Wiley

International Phenomenological Society

Philosophy and Phenomenological Research
Is There a North American Philosophy?
Author(s): Ralph Barton Perry
Source: Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Vol. 9, No. 3, "Second Inter-American
Congress of Philosophy" (Mar., 1949), pp. 356-369
Published by: International Phenomenological Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2104042
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IS THERE A NORTH AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY?

In orderthat we of NorthAmericamay explain ourselvesto our philosophical brothersof South and Central America,and viceversa,we must
explainourselvesto ourselves,whichis a good exerciseforboth ofus. We
do thisin one another'spresencein the spiritofcandorand frienship
which
becomesthosewho are not onlyfellowAmericansbut fellowphilosophers.
AlthoughI have accepted the titlegivenme by our CommitteeI must
confessthat I shallnot be able to stickto the expression"NorthAmerican"
beyondthe firstfewpages. In the United States the only people known
as "North Americans"are the North AmericanIndians, and presumably
the title does not referto them: at any rate I know nothingabout their
philosophy. Living recentlyin Scotland, I have been impressedby the
fact that the people of that land can be called Scats, Scottish,Scotsmen,
or Scotch-though thelast tendsto be restrictedto a well-known
beverage.
It seems unfairthat there should be no term,substantiveor adjective,
whichis properlyapplicable to the people oftheUnitedStates. We habitually referto ourselvesas "Americans,"and we answerto that name. We
have an "I am an AmericanDay" and "America" is employed in our
patrioticsongs; we even have an AmericanUn-AmericanCommittee. I
have triedto say "North American"instead of "American"but language
habits have proved too strongforme. So I have given it up; and I can
only ask my non-NorthAmericanfriendsto supply the word "North,"
and to believe that my use of the word "American" impliesno arrogant
claim of proprietorship,
but only a humble confessionof inaccuracyand
povertyof speech.
The questionof a regionalor national philosophymay be taken to be a
question of importanceand desirability,or a question of fact. I shall
adopt the latteralternative. Insofaras I findthat thereis a NorthAmerican philosophyI do not mean that this is especiallysignificant
eitherfor
philosophyor forNorthAmerica. I dissociatemyselfaltogetherfromthe
doctrinethat regionsor nations are oracles: that philosophicaltruthsare
made manifestonlythroughsocial organs,and that theirtruthis relative
to the culturesin which they are embedded. Still less do I mean that
any Americanshould consciouslystrive to think in a North American
manner,or in an Ibero-American
manner. The proofofany doctrine,philosophical or non-philosophical,
lies in the objectiveevidencewhichcan be
cited in its support. Both the conceptualmeaningof the doctrineand its
supportingevidence are, in principle,open to anybody who chooses to
think on the subject, and pursues it with sufficient
perseverance. The
356

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Is

THERE

A NORTH AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY?

357

personal and social circumstancesin which philosophydevelops are irrelevantto its truth. In proportionas philosophyis faithfulto its essential
and to
cognitivepurposeit will endeavorto transcendsuch circumstances,
emulate the universalityso notablyachieved in mathematicsand the socalled exact sciences.
Despite this ideal of universality,however,personal,regional,and national influenceswill be ineradicable. Every philosophywill inevitably
reflectprejudicesand prejudgments:it will startwithsome peculiarphilosophicalinheritance;it willgivespecialattentionto certainquestionsrather
than to others;it will approach the universaltruthfromsome peculiar
followits own peculiarpath.
point of origin,and will therefore
of philosophymust
Emphasis on the regionalor national characteristics
characteristics. It is at least
not be allowed to obscure contemporary
questionable,forexample,whetherthe philosophyofNorthAmericain the
twentiethcenturydoes not have more in commonwith Ibero-American
philosophyin thesame centurythanit has withNorthAmericanphilosophy
in the seventeenthcentury. The factis that it is,possibleto definemany
areas of similarity-epochal, geographical,linguistic,ethnic. The dispositionto reducethemall to some one, such as national or regional,has
led to the creationof fictionswhichare themselvesexpressionsof bias. A
graphicrepresentationof philosophicalsimilaritieswould be composedof
centersand havingdifferent
manyoverlappingcirclesdrawnformdifferent
diametersall the way fromthe personalphilosophyof a particularman in
the periodofhis youth,to the humanphilosophyembracingall men of all
timesand places.
Is therea NorthAmericanphilosophy? I assume that thereare North
as thereare NorthAmericanphysicistsand matheAmericanphilosophers,
maticians. But the questionis whetherthereis anythingpeculiarlyNorth
Americanabout NorthAmericanphilosophers. If theansweris affirmative
it must be possible to distinguisha characterwhichis descriptiveof the
NorthAmericanmindin general,and whichcan then be used to describe
NorthAmericanphilosophyin particular. And this,I believe,is the case.
The Americanmindhas come to possess a specificcharacterwhichpervades the entirecountry,fromcoast to coast and fromborderto border.
strongto imIt is recognizableby visitorsfromabroad, and is sufficiently
streamof
on
a
and
continuous
native
generations
printitselfon successive
it
cooked a
has
not
melted,
merely
has
immigrants. The meltingpot
of
its
own.
flavor
brothwithan unmistakable
This flavoris easily sensed-or perhaps smelled-though not so easily
defined. Its most evident quality is buoyancy,zestfulness,resourcefulness, and self-reliance. The term "individualism" (the best single term
withwhichto characterizethe Americanmind) has to be used withreser-

