Present at the End?: Who Will Be There When the Last Stone Is Thrown?

The author recalls several central features of Peter Hare's deep admiration for William James's philosophical approach, above all, James's pragmatist defense of "natural realism." He draws upon a number of Peter's writings to exhibit this singular person's creative appropriation of key Jamesian insights and themes. At the center of this essay is a sketch of how Peter attempts to conceive of human knowing as a natural process and, moreover, how he suggests pluralism, naturalism, and realism might be seen as mutually supportive doctrines.