Word: jamesians
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Differences of temperament among philosophers greatly interested James and he viewed his pragmatism as a method for mediating between contradictory philosophical styles. The history of philosophy, he believes, can be seen as an interminable battle between the "tender-minded" and the "tough-minded" types of philosopher. Of the numerous Jamesian dichotomies this the most famous. it is best represented in tabular form...
Some students of mathematics delight in ridiculing the Jamesian theory of truth on the grounds that the results of mathematical operations are either true or false, regardless of their capacity to give satisfaction. One plus one does not equal three, even if a mathematician could earn a fortune--or tenure--by showing it. James was well aware of this sort of example and dealt with it explicity...
...Fleming's wish for intellectual privacy expresses an individualism which tends toward the iconoclastic, and he often finds well worn thought a fit subject for mockery. Studying history because it offers a means of enlarging one's experience, he feels, in the tradition of Jamesian pragmatism, that it can lead to hypotheses for action. But, lest he sound as pretentious as some of the thinkers whom he enjoys debunking in his course, Mr. Fleming quickly adds, "To be frank, I study history for the hell of it. Some people enjoy playing the violin. I play history...
...grand and too public," he announced when we had been seated in a rather too large armchair, offered tea, and asked to admire the new Brooks Brothers suit he was wearing. We complied, and he went on to tell us that he has always preferred to live in "Jamesian seclusion." Wasn't this a very untheatrical sort of wish, we wondered aloud. The doctor confessed to us that, like Mr. James's, his heart was not in the theatre...
Prettying Up Life. The sensitive Jamesian gentleman who views life as if it should be a pretty picture makes his first appearance. By ignoring evil, he usually ends up disillusioned and despairing...