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CHAPTER 15
THE PRAGMATIST: WILLIAM JAMES
INSTRUCTIONS: Select the best answer according to the text.
TRUE/FALSE
1. Pragmatism is an empirically based philosophy that
defines knowledge in terms of practical consequences.
2. William James was educated as both a physiologist and
a historian.
3. Charles Sanders Peirce derived his version of
pragmaticism from William James.
4. Peirce ultimately referred to his philosophy as
pragmaticism.
5. Peirce presented a new theory of meaning based on
intuitive reactions to words.
6. Peirce argued that meaningful words always make a
practical difference.
7. Peirce went beyond James and used pragmaticism to
advocate religious belief and a new moral theory.
8. James insisted that philosophy make a difference in
our lives.
9. According to James, pragmaticism was meant to be a
method for solving metaphysical disputes.
10. James thought of pragmatism as a body of beliefs.
11. According to James, the will to believe determines our
opinions.
12. James classified people into two types: extroverted and
introverted.
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13. James argued that our beliefs are the result of abstract
reasoning.
14. According to James, life presents us with forced options.
15. James advocated remaining detached and disinterested
when making decisions.
16. Pragmatism rests on the rationalistic model of truth.
17. Determinism is the belief that the individual determines
his or her fate according to freely chosen beliefs.
18. James argued that belief in determinism is inferior to
belief in free will.
19. According to James, determinists have no reasonable
grounds for regret.
20. James rejected all religious beliefs on pragmatic
grounds.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
21. The word pragmatism comes from a Greek root
meaning _____ .
a. idea or thought
b. theory
c. useful or attractive
d. act or consequence
22. Peirce argued that the only differences between the
meanings of words are _____ .
a. trivial
b. how they sound to the trained ear
c. how they test out in experience
d. subjective
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23. According to Peirce, if a word cannot be tied to any
observable practical results, it is _____ .
a. meaningless
b. moot
c. spiritual in essence
d. philosophical rather than scientific
24. According to Peirce, all _____ is/are context dependent.
a. thinking
b. meaning
c. thinking and meaning
d. things
25. According to Peirce, the rational meaning of any word or
expression lies exclusively in its _____ .
a. coherence with other words and ideas
b. conformity to laws of logic
c. possible bearing on conduct
d. intuitive impact on the subject
26. James added _____ to Peirce s pragmatic theory.
a. a moral dimension
b. logical rigor
c. nothing
d. respect for science
27. James thought of pragmatism as a _____ .
a. method for solving problems that interfere with
feeling at home
b. body of beliefs from which all may draw
c. form of rationalism designed for the twentieth
century
d. type of metaphysics
28. James sometimes referred to the practical payoff of claims
as their _____ .
a. metaphysical baggage
b. cash value
c. inherent meaning
d. shadow meaning
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29. According to James, true ideas are _____ .
a. universally true
b. those that we can validate and verify
c. based on a priori truths
d. universally recognized
30. James viewed his task to be one of _____ .
a. presenting strict arguments
b. validating Peirce s beliefs
c. converting doubters to philosophical Christianity
d. being an advocate for a way of life
31. According to James, living at home in the universe
depends on _____ .
a. believing what is true
b. believing what suits us
c. respecting the environment
d. having a solid sense of scientific method
32. James classified people into _____ temperamental type(s).
a. two
b. three
c. four
d. one
33. _____ is one of the temperamental types James identified.
a. Mean-spirited
b. Clear-headed
c. Tough-minded
d. Tender-hearted
34. _____ is one of the temperamental types James identified.
a. Rationalistically inclined
b. Tender-minded
c. Tough-skinned
d. Practically oriented
35. James thought that rationalists fall into the _____
temperament.
a. romantic
b. tender-minded
c. tough-minded
d. logical-minded
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36. James thought that skeptics fall into the _____
temperament.
a. atheistic
b. tender-minded
c. tough-minded
d. cynical
37. According to James, _____ serves _____ .
a. reason/the will
b. the will/reason
c. reason/the mind
d. the butler/cake
38. According to James, the demands of life present us
with _____ .
