Purpose and Plan | Reading Schedule | Working Papers | Participants | Contact | Links
Purpose and Plan
American Pragmatism is a vigorous tradition of thought with ongoing relevance to central philosophical and cultural issues of our day. A primary aim of our group is to explore together some of the best contributions to contemporary and classical philosophical work in pragmatist veins.
Fall Quarter 2010 Readings: We will begin a reading of John Dewey's Logic: The Theory of Inquiry (1938) and work through the text over the course of the year. Meetings are Wednesdays at 3pm in PLC 810 (Classics Seminar Room). Read Chapter 1 for our first meeting, September 29.
Spring Quarter 2010 Readings: We will read Robert Brandom's Reason in Philosophy: Animating Ideas (2009) almost in entirety. Meetings on most Friday afternoons at 3pm, starting Friday of Week 3, in PLC 314.
Winter Quarter 2010 Readings: We are reading Richard Rorty's Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity (1989) in its entirety. Meetings on Tuesdays from 2p-3.45p in PLC 314. First meeting: Tuesday January 12 (read the Introduction and Chapter 1). Subsequently, read one chapter per week until the end of the quarter.
Spring Quarter 2016: Readings on the experience/language debates in pragmatism: selections from Sellars, Rorty, Brandom, and Dewey.
Online Working Papers
We will periodically host working papers by reading group participants working on aspects of contemporary pragmatism.
Participants
The group is always open to additional participants: graduate students, postdocs, and faculty across the disciplines are welcome. We are particularly eager to develop a vibrant cross-disciplinary dialogue so as to better understand the various ways in which pragmatist thought can be deployed in different contexts.