The Letters of William James, Vol. 2James, William
Philosophy
The Letters of William James, Vol. 2
James, William
Intellectuals -- United States; James, William, 1842-1910; Philosophers -- United States; Psychologists -- United States
No! dear Palmer, the best I can possibly hope for at Cambridge after my
return is to be able to carry one half-course. So make all calculations
accordingly. As for Windelband, how can I ascertain anything except by
writing to him? I shall see no one, nor go to any University
environment. My impression is that we must go in for budding genius, if
we seek a European. If an American, we can get a _sommité_! But who? in
either case? Verily there is room at the top. S---- seems to be the
only Britisher worth thinking of. I imagine we had better train up our
own men. A----, B----, C----, either would no doubt do, especially A----
if his health improves. D---- is our last card, from the point of view
of policy, no doubt, but from that of inner organization it seems to me
that he may have too many points of coalescence with both Münsterberg
and Royce, especially the latter.
The great event in my life recently has been the reading of Santayana's
book.[31] Although I absolutely reject the platonism of it, I have
literally squealed with delight at the imperturbable perfection with
which the position is laid down on page after page; and grunted with
delight at such a thickening up of our Harvard atmosphere. If our
students now could begin really to understand what Royce means with his
voluntaristic-pluralistic monism, what Münsterberg means with his
dualistic scientificism and platonism, what Santayana means by his
pessimistic platonism (I wonder if he and Mg. have had any close
mutually encouraging intercourse in this line?), what I mean by my crass
pluralism, what you mean by your ethereal idealism, that these are so
many religions, ways of fronting life, and worth fighting for, we should
have a genuine philosophic universe at Harvard. The best condition of it
would be an open conflict and rivalry of the diverse systems. (Alas!
that I should be out of it, just as my chance begins!) The world might
ring with the struggle, if we devoted ourselves exclusively to
belaboring each other.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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