a. avenues of escape
b. strategies for avoiding choice
c. obvious choices
d. forced options
39. According to James, truth _____ .
a. follows form
b. happens to an idea
c. always eludes us
d. is universal
40. James criticizes the rational notion of truth for
being _____ .
a. logical
b. contextual
c. precise
d. contextless
41. According to James, we accept ideas as true only _____ .
a. after they are scientifically validated
b. when they pass the correspondence truth test
c. if they meet the coherence truth test
d. after we test them against our past experiences
42. Pragmatic truth is _____ truth.
a. rational
b. metaphysical
c. universal
d. human
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43. _____ is the belief that everything that happens must
happen exactly the way it does.
a. Religion
b. Determinism
c. Pragmatism
d. Pragmaticism
44. James thought that determinism is incompatible with our
spiritual sense of _____ .
a. truth
b. conscience
c. freedom
d. political liberty
45. According to James, determinists have no reasonable
grounds for _____ .
a. conscience
b. belief in science
c. regret
d. believing anything
46. James was convinced that our spiritual need for freedom
is incompatible with _____ .
a. free will
b. religion
c. our need to feel at home in the universe
d. determinism
47. James asserted that belief in _____ best serves our need for
moral rationality.
a. determinism
b. fate
c. free will
d. predestiny
48. James argued that _____ supports our belief in free will.
a. unexpected laughter
b. the feeling of regret
c. the feeling of awe
d. crying
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49. James noted that in all cultures, people turn to a god (or
gods) who _____ .
a. punishes them
b. punishes their enemies
c. gets things done
d. waits to be served
50. The pragmatic paradox asserts that pragmatism works
_____ .
a. only if we believe ideas are true according to
nonpragmatic criteria
b. whether or not we believe in it
c. only if we believe in it
d. when it fails to work
51. James believed that without _____ , life is dull and
mediocre.
a. struggle and effort
b. philosophy
c. health
d. detachment
52. James advocated the _____ mood.
a. easygoing
b. gentle
c. solitary
d. strenuous
53. James described life as a _____ .
a. real fight
b. cosmic joke
c. piece of cake
d. puzzle
54. According to James, the essence of good is _____ .
a. to further justice
b. to satisfy demand
c. Godly forgiveness
d. love
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55. James used the term _____ to refer to people who see
all things as good.
a. happy-minded
b. tender-hearted
c. healthy-minded
d. morbid-minded
56. James used the term _____ to refer to people who see
life as essentially evil.
a. sour-minded
b. tough-hearted
c. healthy-minded
d. morbid-minded
57. James thought that _____ –minded persons have a clearer
view of life than _____ -minded ones.
a. morbid/healthy
b. healthy/morbid
c. healthy/sour
d. positive/negative
58. A _____ is a belief that affects belief in such a way that
it causes itself to come true.
a. pragmatic
b. pragmatacistic
c. self-fulfilling prophecy
d. paradoxical intention
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Chapter 15
THE PRAGMATIST: WILLIAM JAMES
1. What is the pragmatic theory of meaning? Illustrate how it
works by applying it to an example of your own choosing.
2. What do pragmatists mean by the cash value of an idea?
3. Explain what it means to assert that truth happens. Give a
specific recent example and then evaluate.
4. Compare and contrast tough-mindedness with tender-
mindedness. What is the significance of this distinction for James s
pragmatism? Do you think the distinction has cash value? Explain.
5. What is the significance of regret to James s assessment of free
will? Do you think that James is correct? Why or why not? *
6. Discuss James s notion of the will to believe. In what sense do
reasons serve the will according to James? Do you agree with
him? Why or why not? *
7. What is the dilemma of determinism? How does James deal
with it? What do you think of his approach? Explain. *
8. Explain what James meant when he claimed that a religious
orientation is more effective than a nonreligious one. Do you agree?
Why or why not? *
9. Why is James s philosophy sometimes characterized as heroic?
Is this characterization apt? If so, is James s philosophy helpful to
unheroic individuals? If James s pragmatism is not heroic, how
do you account for the widespread, mistaken belief that it is? *
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CHAPTER 15 ANSWERS