Can humans truly be the measure of all things? Is relativism a corrosive concept, undermining any chance we have of getting clear about things? Should we seek foundations for our values, or is such an effort a waste of time? With David Gallagher, Shannon Jordan, and Joshua Halberstam.

Can humans truly be the measure of all things? Is relativism a corrosive concept, undermining any chance we have of getting clear about things? Should we seek foundations for our values, or is such an effort a waste of time? With David Gallagher, Shannon Jordan, and Joshua Halberstam.

"'Religion' as James remarks in a letter of 1897 'is the great interest of my life.'". In the early chapters of this fresh, healthy study of James's thinking about the realm of the religious, O'Connell gathers evidence from James's essays and letters as well as the testimonial evidence in Ralph Barton Perry's biography to argue that despite his early training in physiology and medicine, James viewed his fundamental task as the interpretation of such notions as "courage," "strenuous mood," "wager of (...) belief," and the "passional side of thought." Yet O'Connell's work surpasses intellectual history and offers a truly philosophical conversation. (shrink)