Preface

The lectures that follow were delivered at the Lowell Institute in Boston in November and December, 1906, and in January, 1907, at Columbia University, in New York. They are printed as delivered, without developments or notes. The pragmatic movement, so—called—I do not like the name, but apparently it is too late to change it—seems to have rather suddenly precipitated itself out of the air. A number of tendencies that have always existed in philosophy have all at once become conscious of themselves collectively, and of their combined mission; and this has occurred in so many countries, and from so many different points of view, that much unconcerted statement has resulted. I have sought to unify the picture as it presents itself to my own eyes, dealing in broad strokes, and avoiding minute controversy. Much futile controversy might have been avoided, I believe, if our critics had been willing to wait until we got our message fairly out.

If my lectures interest any reader in the general subject, he will doubtless wish to read farther. I therefore give him a few references.

In America, John Dewey 's1Studies in Logical Theoryare the foundation. Read also by Dewey the articles in the Philosophical Review, vol. xv, pp. 113and 465, in Mind, vol. xv, p. 293, and in the Journal of Philosophy, vol. iv, p. 197.

Probably the best statements to begin with however, are F.C. S. Schiller 's2in hisStudies in Humanism, especially the essays numbered i, v, vi, vii, xviii and xix. His previous essays and in general the polemic literature of the subject are fully referred to in his footnotes.

1杜威（Dewey，1859—1952），美国哲学家和教育家，美国实用主义哲学的重要代表人物。

2席勒（Schiller，1864—1937），英国实用主义哲学家、人本主义哲学家、逻辑学家、元哲学家。

Furthermore, see G. Milhaud: 1le Rationnel, 1898, and the fine articles by Le Roy2in the Revue de Metaphysique, vols. 7, 8and 9. Also articles by Blondel3and de Sailly4in the Annales de Philosophie Chretienne, 4me Serie, vols. 2and 3. Papini5announces a book on Pragmatism, in the French language, to be published very soon.

1G. 米尔豪德（G. Milhaud，1858—1918），法国哲学家，用数学的方法讨论哲学问题。

2勒瑞（Le Roy，1870—1954），法国哲学家、数学家。

3布朗戴尔（Blondel，1863—1938），法国哲学家。

4德塞利（De Sailly，1861—1949），法国哲学家、理学与唯灵术的代表人物。

5帕皮尼（Papini，1881—1956），意大利记者、文学家、文学评论家。

To avoid one misunderstanding at least, let me say that there is no logical connexion between pragmatism, as I understand it, and a doctrine which I have recently set forth as "radical empiricism. " The latter stands on its own feet. One may entirely reject it and still be a pragmatist.

Harvard University, April, 1907