Abstract
William James was a major representative figure for American pragmatism. The study of James’s philosophy and the translation and publication of James’s works, both in China, are closely connected with the spread and study of pragmatic philosophy therein. The spread of Jamesian philosophy in China has gone through three stages: 1) From around the May Fourth Movement in 1919 to the 1940s, pragmatism started its journey in China; James’s thought was introduced to the circles of scholars in China, and received criticism from Chinese scholars at the same time. 2) In the 1950s and 1960s, during the criticism against pragmatism among Chinese scholars, Jamesian philosophy was also fiercely attacked. 3) From the early 1980s to the present, scholars have tried to take the attitude of seeking truth from facts in commenting pragmatism, and attempted to re-examine pragmatism, including James’s philosophy. In carrying forward the academic research on Jamesian philosophy, Chinese scholars should present its landmark achievements in the collation, edition, translation and study of classics concerning Jamesian philosophy, investigate important conceptions in James’s pragmatism, study the clue of development and academic direction of thought therein, analyze and summarize James’s position in pragmatic philosophy, and make clear the position and influence of James’s philosophy both in the history of Western philosophy and in contemporary Western philosophy. Scholars should also do comprehensive multidisciplinary research on the philosophy of value, jurisprudential thought, philosophy of mind, political philosophy and religious philosophy in James’s pragmatism, and meanwhile explore the dynamic relationship between Jamesian and Chinese philosophies from the perspective of comparative philosophy.
Highlights
The spread of Jamesian philosophy in China has gone through three stages: 1) From around the May Fourth Movement in 1919 to the 1940s, pragmatism started its journey in China; James’s thought was introduced to the circles of scholars in China, and received criticism from Chinese scholars at the same time
The period from around the May Fourth Movement to the 1940s witnessed the beginning of a journey of pragmatism in China; James’s thought was introduced into Chinese academic circles and ideological and cultural circles, and met with criticism from the scholars
Around the May Fourth Movement, the spread of pragmatism in China was mainly focused on introductory essays, and not many Chinese versions of James’s own writings had been presented; the situation in the 1930-1940s was different, for apart from the publication of essays introducing and commenting pragmatism, Chinese scholars translated and published some academic works by James himself
Summary
Around the May Fourth Movement, the spread of pragmatism in China was mainly focused on introductory essays, and not many Chinese versions of James’s own writings had been presented; the situation in the 1930-1940s was different, for apart from the publication of essays introducing and commenting pragmatism, Chinese scholars translated and published some academic works by James himself. James’s writings that had translated into Chinese mainly included: James: Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking, translated by Meng Xiancheng, The Commercial Press, 1930. James: Psychology: Briefer Course, translated by Wu Kuangfu, The Commercial Press, 1930. James: Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on Some of Life’s Ideals, translated by Tang Bohuang, The Commercial Press, 1936. James: Chapter on Habit from The Principles of Psychology, translated by Tang Yue, The Commercial Press, 1944. James: Chapter on the Stream of Thought from The Principles of Psychology, translated by Tang Yue, The Commercial Press, 1946. James: Chapter on The Emotions from The Principles of Psychology, translated by Tang Yue, The Commercial Press, 1946. Fan Qi: The Thoughts of Modern Philosophy, The Commercial Press, 1934. Qu Junong: An Outline of Thoughts of Modern Philosophy, Zhonghua Book Company, 1934
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