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358

PHILOSOPHY

AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH

vations. If individualismmeans the cult of solitude, or the prizingof

thosepersonaltraitswhichset one man apart fromhis fellows,and are the
effectof retreatfromthe world,then the termis inapplicable. For the
people ofthe United States are highlygregariousand sociable. They find
silencealmostintolerable,and if theydevelop an odditytheymake a cult
of it so that they may dwell among similaroddities. Americanindividand
ualismmeansnot the isolationofone humanbeing,but the intercourse
orthrough
in
achievement
cooperationof many. It means confidence
that
to
ganization and combinedeffort. Thus it is less likely promote
creativeoriginalityin art or fundamentaldiscoveryin pure sciencewhich
is thefruitofsolitarygenius,thanthetechnicaldevicesby whichorganized
effort-evenin art and sciencethemselves-can produceresults. The individual who holds himselfapart, who will not "join," who does not "belong," who does not "play the game," who does not "get together,"who
does not "row his weightin the boat," is viewed with suspicion.
of Americansis due to many causes, includingthe
The self-confidence
bounty of nature, the temperateclimate, the Protestant emphasis on
and the adventurouscharacterand happy mixture
personalresponsibility,
of racial stocks. Whatever the causes, there can, 1 think,be no doubt
that those who are born into this regionof the earth's surfaceimbibe a
sense of abounding opportunity. In spite of the growthof population
and the progressiveexhaustionof natural resources,the great majority
of articulateAmericansstillbelieve that they can improvetheircondition
and make theirfortunes;and that iftheyfailtheyhave only themselvesto
blame. There is a promiseofreward,not too remote,whichexcitesambition and stimulateseffort.
It followsthat the people of the United States judge, and expect to be
judged, by the standard of success, meaning somethingmade of opportunity. There is the opportunityin the sense of favorableconditionsthe "opening," as it is sometimescalled-and there is the seizing of the
the takingadvantage of the opening. Success is thoughtof
opportunity,
as the fruitof a marriagebetweencircumstanceand action.
It is a mistaketo supposethat the Americanidea ofsuccessis limitedto
Americanis not the
material success. That which is characteristically
exclusionof art, literature,science,and religionby the pursuitof wealth,
intoart, literature,science,and religionof something
but the introduction
of the same spiritand attitudeof whichthe pursuitof wealth affordsthe
most notable or notoriousmanifestation:not the drowningof cultureby
thehumofindustry,but theidea ofmakingculturehum. And so material
success,yes, but any kind of success,withno prejudicewhateveragainst
culturalattainmentprovidedit can be recognizedand measuredas success.
The standardis not essentiallysordidor commercial,but it is essentially

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Is

THERE

A NORTH

AMERICAN

PHILOSOPHY?

