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Twilight Of Idols (essay)
"Twilight of Idols" is a 1917 essay by Randolph Bourne on the moral failings of instrumental pragmatist philosophy in the wake of American entry into World War I. Background and summary Following April 1917 American entry into World War I, the '' Seven Arts'' literary journal and left-wing intellectual circle began to publish several outspoken essays by Randolph Bourne, who had been ostracized from other publications for his anti-war stance, from June through October. This series ended with "Twilight of Idols" in the magazine's final issue. The essay describes how instrumental pragmatism failed as a philosophy when confronted with the war question. Bourne called for other discontents to join him in critical defiance. His tone was direct yet devoid of political slogans. Bourne contended that instrumentalism's preoccupation with moral ends and proper means forgot about values. Similarly, pragmatists who uncritically focused on process and efficiency did not mind quality of li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Randolph Bourne
Randolph Silliman Bourne (; May 30, 1886 – December 22, 1918) was a progressive writer and intellectual born in Bloomfield, New Jersey, and a graduate of Columbia University. He is considered to be a spokesman for the young radicals living during World War I. His articles appeared in journals including ''The Seven Arts'' and ''The New Republic''. Bourne is best known for his essays, especially his unfinished work "The State," discovered after he died. From this essay (which was published posthumously and included in ''Untimely Papers'') comes the phrase "war is the health of the state" which laments the success of governments in arrogating authority and resources during conflicts. Life and works Bourne's face was deformed at birth by misused forceps and the umbilical cord was coiled round his left ear, leaving it permanently damaged and misshapen. At age four, he suffered tuberculosis of the spine, resulting in stunted growth and a hunched back. He chronicled his experienc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Instrumentalism
In philosophy of science and in epistemology, instrumentalism is a methodological view that ideas are useful instruments, and that the worth of an idea is based on how effective it is in explaining and predicting phenomena. According to instrumentalists, a successful scientific theory reveals nothing known either true or false about nature's unobservable objects, properties or processes. Scientific theory is merely a tool whereby humans predict ''observations'' in a particular domain of nature by formulating laws, which state or summarize regularities, while theories themselves do not reveal supposedly hidden aspects of nature that somehow ''explain'' these laws. Instrumentalism is a perspective originally introduced by Pierre Duhem in 1906.Roberto Torretti, ''The Philosophy of Physics'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999)pp. 242–43 "Like Whewell and Mach, Duhem was a practicing scientist who devoted an important part of his adult life to the history and philosophy of p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pragmatism
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror 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. Pragmatism began in the United States in the 1870s. Its origins are often attributed to the philosophers Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey. In 1878, Peirce described it in his pragmatic maxim: "Consider the practical effects of the objects of your conception. Then, your conception of those effects is the whole of your conception of the object."Peirce, C.S. (1878), " How to Make Our Ideas Clear", ''Popular Science Monthly'', v. 12, 286–302. Reprinted often, including ''Collected Papers'' v. 5, paragraphs 388–410 an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Entry Into World War I
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry American ancestry refers to people in the United States who self-identify their ancestral origin or descent as "American," rather than the more common officially recognized racial and ethnic groups that make up the bulk of the American peop ..., people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seven Arts (literary Journal)
''The Seven Arts'', an early example of the Little Magazine, was edited by James Oppenheim, Waldo Frank, and Van Wyck Brooks; it appeared monthly from November 1916 through October 1917. Jointly envisaged by Oppenheim and Frank, ''The Seven Arts'' was an attempt to anticipate and influence the United States' emerging “renascent period;” in the first issue the editors explain: “In short, ''The Seven Arts'' is not a magazine for artists, but an expression of artists for the community.” Of the many contributors to the magazine, Sherwood Anderson, J. D. Beresford, Randolph Bourne, Theodore Dreiser, Robert Frost, Kahlil Gibran, D. H. Lawrence, Amy Lowell, Paul Rosenfeld, and Louis Untermeyer were among the most prolific. History The idea of ''The Seven Arts'' was first conceived by Oppenheim and Frank at a party in Greenwich Village; Frank, who had many literary contacts, would serve as associate editor and find contributors for the magazine. Oppenheim would serve as editor, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quality Of Life
