Charles Peirce and the origins of North American pragmatism

Abstract

The early American pragmatists are often taken in separation with a focus on their differences. This introductory essay is meant simply as a reminder that they thought highly of each other’s work and they shared a variety of outlooks in their respective world views. Most importantly, they believed that we are always on the hunt for new knowledge by way of experience, thought, and experiment. They took their own world views to be hypotheses about the realities of the world we experience. And they each believed that the extremes of dogma and skepticism are the outlooks that will prevent us from learning more. In what follows, I merely remind readers of some of their shared thought.