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Article ID: CBB687579261

Idealism, Pragmatism, and the Will to Believe: Charles Renouvier and William James (2015)

British Journal for the History of Philosophy
Volume: 23
Issue: 4
Pages: 756-778
Publication date: 2015
Language: English

URI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09608788.2014.1002074

DOI: 10.1080/09608788.2014.1002074

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Psychology Theories of knowledge Free will and determinism Philosophy Belief and doubt Pragmatism; instrumentalism Idealism (philosophy) 19th century France James, William Renouvier, Charles Bernard

This article investigates the history of the relation between idealism and pragmatism by examining the importance of the French idealist Charles Renouvier for the development of William James's ‘Will to Believe’. By focusing on French idealism, we obtain a broader understanding of the kinds of idealism on offer in the nineteenth century. First, I show that Renouvier's unique methodological idealism led to distinctively pragmatist doctrines and that his theory of certitude and its connection to freedom is worthy of reconsideration. Second, I argue that the technical vocabulary and main structure of the argument from the ‘Will to Believe’ depend upon Renouvier's idealist theory of knowledge and psychology of belief, and that taking account of this line of influence is of crucial importance for establishing the correct interpretation of James's work.

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Article Robert Stern (2015) Introduction. British Journal for the History of Philosophy (pp. 601-610). unapi

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