359

competitive,whetherthat consistsin beating recordsor in beating other

competitors.
The beliefin successis not based on blindfaith,or on trust,or on a mere
elasticityof spirit,but on experience. It is no secret,least of all fromthe
Americanpeople, that the little enterpriselaunched on the banks of the
Delaware in 1776 turnedout to be a greatsuccess. As these people look
back overtheirhistoryor out upon the lifeoftheirtimestheyseeAmerican
success-achieved and in the making-and theirconfidenceseemsto them
to be justified. They feelthemselvesto be on the march;towardprecisely
what is not always clear,but anywaytowardsomethingbiggerand better.
Because of a widespreadbelief in success, competitiontends to stop
short of the destructionof the rival. Competitionis keen and intense,
but not deadly or vindictive. This is because no fightis taken to be the
last fight. Defeat may not be accepted gracefully,but it is accepted
because he who is defeatedexpectsto fightagain, withanother
cheerfully,
opponentor on anotherfieldof battle. Sometime,somewhere,somehow,
he expectsto win.
WhetherAmericansare happy, is another question; the contraryis
oftenasserted. Nor is it clear that they methodicallypursue happiness,
or have, save for certainsects, developed any positive art of happiness.
It would perhapsbe true to say that theybelieve in the possibilityof removing the causes of unhappiness-pain, poverty,frustration,sickness,
old age, and even death. They don't regardunhappinessas the necessary
lot of man, to be accepted as a fatalityand sublimatedin tragicnobility.
Even sin has come to be regardedas curable-if not by religion,then by
psycho-analysis.
consiststo no small extentin the fertilityof
Americanresourcefulness
It
has
become a universalseedbed and nurseryfor
soil.
its intellectual
from
all the world. The Americanpublic is a
and
all
the
from
past,
ideas
worldmarket. Its immenseand
cultural
sort of public-at-large-a great
demandforwhat is called
consumer
the
creates
greatest
voraciousliteracy
and
books, forvisual art, for
magazines
newspapers,
"reading-matter,"for
in human
communicable,
for
and
anything
fancies,
for
thoughts
music,
if
it
has
not
will
already
that
time
I
the
come,
come,
dare
say
history.
whenthe majorityof the consumersof Shakespearewill have been Americans-or of any futureShakespeare, or any lesser Shakespeare. Now
while this does convey,and rightlyconveys,a suggestionof shallowness
it also gives the Americansthe sense that they
and lack of discimination,
have everything. If theydo not make it theycan buy it. This does not
offendtheirpride,fortheyfeelthat theybuy it withwhat theyhavemade.
has witnessedan increasingdisillusionmentand
The last half-century
self-criticism.There is, I need not say, a sophisticatedelite whichscoffs

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AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH

at such Americanismas I have described. But one does not find the
peculiaritiesof a nation in its sophistication,whichtends to be the same
American
amongall personsand peoples. To findwhatis characteristically
self which its selfone must look for its naivete; for that unself-critical
criticismcriticizes;for the illusions fromwhich it seeks emancipation.
This beingthe case I ventureto say that themeaningoflifeforthe Ameri,can people is not revealed in the tragedyor in the comedy of manners,
but in the melodrama-with its dash and excitement,its gallopinghorses
or speeding automobiles,its pursuitsand hair-breadthescapes, its prodigious feats,its black villain and snow-whiteheroine-and above all its
happy ending.
The AmericanismwhichI have.takenthe melodramato illustrateis not,
oflife:a recognition
however,a bad formofart,but a seriousinterpretation
of inanimatenature,
of the forceof evil and of the inertiaand indifference
coupled with an ideal of the good and a beliefin man's powerto achieve
it by the intelligentand organizedeffortof individuals. For, afterall,
whyshouldn'tthingsend happily-if possible? The faithwhichI venture
to call Americanis no absolute optimism,no assurancethat all is perfect
in the eternalconstitutionofthings,or in anotherworld,but a conditional
optimism:we can if we tryand put our mindsand our hands to it, and
unite our action. It is not an easy optimism-a faiththat moves mountainsby simplywishingand believing,orby invokingsupernaturalagencies,
but a contrivingoptimism,whichmoves mountainsby learninghow and
applyingthe necessaryleverage. It is a faithjustifiedby the fact that
mountainshave been so moved. This faith, like all faith, exceeds the
limits of past experience,but only because experienceitselfproves the
immenseresourcesof the implementedhuman will. It is a faithwhich
have
because so many impossibilities
does not easily accept impossibilities
proved to be possible, It is utopian in its dreams,but does not confuse
dreamswith the actual state of affairs,and is preparedto earn the good
and not have it handed out.
Whateverbarriershave been erectedin Americaagainstthe importation
the door has been open
of physicalcommodities,or against immigration,
wide to ideas fromall quarters. Given the circumstancesofthe settlement
of the countryand the varied compositionof its populationthis could not
well have been otherwise. Those who have settled here fromdifferent
parts of the worldhave broughtideas withthemand transmittedthemto
their descendents. Contacts have been maintainedbetween settlersor
and theirplaces oforigin. At thesame timetherehas emerged
immigrants
fromall this variety of impacts a characteristicAmericanresponse-a
selectiveresponse,whichtriesall thingsbut assimilates,rejects,or modi-ofselection,whichI have describedas individualism,
fies. This principle

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Is

THERE

A NORTH AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY?

