James and Royce Reconsidered : Reflections on the Centenary of Pragmatism

In the first decade of the twentieth century, William James and Josiah Royce, both professors of philosophy at Harvard, towered over American philosophy and exerted wide influence on European thought. Both thinkers delivered Gifford Lectures on Natural Religion in Scotland, as well as Lowell Lectures in Boston. A century following the publication of James’s Lowell Lectures, known as Pragmatism, and Royce’s delivery of his lectures that would become The Philosophy of Loyalty, renowned biographers, historians, and philosophers of American thought and philosophy gathered at Harvard to assess the legacy and continued interest in both thinkers. One of the most vibrant conferences on these figures in living memory, contributors presented papers and debated the import of James’s and Royce’s thought for understanding their time and for the present and future. Noteworthy both for the presence of most leading scholars in the field and for its attention to the European influence of these thinkers and the revival of interest in America and Europe, this volume offers a unique view of the state of the discussion on James and Royce across several disciplines.