Pragmatic Humanism Revisited

How can we feel at home in this world without clinging to false certainties? This book offers a humanist re-reading of philosophical pragmatism and explores its potentials for a worldview that relies only on human resources. Thinking along with authors like William James and F.C.S. Schiller, it highlights a fundamentally humanist strand of pragmatism aimed at fostering human creativity and transformative action. It is grounded in everyday experience and underlines our responsibility to strive for the better. Ana Honnacker traces perspectives on science, religion, and ethics in the light of a pragmatic understanding of humanism. Furthermore, she suggests how to address the existential challenges we face today. Thus, pragmatic humanism is explored not only as a philosophy for critical minds, but also as a way of life.

Presents a form of humanism that poses a viable alternative to humanism defined in opposition to theism and religion Suggests how to address the existential challenges we face today Highlights a fundamentally humanist strand of pragmatism

Auteur

Ana Honnacker is Assistant Professor at the Hanover Institute for Philosophical Research, Germany.

Contenu

1. Introduction.- 2. Approaching Pragmatic Humanism.- 3. Human Inquiry and the Authority of Science.- 4. Emancipatory Outlooks on Religion and Faith.- 5. Experimental Action and Inclusion: The Ethics of Pragmatic Humanism.- 6. Thinking About Last Things: Death, Finitude, and Meaning.- 7. Conclusion: Living on UncertaintiesPragmatic Humanism as a Way of Life.