Josiah Royce was an American Pragmatist and objective idealist philosopher and the founder of American idealism. His philosophical ideas included his joining of pragmatism and idealism, his philosophy of loyalty, and his defense of absolutism.
Royce, c. 1910
Grass Valley Library Royce Branch
Inscription honoring Royce at the entrance to the Grass Valley Public Library in California.
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that views language and thought as tools for prediction, problem solving, and action, rather than describing, representing, or mirroring reality. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topics—such as the nature of knowledge, language, concepts, meaning, belief, and science—are all best viewed in terms of their practical uses and successes.
Charles Peirce: the American polymath who first identified pragmatism
Hilary Putnam said that the combination of antiskepticism and fallibilism is a central feature of pragmatism.
The "Chicago Club" including Mead, Dewey, Angell, and Moore. Pragmatism is sometimes called American pragmatism because so many of its proponents were and are Americans.