36t

is not the creation of any consciouslynationalisticphilosophy. It is a

bias compoundedof many causes, economic,ethnic,cultural; a self-conbias whichonce havingcometo pass has grownby its ownexercise.
firming
It lies below the level of formalexpression. It is an attitude,an inarticulate premise,an undefinedstandard,a prejudicewhich,sinceit is deeper
than art, literature,politics, business, and philosophy,colors them all
alike, and governsthe judgmentsand sentimentsof everydaylife and of
the commonman.
It would be an egregiouserrorto suppose that this individualismis the
sole or even the principalsourceof any singlebranchofAmericanculture.
At best it can onlydescribewhatis Americanabout it. A painter,a poet,
a scientist,a statesman,a businessmanhas his own vocation and his own
threads of connectionwith the past and the present,both at home and
abroad; and he also has himself,his own talent and inventiveness-possibly genius. Similarly,the philosopherby vocation is chargedwith the
solution of certainproblems. He takes over the unfinishedbusiness of
his philosophicalconhis philosophicalpredecessorsand collaborateswithr
temporariesthroughoutthe world. He thinksphilosophicallyforhimself.
But ifhe is an Americanphilosopherhe is not onlya philosopherbut also
this
an American,and thus the questionarisesas to what if any difference
makesto his philosophizing.
My thesis,then,is a very modest one: to the effect,namely,that the
philosophizingcarriedon by Americansor in America,revealsthe accent
which I have named individualism. Amidstthe wide range of philosophical ideas which Americanshave inheritedfrom the past, or received
fromabroad, or drawnfromtheirown minds,the ideas whichhave been
utteredwith most conviction,whichhave enjoyed the widestvogue, and
which have taken root, have been ideas which are consistentwith individualism. Those parts of philosophicalsystemswhichhave foundfavor'
have been those parts whichcould be assimilatedto individualism. The
characteristicmodificationsof philosophicalsystemswhen accepted by
Americanphilosophersor by the Americanmindat large have been in the
directionofindividualism. Historythus presentsus witha sortofexperimental test. The very range of stimuli,whetherpresentedby the past,
or by contemporary
thoughtthroughoutthe world,or by the fecundityof
the Americanminditself,has servedto bringout moreclearlythe consistencyof the selectivereaction.
For a summaryjustificationofthisthesisI accept the periodsintowhich
thought
Americanphilosophyis customarilydivided: Puritan-Protestant
of the seventeenthand early eighteenthcenturies;the philosophyof the
Enlightenment,which flourishedin America in the eighteenthcentury
in the ideologyof the AmericanRevolution; the Scottish
and -culminated

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362

PHILOSOPHYAND PHENOMENOLOGICAL
RESEARCH

or Common Sense School beginningin the late eighteenthcenturyand

lastingthroughoutthe greaterpart ofthe nineteenthcentury;the Romantic-Transcendentalist
philosophyof the middleof the nineteenthcentury,
followedby Post-Kantian Idealism; and finallythe Pragmatic,Realistic,
and othermovementswhichhave appearedsincethe openingofthe present
centuryand are stillmoving.1
From the Puritan-Protestant
thoughtof the seventeenthcenturya part
proved congenialand was absorbed into the durable Americantradition,
while a part was soon forgottenor consciouslyrejected. That which
provedcongenialwas its Calvinisticmoralismof the will; its emphasison
personalaccountability;its attributingof failureto weaknessratherthan
to circumstance;its contractualor covenanttheoryof human institutions
by which even God was held to his bargain; its congregationalformof
churchpolity;its assertionand practiceofthe rightofprivatejudgmentin
of scripture;its conceptionof a terrestial
the readingand interpretation
paradise; its recognitionof the hard factsof evil; its sanctionof prudence
and worldlysuccess; its broadly Christianor theisticview of the world.
on the other hand, which was soon
The part of Puritan-Protestantism,
abandoned both in New England and elsewhere,comprisedthe famous
Five PointsofCalvinism,and in particularthe doctrineofhumaninability;
its sombreview of divinevindictiveness;and its theocraticauthoritarianism.
Because ofwhat was foundcongenialto theAmericantemperin PuritanProtestantismthe transitionto the philosophyof the Enlightenmentwas
not abrupt or revolutionary. For heretherewas the same moralism;the
same confidencein the capacity of a humanpersonto be the masterof his
own destiny;the same conceptionofpropertyas an indexofcharacterand
and as embodyingthe rightof a man to the fruitsof his own labor;
effort,
of institutions,
the same interpretation
politicalas well as ecclesiastical,as
restingon a compact betweenprivate parties each ofwhom was the natural and jealous guardianofhis own interests. The naturalrightsaffirmed
in the Declaration of Independenceand the civil rightsembodiedin constitutionswere in keepingwith the Protestantconceptionof the rightof
the individualbelieverto know forhimselfthe termsof salvation,and to
demand his quid pro quo even beforethe throneof God. The preceptsof
Puritan morality,and in particularthe Golden Rule, were not altered in
contentwhen they were called the laws of nature. Benjamin Franklin's
practicalwisdomand methodicalcultivationof the powersof the will had
been anticipatedby Cotton Mather. The State of Nature was scarcely
distinguishablefromParadise beforethe Fall, and both could readilybe
1 For a fullerpresentation
ofthe same view,cf.the Author'sShall notPerishfrom
theEarth(1940),Ch. 2.

