The Barnes & Noble Review
In a compellingly told tale of American history, Louis Menand recounts the brief but significant heritage of the "Metaphysical Club," a group of men who met in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1872 to discuss their collective ideas and the ideal way of thinking in the American society. The Club consisted of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., the greatest legal mind of his time; William James, father of modern American psychology; Charles Sanders Peirce; scientist and pioneer semiotician. Their ideas and writings would have a profound influence on another great thinker: John Dewey, the legendary philosopher and educator who was then developing his theories on the importance of pragmatism in the learning process.(Nicholas Sinisi)
The Metaphysical Club was an informal group that met in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1872, to talk about ideas. Its members included Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., future associate justice of the United States Supreme Court; William James, the father of modern American psychology; and Charles Sanders Peirce, logician, scientist, and the founder of semiotics. The Club was probably in existence for about nine months. No records were kept. The one thing we know that came out of it was an idea-an idea about ideas. This book is the story of that idea.
Holmes, James, and Peirce all believed that ideas are not things "out there" waiting to be discovered but are tools people invent-like knives and forks and microchips-to make their way in the world. They thought that ideas are produced not by individuals, but by groups of individuals-that ideas are social. They do not develop according to some inner logic of their own but are entirely dependent-like germs-on their human carriers and environment. And they thought that the survival of any idea depends not on its immutability but on its adaptability. The Metaphysical Club is written in the spirit of this idea about ideas. It is not a history of philosophy but an absorbing narrative about personalities and social history, a story about America.
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Holmes, James, and Peirce all believed that ideas are not things "out there" waiting to be discovered but are tools people invent-like knives and forks and microchips-to make their way in the world. They thought that ideas are produced not by individuals, but by groups of individuals-that ideas are social. They do not develop according to some inner logic of their own but are entirely dependent-like germs-on their human carriers and environment. And they thought that the survival of any idea depends not on its immutability but on its adaptability. The Metaphysical Club is written in the spirit of this idea about ideas. It is not a history of philosophy but an absorbing narrative about personalities and social history, a story about America.
The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America
The Metaphysical Club was an informal group that met in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1872, to talk about ideas. Its members included Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., future associate justice of the United States Supreme Court; William James, the father of modern American psychology; and Charles Sanders Peirce, logician, scientist, and the founder of semiotics. The Club was probably in existence for about nine months. No records were kept. The one thing we know that came out of it was an idea-an idea about ideas. This book is the story of that idea.
Holmes, James, and Peirce all believed that ideas are not things "out there" waiting to be discovered but are tools people invent-like knives and forks and microchips-to make their way in the world. They thought that ideas are produced not by individuals, but by groups of individuals-that ideas are social. They do not develop according to some inner logic of their own but are entirely dependent-like germs-on their human carriers and environment. And they thought that the survival of any idea depends not on its immutability but on its adaptability. The Metaphysical Club is written in the spirit of this idea about ideas. It is not a history of philosophy but an absorbing narrative about personalities and social history, a story about America.
Holmes, James, and Peirce all believed that ideas are not things "out there" waiting to be discovered but are tools people invent-like knives and forks and microchips-to make their way in the world. They thought that ideas are produced not by individuals, but by groups of individuals-that ideas are social. They do not develop according to some inner logic of their own but are entirely dependent-like germs-on their human carriers and environment. And they thought that the survival of any idea depends not on its immutability but on its adaptability. The Metaphysical Club is written in the spirit of this idea about ideas. It is not a history of philosophy but an absorbing narrative about personalities and social history, a story about America.
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The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940173549389 |
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Publisher: | HighBridge Company |
Publication date: | 12/19/2019 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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