William James and the Metaphilosophy of Individualism

This paper argues that an individualist perspective is a crucial element of William James’s metaphilosophical outlook. In broad outline, the individualist argument the paper attributes to James can be characterized like this. Disputes among philosophers about the optimal point of view from which to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Metaphilosophy 2021-04, Vol.52 (2), p.220-233
Main Author: Rondel, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Individualism
James, William (1842-1910)
metaphilosophy
Philosophy
pluralism
Pragmatism
William James
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Summary:This paper argues that an individualist perspective is a crucial element of William James’s metaphilosophical outlook. In broad outline, the individualist argument the paper attributes to James can be characterized like this. Disputes among philosophers about the optimal point of view from which to consider this or that philosophical problem are themselves only adequately adjudicated from an individualist perspective. That is, when it comes to an assortment of important philosophical questions (not all of them perhaps, but a significant number), an individualist perspective should replace a more objective one, and whether it should or not is itself a question that should be decided from an individualist perspective.
ISSN:0026-1068
1467-9973
DOI:10.1111/meta.12480