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Is

THERE

A NORTH

AMERICAN

PHILOSOPHY?

363

transferred
fromthe past to the futureand conceivedas the goal ofprogress. The philosophyof the Declaration of Independence,formulated
by Thomas Jefferson
not only because he was a skillfuldraftsmanbut
because he was so completelyimpregnatedwith the prevailingopinions
of this self-congratulatory
epoch, is the creed solemnlyadopted by the
nation at its comingof age, and perpetuallyreaffirmed
in all its hours of
crisis.

The Scottishphilosophyclaimeda peculiartitleto acceptancein America. It preservedLocke's metaphysicaland moralindividualism,whileat

the same time it rejected both the subjectivismand the scepticismof
Locke's followersin the Britishline. It proposedto save Locke fromthe
paradoxical consequencesof his theorythat the knowingmind can only
compareits ownideas. The Yankees, said JamesMcCosh, "have a pretty
clearnotionofwhata thingis, and, ifit is ofvalue,theytake stepsto secure
it." In short accordingto this most eminentexponentof the Scottish
School in America,the Americanis by temperamentand habit one who
relieson his head to see the worldas it is and on his will to make it better.
The influenceof Kant, directand indirect,was disseminatedin America
in two waves, the literarymovementwhich came to be called "Transcendentalism,"and the strictlyphilosophicalmovement,which came to
be called "Post-KantianIdealism."
Transcendentalismas representedby Emerson and Bronson Alcott
affordsa peculiarlygood exampleofthe selectiveemphasisoftheAmerican
mind. To one who is interestedin Americanismthe interestingthing
is not that Emerson and Alcott should have been influencedby German
Romanticismas well as by Plato and by Orientalthought,but what these
Americanthinkersdid to these influencesbeforethey got throughwith
them. The Transcendentalists,reactingagainst the empiricismand externalismboth of the Enlightenmentand of the ScottishSchool, accepted
fromNeo-Platonism,fromthe Coleridgeanversionof Schelling,and from
Brahmanismor fromany otheravailable source,the doctrineofa universal
indwellingspiritor over-soul,apprehendedby intuitivereason. But they
did not allow the logic or the piety of this doctrineto drive them to a
mysticalabsorptionor self-surrender.There has neverbeen an extremer
or more defiantchampionand exemplarof individualismthan Emerson;
and the name which Alcott preferredfor the gospel which he besought
Emersonto join him in proclaimingwas the name of "personalism."
Post-KantianIdealism ofthe Americanvarietywas notableforits stubto sacrificethe individualto the universal. Hence the
bornunwillingness
spread in America of personal or personalisticidealismswhich soughtto
reconciletheabsolutespiritofthe Kantian schoolin all its variousinterpretations with the irreducibilityof the moral will of the individual man.

