Since C. S. Pierce advocated a pragmatic approach to truth and knowledge, it has been one of the characteristic themes of American philosophy. This book examines how pragmatism's central ideas can be applied and implemented across the entire domain of philosophical deliberations, ranging from theory of knowledge and the value theory to providing explanations for human actions, and even to matters of ethics and religion. While there are various ways in which to weigh the merit of a philosophical idea or theory, this book makes the case that an assessment of that theory's applicative utility is of the essence. The intersection of the theoretical and the practical is where meaningful philosophizing finds its legs, and Rescher's unique pragmatically oriented analyses of traditional philosophical us to regard some historically prominent philosophical ideas in a new and revealing light.

CONTENTSPreface1.The Pragmatic Vision2.Theoretical Utility3.Knowledge in Pragmatic Perspective4.Leaping in the Dark5.Supposition as a Pragmatism Device6.Induction as a Pragmatic Resource7.Facts and Values in Pragmatic Perspective8.Excellence as a Pragmatic Conception9.On Explaining and Evaluating Human Actions10.Condemnation vs. Blame in Pragmatic Perspective11.On the Pragmatic Role of Positive Interpersonal Attitudes12.The Pragmatics of Betterment13.Can Pragmatism Validate Itself?14.Pragmatism and ReligionName Index