R. B. Perry on the Origin of American and European Pragmatism

R. B. Perry on the Origin of American and European Pragmatism JAMES A. GOULD WESTERN civxr.lz_~aaor~HAS EXPERmNCr~Dthe birth of many philosophical movements . Most of these have had their origin in a particular geo~aphical area. One usually refers to the "Continental Rationalists." the "British Empiricists." and the "American Pragmatists." Just as "Rationalism" is said to have been created in Great Britain, it is usually said that "Pragmatism" was born in America. One speaks of pragmatism as "characteristically American." The date of birth of pragmatism in America has been pin-pointed. Its genesis came about during the early part of "The Classical Period in American Philosophy ," a period extending from about 1870 to 1910. Both Perry ~ and Wiener 2 have stated that in the United States the movement arose during the 1870's due in part to conversations held by James, Peirce, Wright, Holmes, Fiske, and others at the meetings in Cambridge of an organization called "The Metaphysical Club." At these gatherings the main scientific and philosophical ideas of the day were discussed , and these men produced "American Pragmatism," in part from these discussions, and in part from independent work. Although the birth of pragmatism in America has been quite thoroughly examined , the genesis of pragmatism in Europe has been only sparsely written about. There were many writers in Europe who were associated with the pragmatic movement . In Italy there were Papini and Vailati; in England the most famous pragmatist was Schiller; in France there were Blondel and Poincarr; and in Germany x R. B. Perry, The Thought and Character of William lames, Vol. II, Philosophy and Psychology (Boston: Little, Brown,and Co., 1935). 2 p, Wiener,Evolution and the Founders of Pragmatism (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1949). [431] 432 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY one associates the word "pragmatism" with such men as Jerusalem, Goldstein, Jacoby, and Vaihinger. The purpose of this paper is to show how pragmatism originated in Europe at the same time as it did in the United States, independent o4 its development there, and from a different source. This will be shown by tracing through the consequences of suggestions made to this writer in a letter from R. B. Perry a few years before he died: The writer inquired of Perry about the relationship of James to the European pragmatists, especially Vaihinger. Perry replied: There would seem to me to have been (regarding the origin of pragmatism) two parallel and independent streams: one springing from Locke and the other from Kant. James derived from Locke and the other Britishers to such a large extent that I think he would have arrived at his pragmatism if he had never known Renouvier. Renouvier himself drew from Kant as did Vaihinger also. Start from Locke and move in the direction suggested by his "nominal essences," or start with Kant and give a pragmatic turn to his a priori, and you are likely to come out at the same spot. (Letter: February 15, 1952.) In order to determine whether Perry was correct concerning the development of pragmatism it is first necessary to define the term. Webster gives a very good definition which states that there are three elements in pragmatism; The meaning of conceptions is to be sought in their practical bearings; the function of thought is a guide to action; truth is pre-eminently to be tested by the practical consequences of belief,s These three aspects--a theory of meaning, the instrumental theory of ideas, and a theory of truth--are certainly characteristic of James's pragmatism but perhaps less so of some of the other philosophers of this school. Lovejoy 4 claimed there were thirteen distinguishable types of pragmatism. Hence when characterizing someone as a pragmatist it is not necessary that James's three elements all be present. Nonetheless, the three elements will be important guidelines. Before examining Perry's thesis, these three elements must be further explained. Instrumentalism concerns the role of ideas in human action. This theory, often said to represent the influence of Darwin in philosophy, contends that ideas are a product of the human organism during the course of its development. It maintains that the organism develops certain ideas which enable...