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PHILOSOPHY AND PHENOMENOLOGICALRESEARCH

This was the gospelofthosegreatteachersofthe academicyouth-Watson

ofMcGill,HowisonofCalifornia,GarmanofAmherst,WenleyofMichigan,
Bowne of Boston,Royce of Harvard-to whom duringthe last decades
of the nineteenthcenturythe collegesand universitieslooked for a nonsectarianand non-dogmaticsupport of the moral and religioustradition
against the rising influenceofnaturalscience.
Of these the most interestingand the most formidablewas Royce, who
sprang fromthe westernfrontierofAmericaand conductedhisphilosophical studies in Germany. He was profoundlyinfluencedby Schopenhauer's voluntarism,but rejectedhis pessimism. He delightedin Hegel's
paradoxesand insightsbut rejectedhis historicaldeterminism. He was a
Fichtean in his moralismbut he followedneitherFichte nor Hegel in their
apotheosis of the state. He became known as the proponentof "The
Absolute," but his Absolutewas an Americaneditionof the Absolute. It
was no accident that his major workwas entitledThe Worldand theIndividual. Not only was Royce's Absolute itselfan individual,but in the
end it became a societyoffiniteindividuals. Its essencewas will,embracing a pluralityofwills. Temporalitywas reconciledwitheternitythrough
the doctrine of the "specious present." Morality consisted essentially
in the energetictriumphofgood overevil; and the moralgood was loyalty,
loyaltiesreconcilableonlythroughmutualrespect
divisibleinto conflicting
and tolerance.
At the openingof the presentcentury,when this AmericanizedPostKantian Idealism so dominatedthe philosophicalworldas to constitutea
sort of academic orthodoxytwo powerfulthinkersrisked the odium of
heresy and profoundlyaltered the scene. It is interestingand characteristicallyAmericanthat the older of these men,William James,sprang
fromthe line of the BritishSchool, while JohnDewey, his youngerand
independentally, had in his earlieryears been infectedwith Hegelianism.
Despite the fact that thoughneitherever completelyescaped his original
bias, they feltthemselvesto be collaborators,both in what they rejected
and in what theyaffirmed. The courseofAmericanphilosophyduringthe
has been largelythe resultoftheirjoint influence.
last half-century
Togethertheyhave broughtinto vogue that way of philosophizingthat
is loosely called by the name of "Pragmatism." Of Pragmatismit can be
said that if it is not strictlyindigenousit is, in a degreethat is true of no
American. James,owingto his sociability,
otherphilosophy,distinctively
mobility,and cosmopolitanism,his personal intimacieswith European
thinkers,and the brilliancyof his style,has been widelyread abroad, and
especiallyin France. But the fact remainsthat Pragmatism,whetherof
theJamesianor Deweyan variety,has nevertakenrootoutsideoftheUnited
States. It is worthyof remarkthat Dewey, who is facile princes among

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Americanphilosopherstoday is elsewhere,save in the fieldof education,a

prophetwithouthonor. This may be taken as negative evidence that
too American for
Pragmatismis American-that is, not non-American,
the alien palate.
Jamesand Dewey both foundthe scientificclue to theirphilosophiesin
biologyratherthan in physics,and looked to the creativepowerofthe will
as the escape froma necessitarianmaterialism;but whereasJamesstressed
theforceofthe will and its reservesofenergyto be called intoplay forthe
overcomingofobstacles,Dewey stressedthe intelligenceby whichobstacles
can be circumvented. Dewey, therefore,as compared with James, is
more-inline withthe Americanemphasison organizationand technology.
The same difference
is reflectedin theirmoralphilosophies;James'smoralism being more dualistic,black and white,heroic and utopian, Dewey's
morepiecemealand opportunistic. Thus whileJames was readyto define
the ideal goal and enlistunderits banner,he was less concernedwiththe
means of its attainment;while Dewey was so concernedwith the means,
so unwillingto commithimselfto absolutesof any description,as to leave
and organizingwillis to be applied.
doubt oftheend to whichtheintelligent
But both forJamesand forDewey the will in questionwas the actual will
of mortalman. They knew no other-no transcendentwill, no absolute
will, no eternal will, no metaphysicalwill defineda priori to satisfythe
requirementsof the ideal.
Pragmatism,despiteits wide vogue in America,has never attained the
high respectability,or, to borrowSantayana's term,the "gentility,"once
by the Scottish School, and by Postenjoyed by Protestant-Puritanism,
Kantian Idealism. It is a philosophywhichdoes not readilylend itselfto
authority,to orthodoxy,or to edification. Furthermore,by challenging
Idealism,Pragmatismliberatedmanydivergentphilosophicalforceshaving
little in commonsave theircommonrejectionof tradition. The spell of
Idealism beingbroken,all sortsof irreverentphilosophiespouredthrough
the breach-philosophies calling themselves"neo-realism,""critical realism," "contextualism," "operationalism," "positivism," "naturalism." And among these innovatingphilosophies,recent and contemporary,appears a revisedand considerablychastened"idealism"; no longer
capitalized, no longerthephilosophy,but merelyone philosophyamong
others.
It would take a bolderand morepenetratinginsightthan is claimedby
the presentwriterto see any clearlymarkedtrend amidst this diversity
and clash of contemporaryphilosophicalopinion. I ventureonly to say
that I findno disparagementof the individual,whetheras moral agent or
and dissolution,
as thinker,no static absolutism,no mysticalself-surrender
no fatalism,no tragic futility,no subjection of man to institutions,no

