Josiah Royce in Focus

Harvard professor Josiah Royce is probably the most neglected giant of American thought. When he died in 1916, the "golden age" of American philosophy died with him. William James and Charles Peirce had just died too, yet Royce was not even categorized among his pragmatist colleagues. Thus he is barely remembered as a stubborn idealist pushing epistemic proofs of God. Kegley (California State Univ., Bakersfield) has collected her thorough studies of the many strands of Royce's profound thought. Shattering the legends and misconceptions, she explains how Royce's variety of idealistic pragmatism yields breakthroughs for moral theory and communitarian ethics. Royce's theory of the creative self explains the basis for moral responsibility, and his account of the self's social growth yields an explanation for the validity of community ideals. Kegley then describes how Royce envisions the joint growth of genuine individuals within genuine communities, reconciling what too many social theorists had supposed to be forever in tension. Kegley concludes with numerous examples of Royce's relevance to contemporary problems. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Academic libraries; lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers. -Choice