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns". Standard indicators of the quality of life include wealth, employment, the environment, physical and mental health, education, recreation and leisure time, social belonging, religious beliefs, safety, security and freedom. QOL has a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, politics and employment. Health related QOL (HRQOL) is an evaluation of QOL and its relationship with health. Engaged theory One approach, called engaged theory, outlined in the journal of ''Applied Research in the Quality of Life'', posits four domains in assessing quality of life: ecology, economics, politics and culture. In the domain of culture, for example, it includes the following subdomains of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Dewey
John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the first half of the twentieth century. The overriding theme of Dewey's works was his profound belief in democracy, be it in politics, education, or communication and journalism. As Dewey himself stated in 1888, while still at the University of Michigan, "Democracy and the one, ultimate, ethical ideal of humanity are to my mind synonymous." Dewey considered two fundamental elements—schools and civil society—to be major topics needing attention and reconstruction to encourage experimental intelligence and plurality. He asserted that complete democracy was to be obtained not just by extending voting rights but also by ensuring that there exists a fully formed public opinion, accomplished by communication among citizens, experts and politici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers (; January 27, 1850December 13, 1924) was a British-born American cigar maker, labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and served as the organization's president from 1886 to 1894, and from 1895 until his death in 1924. He promoted harmony among the different craft unions that comprised the AFL, trying to minimize jurisdictional battles. He promoted thorough organization and collective bargaining in order to secure shorter hours and higher wages, which he considered the essential first steps to emancipating labor. He encouraged AFL member unions to take political action to "elect their friends" and "defeat their enemies". In politics he mostly supported Democrats, and occasionally local Republicans. He led the opposition to immigration from China. During World War I, Gompers and the AFL energetically supported the war effort, attempting to avert strikes and boost morale while raising wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Algie Martin Simons
Algie Martin Simons (1870–1950) was an American socialist journalist, newspaper editor, and political activist, best remembered as the editor of ''International Socialist Review (1900), The International Socialist Review'' for nearly a decade. Originally an adherent of the Socialist Labor Party of America and a founding member of the Socialist Party of America, Simons' political views became increasingly conservative over time, leading him to be appointed on a pro-war "labor delegation" to the government of revolutionary Russia headed by Alexander Kerensky in 1917. Simons was a bitter opponent of the communist regime established by V.I. Lenin, Lenin in November 1917 and in later years became an active supporter of the Republican Party (U.S.), Republican Party. Biography Early years Algie Martin Simons was born October 9, 1870, in a log house near the hamlet of North Freedom, Wisconsin, North Freedom in Sauk County, Wisconsin, Sauk County, Wisconsin, the son of a farmer. He w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Spargo
John Spargo (January 31, 1876 – August 17, 1966) was a British political writer who, later in life, became an expert in the history and crafts of Vermont. At first Spargo was active in the Socialist Party of America. A Methodist preacher he tried to meld the Protestant Social Gospel with Marxist socialism in ''Marxian Socialism and Religion: A Study of the Relation of the Marxian Theories to the Fundamental Principles of Religion'' (1915). He also founded a settlement house in Yonkers, N.Y. Spargo moved steadily to the right after 1917 when he supported American intervention in World War I. With AFL leader Samuel Gompers he organized the American Alliance for Labor and Democracy in 1917. Spargo helped draft the Colby Note that formalised the Wilson administration's anti-communist policies. He strongly denounced the Bolshevik Revolution in ''Bolshevism: The Enemy of Political and Industrial Democracy'' (1919). He opposed the foreign policy of the New Deal, especially its recog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Life Of Randolph Bourne
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louisiana State University Press
The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of American University Presses. LSU Press publishes approximately 70 new books each year and has a backlist of over 2000 titles. Primary fields of publication include southern history, southern literary studies, Louisiana and the Gulf South, the American Civil War and military history, roots music, southern culture, environmental studies, European history, foodways, poetry, fiction, media studies, and landscape architecture. In 2010, LSU Press merged with ''The Southern Review'', LSU's literary magazine, and the company now oversees the operations of this publication. Notable publications and awards ''A Confederacy of Dunces'' by John Kennedy Toole was published in 1980 and won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Three titles have won the Pulitzer Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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