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PHILOSOPHY AND PHENOMENOLOGICALRESEARCH

pessimism,no misanthropy;but a pervasivetemperof mind whichis the

oppositeofall thesethings.
Despite, or perhapsbecause, of the clash of doctrinesAmericanphilosoideals rub against one another
phy tends to moderation. Its different
afterthe mannerof gregariousAmericans. This frictiondulls the sharp
and worksagainst intellectualobsessionor monomania.
edge of difference
There are vervefewAmericanthinkerswho do not have morethan one idea.
Americanphilosophydoes not tend to fanaticism,to doctrinairerigidity,
or to pontificalutterance,or, and this may be held to be a weakness,to
system-building.
This moderationis connected with the tendencyto hospitalityand
eclecticismwhich has already been remarked;and it may account for
America's comparative lack of intellectualdaring and originality-its
thinkers,scatteredthrougha thousand
producingmany busy and efficient
colleges and universities,ratherthan a few sages, prophets,and revolutionaries. The Americanminddoes not live on mountaintops or in ivory
towersbut in unionrailwaystations;or in skyscrapersWhichaccommodate
a throngof occupants,engaged in diverse enterprises,and whose offices
are connectedby elevators,telephones,and public addresssystems.
It is now time for footnotesand epilogue. This survey is guilty of
notable omissions,of whichI am by no means whollyinnocent. Nothing
has been said of the historyof Catholic thoughtexcept by implicationin
the emphasison Protestantism. In the last centuryan attemptto bring
Catholic thoughtmore explicitlyin line with American liberalismwas
condemnedby the Vatican. In the decades that followed,Catholic thinkers were forsocial and culturalas well as fordogmaticand ecclesiastical
reasons,largelyisolated fromthe main stream of Americanphilosophy.
by way of Thomism. In ThomThere are signsof a new reapprochement
ism Catholic thinkers,whetherRoman or Anglican,have founda common
ground with the Americantraditionof natural law, the dignityof the
moralperson,social progress,and the rejectionof statism.
Three eminentindividualphilosophershave as yet receivedno mention.
George Santayana foundthe Americanenvironmentrepellant,and what
he foundrepellantis preciselythat whichhas here been definedas American-its moral earnestness,its voluntarism.its disrespectfor authority
and institutions,its belief in progressthrougheffortand organization.
Despite his vogue as a masterof style,and despitehis doctrinalaffinities
withrealismand naturalism,his Olympianescapism,his delicatelymocking
to betterhimselfand his world,
and condescendingattitudeto man's effort
have provedas uncongenialto Americansas theirways to him.
was the experienceof AlfredNorth Whitehead,who has
Very different
recentlydwelt amongus. While Americacannot claim to have produced

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THERE

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him, it has nourishedhim and made him happy. His manysided and
his intellectualtolerance,his suspicion
tentativemannerofphilosophizing,
science,his naturalism,his
contemporary
of systems,his intimacywith
realism,his personalinvolvementin the two world wars and devotionto
the cause of the Allies, his sympathywith liberal social and economic
trendsboth in Britainand in America,his admirationofJamesand Dewey
above all Americanphilosophers,his empiricalsense of a universerich in
undisclosed possibilities,his settingof wisdom and personal conviction
above learning,his hailingof the promiseof youth-all of these traits of
characterand of mindenabled himto ally himselfwith,and take his place
among,Americanphilosophers-bothlovingand beloved.
ThereremainsthefigureofCharlesPierce,who standslike a lonelypeak,
its altitudeincreasingwithdistance. I shall not say that Pierceprovesthe
rule, but ratherthat he proves that thereis no rule. Althoughhe was
himselfan unmitigatedindividualhe explicitlyrejectedthe philosophyof
individualism-and he is thebest authoritythatcan be citedon thesubject.
He became the imputedfatherof Pragmatismbut refusedthe, to him,
of AmericanNaturalism,
doubtfulhonor. He is claimed as a forerunner
but he would doubtlessrefusethat honortoo, had he the opportunityto
speak. He remainsa philosopher'sphilosopher,belongingto no school,
and havinglittlein commonwithhis Americanenvironment.
So much for the foot-notes. My epilogue contains two paragraphs.
In the firstplace, I wish to say how little I claim forthe thesiswhich I
have heredefended. I cannotbringit down to date forthe simplereason
that one cannotsee the contoursofa complexityin the midstofwhichone
lives. I make no predictionof futuretrends,not even to the extent of
extrapolatingthe trendwhich I think I discoverin the past. For all I
know Americanphilosophymay be about to cease to be, may already be
ceasing to be, Americanas I have interpretedthe term. Furthermore,
opinionin suchmattersis peculiarlyvulnerableto thechargeofbias. Since
I desire myselfto be American,it is inevitable that I should construe
Americanismin termswhich enable me to be its champion. So I may
have done nothingmorethan state my own creed,with illustrationsfrom
the historyofAmericanthought. As I reviewwhat I have said I thinkit
shouldperhapsbe entitled"Jottingsand Commentson AmericanPhilosophy,)"witha long sub-titleas follows: "By one who believes in the possibilityof moral and cultural progressthroughthe organized effortof
individuals,and who findsthe environmentof man both independently
which it has
resistantand compliantlyplastic to the spiritual offspring
itself begotten." If this be American,I have, to the best of my ability,
made themost of it.
And finallyI know that I expressthe agreementof both branchesof

