Practical Life in the Face of Abstract Principles in William James

İşcan A. H.

Entelekya Logico-Metaphysical Review, cilt.8, sa.1, ss.47-57, 2024 (Hakemli Dergi)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 8 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Dergi Adı: Entelekya Logico-Metaphysical Review
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Philosopher's Index, Sobiad Atıf Dizini, European Reference Index for the Humanities and Social Science (ERIH PLUS)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.47-57
  • Ankara Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

In  the  history  of  philosophy,  philosophers  have  defined  philosophy  based  on  their  own  perspectives.  This  situation shows that it is a difficult and meaningless endeavor to put forward an understanding of philosophy that has clear boundaries and is accepted by everyone. However, despite these differences in definitions, there are some common points. Perhaps the most important of these common points is that philosophy is a stance, a positioning activity in the face of truth. In this positioning,  William  James  tried  to  find  the  moderate  path  between  the  currents  of  rationalism  and  empiricism  and  took  a stance  based  on  concrete  differences  in  life.  Like  the  empiricists, he tried to keep people's relations with facts alive, but at the same time, he did not exclude religion by adopting a rationalist  attitude.  However,  James  argued  that  abstract  concepts cannot have meaning unless they find their counterpart in life. According  to  James,  a  life  based  only  on  abstract  principles would not be qualified. In this study, I will try reconciling William James’ attitude towards abstract principles with practical life.