James's argument that the truth of an idea lies in its practical consequences. The classic statement of American pragmatism.
Books mentioned in Pragmatism (11)
Studies in Logical Theory by John Dewey: “In America, John Dewey's 'Studies in Logical Theory' are the foundation.”
Humanism by F. C. S. Schiller: “Schiller's in his 'Studies in Humanism,' especially the essays numbered i, v, vi, vii, xviii and xix.”
The City of God by Augustine of Hippo: “The evil will appear as almost nothing in comparison with the good, if we once consider the real magnitude of the City of God.”
De Amplitudine Regni Coelestis by Caelius Secundus Curio: “Coelius Secundus Curio has written a little book, 'De Amplitudine Regni Coelestis,' which was reprinted not long ago.”
Der Gegenstand der Erkenntniss by Heinrich Rickert: “Truth is a name for all those judgments which we find ourselves under obligation to make by a kind of imperative duty. [Footnote: H. Rickert, Der Gegenstand der Erkenntniss, chapter on 'Die Urtheilsnothwendigkeit.']”
Human Submission by Morrison I. Swift: “He begins his pamphlet on 'Human Submission' with a series of city reporter's items from newspapers (suicides, deaths from starvation and the like) as specimens of our civilized regime.”
The World and the Individual by Josiah Royce: “[The very presence of ill in the temporal order is the condition of the perfection of the eternal order, writes Professor Royce ('The World and the Individual,' II, 385).”
Studies in Humanism by F. C. S. Schiller: “Schiller's in his 'Studies in Humanism,' especially the essays numbered i, v, vi, vii, xviii and xix.”
The Conception of God by Josiah Royce: “"God's consciousness," says Professor Royce,[Footnote: The Conception of God, New York, 1897, p. 292.] "forms in its wholeness one luminously transparent conscious moment"”
The Nature of Truth by H. H. Joachim: “Mr. Joachim's candid confession of failure in his book The Nature of Truth, seems to me to mark the bankruptcy of rationalism when dealing with this subject.”
The Will to Believe by William James: “I once wrote an essay on our right to believe, which I unluckily called the WILL to Believe. All the critics, neglecting the essay, pounced upon the title.”