Abstract

Philosophical pragmatism takes human experience as the touchstone of any theorizing. Authors like William James and F.C.S. Schiller suggested to transform philosophy into a critical and emancipatory project, turning the quest for truth into a project of creative and responsible world-making. Their basic insight that man is the measure of all things demands for being actively engaged in building a better world. As pragmatism denies objective criteria for critique, listening to a plurality of voices and their experiences becomes crucial. This chapter offers a humanist re-reading of philosophical pragmatism and explores its challenges and prospects. With pointing out problematic assumptions in the work of James and Schiller, the unfinished agenda of their pragmatic humanism becomes visible.