MacKinnon, Barbara, ed. American Philosophy: A Historical Anthology. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1985.
Abstract
This anthology demonstrates the
richness and diversity of the American intellectual heritage. In it we
see how Jonathan Edwards grappled with the problem of how to recocile
freedom and responsibility with Calvinst religious beliefs; how
Franklin and Jefferson exemplified American enlightenment thought; and
how the Transcendentalists, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David
Thoreau, formulated their particular romantic idealist beliefs. A
second and significant portion of the anthology is devoted to
Pragmatism. Sunstantive excerpts from Peirce, James, and Dewey, as well
as Royce, are collected here. A third part is devoted to other
Twentieth Century American philosophers. No other collection of
writings in this field includes the breadth of coverage that this one
does. Among the chapters in this third part of the book are those on
early Twentieth Century Realisms and Naturalisms, Process Philosophy,
Phenomenology, Positivism, and Language Philosophies. Selections from
such philosophers as Whitehead, Weiss, Buchler, Gurwitsch, Sellars,
Quine, Davidson, and Rawls, along with many others, are included in
this part. A final chapter is devoted to twentieth-century American
Moral Philosophy. The book is specifically designed to be used as a
text for courses in American philosophy. A substantive introduction
that emphasizes the historical setting as well as major interests and
ideas of the philosophers accompanies each chapter. Extensive
bibliographies and study guide questions follow each chapter. The
selections include more than any one course will cover, but in their
completeness also allow individual teachers and readers to select what
they want.