jr. Indiana University & Purdue University at Indianapolis

Editorial Advisory Board Kwame Anthony AppiahHarvard University Larry A. HickmanSouthern Illinois University John LachsVanderbilt University John J. McDermottTexas A&M University Joel PorteCornell University Hilary PutnamHarvard University Ruth Anna PutnamWellesley College Andrew J. ReckTulane University Beth J. SingerBrooklyn College John J. StuhrPennsylvania State University

Other titles in the series include

Dewey’s Empirical Theory of Knowledge and Reality John R. Shook

Thinking in the Ruins: Wittgenstein and Santayana on Contingency Michael P. Hodges and John Lachs

Pragmatic Bioethics Edited by Glenn McGee

Transforming Experience: John Dewey’s Cultural Instrumentalism Michael Eldridge

William ’ James s “ Springs of ” Delight TheReturn toLife

Phil Oliver

VA N D E R B I LT U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S Nashville

© Vanderbilt University Press All rights reserved

First Edition2001

05 04 03 02 01 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Oliver, Phil, 1957– William James’s “Springs of delight” : the return to life / Phil Oliver. — 1st ed. p. cm. — (The Vanderbilt library of American philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0826513662 (alk. paper) 1. James, William, 1842–1910. 2. Perception (Philosophy) I. Title. II. Series. B945.J24 O55 2000 191—dc21 00010464

Published by Vanderbilt University Press Printed in the United States of America

For Sharon, Emma, and Katie—

my own springs of deepest delight

To begin with, howcanthings so insecure as the successful experiences of this world afford a stable anchorage? A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and life is after all a chain . . . Varieties of Religious Experience

The really vital question for us all is, What is this world going to be? What is life eventually to make of itself? The centre of gravity of philosophy must therefore alter its place. The earth of things, long thrown into shadow by the glories of the upper ether, must resume its rights. Pragmatism

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Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Glimmer and Twinkle of Jamesian Transcendence “Circumscription of the Topic”: Taking Experience Seriously • A Philosophy of Celebration • The Natural Mystery of Happiness • The Temper of a Pluralistic Naturalist • “. . . more day to dawn”

Taking Subjectivity Seriously Perceptual Multiplicity and James’s “Vision” • The Philosophy and Biology of Joy and Melancholy • Subjectivity and Reality

Blindness and Optimism A Certain Blindness • Optimism

Pure Experience The Purity of Pure Experience • Pure Experience and Transcendence • Selfconsciousness

Pursuing Happiness Religion and the Pursuit of Happiness • Exceptional Mental States • Absorption • Naturalism and Eternity • Santayana, Larks, and Barbarians

Futures “The Green Light” • From Gatsby to Gates: Proceed with Caution • A Pragmatic Perspective on Evolution and Culture • “Flow” and the Stream of Thought • Hope and the Chain of Life

Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index

xi

1

36

6

7

0

9

101

154

210 211 238 246