History 138 - Class 17

History 138: Science in the U.S.

Class 17 (10/2)
The scientific ideal

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Outline

Scientific method
Historical and ahistorical concepts
The state of affairs: late 19th century
Science as a model of method
So why now? Why here?

Pragmatism
Peirce's program
Defining pragmatism (and its others)
Roots: Darwin, community, and science as a human venture
James and Dewey
An American philosophy?

Ramifications
Method and morality
Extension to other fields of knowledge

Names and Terms

Primary	Secondary
pragmatism Charles S. Peirce (1839-1914) William James (1842-1910) John Dewey (1859-1952) cash value the empiricist temper regnant	la science (French), die Wissenschaft (German) instrumentalism

Assignment

Charles S. Peirce, "The Fixation of Belief," in Writings of Charles S. Peirce: A Chronological Edition, v. 3, 1872-1878, ed. Christian J. W. Kloesel (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986), 242-257.

What constituted for Peirce the essence of science as a human endeavor?
Against whom was he arguing? (What can you say about his prejudices?)
Who was Peirce (look him up in a good encyclopedia)? For whom was he writing?