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PHILOSOPHY AND PHENOMENOLOGICALRESEARCH

the Americanfamilywhen I say that our philosophizingshould create a

bond and not a division. For as a goal of endeavor,if not in practice,
it should be in orderto
philosophyis one. If we discoverour differences
removethem, each profitingby the other. And if we should achieve a
common understandingamong ourselves,it would have no value if it
accentuated a differencebetween ourselves and the rest of the world;
but only if it servedto promotea unity of philosophicspirit-a common
desire for the truthfulsolution of common problems-pervading and
bindingall mankind.
RALPH BARTON PERRY.
HARVARD

UNIVERSITY.

EXTRACTO
La filosofiacomo cualquiera otra rama de la investigationaspira a ser
verdaderay, por lo tanto, universalmentevailida. No ha de proponerse,
entonces,ser nacional. Por otra parte, es imposibleescapar de la influencia de lo nacional de modo que hay que admitirlocomo un hecho sin
considerarlodignode admiracion. Aunque en Estados Unidos no hay un
cuerpo de doctrinani una escuela de filosofiaque pueda ser considerada
existe si un molde intelectualque ha sido creado
como norte-americana,
en los Estados Unidos como un resultado de su historia,de su origen
etnico y de su ambiente natural y que se ha reflejado en el tipo de
filosifiaque ha tendido a predominary prevalecer. El terminomas
tomado en el
adecuado para ese molde intelectuales el de individualismo,
sentidoque sirvepara expresaruna constelacionde presuposicionesmas o
menos inconcientes:que desde el punto de vista ordinariolos individuos
son reales; que son causalmenteeficacestantoen la competenciacomoen el
acuerdo;que pueden,utilizandolas fuerzasde la naturalezafisicasometerla
a sus propiosfines;que creany controlansus institucionessociales de las
cuales son sus legitimosbeneficiaries;que pueden fraguary realizar sus
ideales por el esfuerzoy la inteligenciaorganizados.
Tal cuniomentalse hace presenteen los negocios,la ley,la politicay en
la competenciadeportiva,en el College, en la ciencia y en las artes. Ha
ejercido una influenciaselective en la filosoflacomo puede comprobarse
analizando las sucesivas corrientesdel pensamientoeuropeo que han sido
adoptadas y asimiladas en suelo americano(E.E.U.U.). El pensamiento
americanoha acentuado y absor'bidolo que habia de individualist (en el
sentido arriba apuntado) en la concepcion Protestante-Puritanade la
6poca colonial. El Iluminismo(Filosofla de la Ilustracion) y la escuela
realista escocesa del -sentidocomulnfueronaceptados especialmente. Del
aportedado por el IdealismoKantiano y el RomanticismoAlemanacentuo

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sus aspectos voluntaristasy personalistas. Del Pragmatismo,venido de

fuentesfrancesas,inglesasy alemanas acepto todo aquello que concordara
con el primado de la voluntad y una filosofiasocial liberal. Se prestan
otras corrientesactuales: los
para ser sometidosa la mismainterpretacion
dos gruposdel Realismo, el resurgirdel Idealismo, el movimientoque se
por la teoria de los valores,el
titula a si mismo"Naturalismo,"el interest
Positivismo Logico y sus diferentesgrados. Respecto al futurode la
filosofiaen los Estados Unidos seria aventuradopredecirlosalvo declarar
que, a pesar de los cambios sociales, economiciosy culturalessu molde
intelectualtiendea permanecerinalterable.

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