Solid, warm, full of Meaning

"The pragmatic method," says William James, "interprets each concept
by tracing its practical consequences."

The value of concepts whose practical consequences cannot be experienced
scientifically, is determined by choice.

When two hypotheses cannot be tested scientifically, we choose one on the
basis of utility.

The question of God’s existence is reduced to:

"What are the practical consequences of believing that matter produces
all things, or of believing that God exists and the world is his work of
providence?"

In the first hypothesis the world appears enshrouded in the coldness of
death; in the second hypothesis the world appears solid, warm, full of
real meaning.

Therefore I choose the second hypothesis - it enables me to live a
happy, productive life, while the first landed me in mental hospital.

William James said “truth” is a USEFUL "lead" which changes as human
experience changes.

The morality and truth of an idea should be judged in the same way, in
terms of its outcome in human experience.

In The Will to Believe (1897) and The Varieties of Religious Experience
(1902) James examined “belief” when there is no immediate evidence
on which to base belief.

In religious commitment, belief creates its own truth through the effects
in the believer’s experience. Belief in God is pragmatically justified IF
it makes a positive difference in the experience of the believer.

In A Pluralistic Universe (1909) and Essays in Radical Empiricism (1912)
James developed his metaphysical position:

There is no fixed external world to be discovered, but instead a "humming-
buzzing confusion" that we organise through experience.

The universe and our knowledge of it, is continuously evolving. Never
complete, it cannot be reduced to a single underlying substance.

The test of a theory or belief or doctrine lies in its effect upon us, its
practical consequences; the pragmatic test - whatever works is true.

Truth is a means to vital satisfaction. Knowledge is an instrument,
a practical utility.

True ideas can be assimilated, validated, corroborated and verified.

Truth is useful.

Reality is our sensations coming from what we know not.

Reality is total consciousness, experience permeated with thought.

Reality is ever in the making, growing where thinking beings are at work.

Pluralism recognizes individual perceptions.

In such a world humankind is free to seek their ideal.

James's psychology is the foundation to his Empiricism.

Consciousness is active, selective and carves out our world.

The will, focused on one idea and excluding all others, fills the
mind and prepares for action.

The intellect imputes reality to things through the emotions and
activities and conceives things pragmatically.

Pragmatism asks its usual question: "If an idea or belief is true,
what concrete difference will this make in our actual life?

How will the truth be realized?

What experiences will be different from those we would have
if the belief were false?

Pragmatism says truth is how one experience leads us towards
other worthwhile experiences.


All material quoted from:

http://www.the-office.com/seth/

http://www.the-office.com/seth/

Excerpted from Pragmatism, by William James

Books by and about William James http://radicalacademy.com/bksjames.htm