William James's Pluralism: An Antidote for Contemporary Extremism and Absolutism
Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1 The Most Pregnant of All the Dilemmas of Philosophy -- Some Characteristics of Monism -- Some Characteristics of Pluralism -- Understanding Singularity -- Understanding the Drive toward Pluralism -- The Way Forward -- Notes -- Chapter 2 William James and the Tensions between the One and the Many -- Family Background -- Quest for a Career -- James the Academic -- Who Was William James? -- Experience -- Reality -- Time -- Individualism -- Pragmatism -- Radical Empiricism -- The Man -- Notes -- Chapter 3 Moral Monism and Pluralism -- Abortion -- Birth Control -- Death with Dignity -- A Culture of Life -- a Culture of Death -- Notes -- Chapter 4 Methodological Singularities -- Religious Singularities -- Critique of Religious Literalism as the Single Pathway to All Truth -- Science as the Singular Pathway to Genuine Knowledge -- Critique of Claims That Science Is the Singular Source of Truth -- Singular Methodologies in Political Systems -- Dangers of Singularities in Political Systems -- The Pluralistic Alternative -- Clash of Methodologies -- Notes -- Chapter 5 The Single Cause: God, Free Will, and the Reflex -- God Alone -- Critique of Theological Determinism -- Free Will -- Critique of Free Will as a Singular Explanation -- The Reflex -- Critique of Reflexology -- Critique of Monistic Theories of Causality -- Notes -- Chapter 6 Ontological Monism and Pluralism -- Materialism -- Mechanistic Materialism -- Emergent or Radical Materialism -- Gestalt Psychology -- Idealism -- James's Ontology -- Notes -- Chapter 7 James Quarrels with Monism as He Embraces Pluralism -- James's Temperamental Affinities with Pluralism -- Intellectualist Origins of Monism -- Absolutism -- Intimacy -- Rigid Orthodoxies and Untenable Combinations.
