The Workshop of Being

Contrary to Peter Hare's claim that James was a natural realist, I argue that James was a radical empiricist. As James's pervasive use of 'phenomena' attests, his central insight and organizing theme of selective interest required such a 'double-barreled' term to signify the stream of sensations or consciousness being organized. Selection, interpretation, 'knowing-as', rather than perception or description, all inform the intentional, value-laden actions that constitute the model of pragmatist analysis.