tend to cloak the carefully wrought deliberations be-
hind his claims. Moreover, it is well known that James
was inclined to take his philosophy piecemeal. In any
given article or lecture, the points he chose to develop
and defend, and the weight he placed on any particu-
lar aspect of his philosophy, frequently were affected
by his assessment of the concerns of his immediate
audience, the sorts of objections he anticipated, and the
particular polemical purpose he had in view. Indeed,
James was inclined even to reject logic when he felt it
interfered with philosophical insight. The result is a
thinker who is frequently contradictory, and in whom a
clear and coherent philosophy is difficult to trace. It is
no wonder, then, that there is considerable disagree-
ment among scholars about the meaning and value of
his pragmatism.

But, in fact, as a philosopher James was far more
careful and systematic than he led his readers to be-
lieve. I have written this book as a comprehensive criti-
cal study of James's pragmatism. I have tried to show
that once we identify his most considered intentions, a
careful and thorough examination of James's pragmat-
ic writings yields a coherent vision. This vision, what-
ever its difficulties, is the result of a consistent philo-
sophical methodology, the elements of which relate in
sophisticated and conceptually integrated ways. My
purpose is to analyze and assess James's arguments and
proposals, and ultimately to establish the value of his
pragmatism as a technical and systematic philosophy.

This book would never have been written without
the help of Joseph W. Suckiel, who read the manu-
script, and with whom I have had many extensive and
productive discussions about James. I have profited
immeasurably from his philosophical perspicacity and
uncompromising logical and stylistic rigor, as well as
his natural sympathy for James's point of view. His un-
faltering commitment to the project has been a source
of great support. I would like to express my thanks to
H. S. Thayer for his help at various times while this
work was being written, including his incisive com-

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