The Reception of Pragmatism in France & the Rise of Roman Catholic Modernism,

Transcription

1 The Reception of Pragmatism in France & the Rise of Roman Catholic Modernism,

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3 The Reception of Pragmatism in France & the Rise of Roman Catholic Modernism, edited by David G. Schultenover, S.J. The Catholic University of America Press Washington, D.C.

4 Copyright 2009 The Catholic University of America Press All rights reserved The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standards for Information Science Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The reception of pragmatism in France and the rise of Roman Catholic modernism, / edited by David G. Schultenover. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Philosophy, French 19th century. 2. Philosophy, French 20th century. 3. Pragmatism. 4. James, William, Modernism (Christian theology) Catholic Church History 19th century. 6. Modernism (Christian theology) Catholic Church History 20th century. 7. Catholic Church and philosophy. I. Schultenover, David G., 1938 B2188.P7R dc

5 In Memoriam Michael J. Kerlin beloved husband, father, teacher, scholar, friend with gracious wit invited learning

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7 Contents Preface ix David G. Schultenover, S.J. Introduction 1 John R. Shook and David G. Schultenover, S.J. 1. Vivo ergo cogito: Modernism as Temporalization and Its Discontents: A Propaedeutic to This Collection 21 Stephen Schloesser, S.J. 2. Early Responses to American Pragmatism in France: Selective Attention and Critical Reaction 59 John R. Shook 3. James and Bergson: Reciprocal Readings 76 Frédéric Worms Translated by John J. Conley, S.J. 4. William James on Free Will: The French Connection with Charles Renouvier 93 Donald Wayne Viney 5. Blondel and Pragmatism: Truth as the Real Adequation of Mind and Life 122 Michael J. Kerlin 6. Pragmatism in France: The Case of Édouard Le Roy 143 Harvey Hill

8 viii Contents 7. Le critique malgré lui: Marcel Hébert s Le pragmatisme 167 C. J. T. Talar 8. Notre attitude en face du Pragmatisme : George Tyrrell s Relation to Pragmatism 185 Clara Ginther Appendix: Extract from a Letter of Henri Bergson to Horace M. Kallen 217 Translated by Tony Nuspl Selected Bibliography of Pragmatism in France, John R. Shook Contributors 233 Index of Names 235 Index of Subjects 243

9 Preface The idea for this collection of essays on the reception of pragmatism in France and Roman Catholic Modernism originated with contributor C. J. T. Talar, who proposed the subject for consideration at the 2004 annual meeting of the Nineteenth Century Group of the American Academy of Religion (AAR). The topical question of these papers emerged in the former Roman Catholic Modernism Group of the AAR, whose members, meeting over a period of some twenty years, would occasionally remark on the connection between identified Roman Catholic Modernists and pragmatism, particularly the pragmatism of the American philosopher and psychologist William James ( ). Talar, who has a special interest both in Roman Catholic Modernism and in the thought world of modern France, was impressed by the resurgent interest in American pragmatism as evidenced by numerous publications in that area in recent years. So he submitted a proposal to the AAR s program committee to devote a session to what was then titled The Reception of Pragmatism in France and engaged me to convene the session and edit the papers. The call for papers resulted in contributions from experts who are widely published in this field. John Shook, research professor of philosophy at University at Buffalo, vice president and senior research fellow at the Center for Inquiry, and webmaster of the pragmatism cybrary ( coauthored the introduction to this collection to explain the needed background for the discussions to follow. He has also contributed the book s second chapter, Early Responses to American Pragmatism in France: Selective Attention and Critical Reaction, to more fully set the context and provide an overview of the subject. Frédéric Worms, a specialist in the philosophy of Henri Bergson and professor at the University of Lille III, kindly permitted ix

10 x david G. Schultenover us to translate and publish for the first time in English his essay on the relationship between James and Bergson. His essay, translated by John J. Conley, S.J., the Henry J. Knott Sr. Professor of Catholic Theology at Loyola College in Maryland, bears the English title James and Bergson: Reciprocal Readings. Professor Dominique Pradelle, editor in chief of Philosophie, in which Worms s essay first appeared, has also granted permission to publish the English translation here. The fourth essay, on James and French philosopher Charles Renouvier, by Donald Wayne Viney, professor in the Department of Social Sciences at Pittsburg State University and a noted Hartshorne scholar, expertly discusses the all-important role of the will in James s pragmatism. The essay, first published in 1997 in the History of Philosophy Quarterly, is reprinted here by the kind permission of the author and the History of Philosophy Quarterly. Michael J. Kerlin, professor of philosophy at La Salle University, contributed the fifth essay, Blondel and Pragmatism: Truth as the Real Adequation of Mind and Life, which clarifies the relationship between Maurice Blondel s philosophy of action and pragmatism. Blondel, Kerlin notes, found critics eager to fault his philosophy on several counts, not the least of which was his alleged affinity with both pragmatism and Modernism. Michael Kerlin passed away November 23, This collection is respectfully dedicated to his memory. Harvey Hill, associate professor of religion and philosophy at Berry College, with a special interest in French Modernist figures, contributed the sixth essay, on the Catholic mathematician turned philosopher, Édouard Le Roy. C. J. T. Talar, professor of systematic theology at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, an expert in modern French history and the Roman Catholic Modernist movement, authored this collection s seventh essay on one of the movement s most contentious figures, Marcel Hébert. The eighth essay, on the former Jesuit and Anglo-Irish Modernist George Tyrrell, is contributed by Clara Ginther, an Austrian scholar who is currently writing her dissertation in Dublin

11 Preface xi for the University of Freiburg im Breisgau. Tyrrell had numerous friends and intellectual sympathizers in France, and his writings (mostly in English) were carefully scrutinized by French ecclesiastics, some of whom accused him of being tainted by pragmatism. Ginther explores this charge. The appendix supplies a translation of an important letter from Henri Bergson to the American philosopher and sociologist Horace M. Kallen. Tony Nuspl of the Department of History, Oklahoma State University, provided the translation. The collection is rounded out by John Shook s selected bibliography of works on pragmatism in France. His full bibliography can be found at france.htm. Shook also compiled the indexes. A latecomer to the collection is Stephen Schloesser, associate professor of history at Boston College. Given his expertise in the period under consideration, he was asked by the editor to comment on the collection as a whole. His insights were found so striking that he was asked to prepare a contribution that would set the collection s broader historical and cultural contexts and thus provide readers a kind of intellectual apologia for the collection. Schloesser's essay is therefore placed at the head of the original set.

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13 The Reception of Pragmatism in France & the Rise of Roman Catholic Modernism,