Comments on: The Metaphysical Club, 6 http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/ Unsolicited Historical Commentary Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:13:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: djvoelker http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4308 djvoelker Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:28:51 +0000 http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4308 Adam--you're on the right track about the pragmatists' denial of absolute truth. At a minimum, they denied that humans could ever possess such a thing. However, they did still have standards about what counted as legitimate belief. But those standards depended on the individual. The key was that the belief had to "work" in some way. It had to yield desirable results. --DV Adam–you’re on the right track about the pragmatists’ denial of absolute truth. At a minimum, they denied that humans could ever possess such a thing. However, they did still have standards about what counted as legitimate belief. But those standards depended on the individual. The key was that the belief had to “work” in some way. It had to yield desirable results. –DV

]]> By: Adam Klug http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4306 Adam Klug Thu, 06 Dec 2007 09:32:37 +0000 http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4306 Pragmatism in and of itself was a huge new movement in thinking, what it was is that it made people look at things like there is no absolute truth. What it means is that if a person had a huge belief in something they could think that it was the truth. Pragmatism in and of itself was a huge new movement in thinking, what it was is that it made people look at things like there is no absolute truth. What it means is that if a person had a huge belief in something they could think that it was the truth.

]]> By: Jan Cheney http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4298 Jan Cheney Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:24:56 +0000 http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4298 Although pragmatism offers no concrete answers, I believe that it has a positive impact on society. Pragmatism allows for people to accept many ideas rather than being narrow minded. This ability helps people to be more accepting to changes and differences society. Although pragmatism offers no concrete answers, I believe that it has a positive impact on society. Pragmatism allows for people to accept many ideas rather than being narrow minded. This ability helps people to be more accepting to changes and differences society.

]]> By: Erica Spurgeon http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4291 Erica Spurgeon Tue, 27 Nov 2007 01:10:57 +0000 http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4291 I believe that pragmatism has had a positive effect on our society. I feel this way because, in my opinion, we have always been pragmatist. So to label it gives us some identity. Unlike what Ben Wolfe has said, I believe that pragmatism has had a positive influence on America because we do realize that what works for us may not work for someone else, and it allows us to find different methods. In my opinion, pragmatism is like a melting pot for ideas. I believe that pragmatism has had a positive effect on our society. I feel this way because, in my opinion, we have always been pragmatist. So to label it gives us some identity.

Unlike what Ben Wolfe has said, I believe that pragmatism has had a positive influence on America because we do realize that what works for us may not work for someone else, and it allows us to find different methods. In my opinion, pragmatism is like a melting pot for ideas.

]]> By: Stephanie Bellile http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4290 Stephanie Bellile Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:07:29 +0000 http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4290 I think the pragmatist movement was a big step towards proving that there is no absolute answer to any question. When people decide what is right and wrong it depends upon their environment, which is ever-changing. Decisions and beliefs are based on situations that "imprint" us. What pragmatism doesn't really explain is how human wants can change our decision-making process. I think the pragmatist movement was a big step towards proving that there is no absolute answer to any question. When people decide what is right and wrong it depends upon their environment, which is ever-changing. Decisions and beliefs are based on situations that “imprint” us. What pragmatism doesn’t really explain is how human wants can change our decision-making process.

]]> By: Meghan Winter http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4289 Meghan Winter Tue, 20 Nov 2007 18:47:08 +0000 http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4289 I think that pragmatism was a postive thought movement in the United States. It allowed the generation of the Civil War to convey the way they thought about the "old way of thinking." This way of thinking helped capitalism and the growth of the country by giving ideas cash value. The only downfall of pragmatism is the blurred lines of morality and justice and truth. It is confusing that what is just for one person, is not just for another in the same situation. I think that pragmatism was a postive thought movement in the United States. It allowed the generation of the Civil War to convey the way they thought about the “old way of thinking.” This way of thinking helped capitalism and the growth of the country by giving ideas cash value.
The only downfall of pragmatism is the blurred lines of morality and justice and truth. It is confusing that what is just for one person, is not just for another in the same situation.

]]> By: Eric Bansemar http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4288 Eric Bansemar Tue, 20 Nov 2007 18:45:56 +0000 http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4288 I think that pragmatism has had a lasting impact on American society, particulary in acedemic circles, even if it had been lessend since the advent of the Cold War. As Menand points out in the epilogue, pragmatism helped to make tolerence an official virtue in the United States, and it remained so after the Cold War started, even if the reasons for it changed. Additionally, I feel that pragmatism still influences people in this country in that there are many who care more about how someone reaches their decision that what their decision ultimately is. I think that pragmatism has had a lasting impact on American society, particulary in acedemic circles, even if it had been lessend since the advent of the Cold War. As Menand points out in the epilogue, pragmatism helped to make tolerence an official virtue in the United States, and it remained so after the Cold War started, even if the reasons for it changed. Additionally, I feel that pragmatism still influences people in this country in that there are many who care more about how someone reaches their decision that what their decision ultimately is.

]]> By: Ben Wolf http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4287 Ben Wolf Tue, 20 Nov 2007 18:39:30 +0000 http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4287 The one problem I have with Pragmatic thought is that, if knowledge is socially constructed and every social society is different (customs, culture, language..etc), how are we supposed to know what "works" in society and what doesn't? If one thing works in the United states how do we know that it is right in other areas of the world? Maybe I am misinterpreting it but do we really know what is the right or wrong way to understand or judge something? The one problem I have with Pragmatic thought is that, if knowledge is socially constructed and every social society is different (customs, culture, language..etc), how are we supposed to know what “works” in society and what doesn’t? If one thing works in the United states how do we know that it is right in other areas of the world? Maybe I am misinterpreting it but do we really know what is the right or wrong way to understand or judge something?

]]> By: Chris Gould http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4286 Chris Gould Tue, 20 Nov 2007 18:08:04 +0000 http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4286 This was kind of a hard book for me to sort through and understand completly. Having said that I believe that the pragmatic movement was a good one. I think it posed questions and ideas that hadn't really been looked at before, which forced people to once agian open their minds and think "outside the box" so to speak. It was interesting to see this happen to the main intellects in the book (James, Holmes Jr, and Peirce) like Jordan stated above you could see their thought processes change over time throughout this book. This was kind of a hard book for me to sort through and understand completly. Having said that I believe that the pragmatic movement was a good one. I think it posed questions and ideas that hadn’t really been looked at before, which forced people to once agian open their minds and think “outside the box” so to speak. It was interesting to see this happen to the main intellects in the book (James, Holmes Jr, and Peirce) like Jordan stated above you could see their thought processes change over time throughout this book.

]]> By: Jordan Grow http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4284 Jordan Grow Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:20:22 +0000 http://expostfacto.historytools.org/the-metaphysical-club-6/#comment-4284 These Pragmatic ideas came from a lot of interesting characters who seem to have a grasp of life on all forms. Though they started out in a higher intellectual cities and insitutions, as they got older they seemed to become more open to other methods of thought. You could see the turning of the tides between the old generation of Holmes Sr. and Agassiz to James, Holmes Jr. and Peirce. These Pragmatic ideas came from a lot of interesting characters who seem to have a grasp of life on all forms. Though they started out in a higher intellectual cities and insitutions, as they got older they seemed to become more open to other methods of thought. You could see the turning of the tides between the old generation of Holmes Sr. and Agassiz to James, Holmes Jr. and Peirce.

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