American philosophy : a love story / John Kaag.

Author
Kaag, John, 1979- [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Εdition
First edition.
Published/​Created
  • New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016.
  • ©2016
Description
x, 259 pages ; 22 cm

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Firestone Library - Stacks B851 .K33 2016 Browse related items Request

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    Summary note
    "John Kaag is a dispirited young philosopher at sea in his marriage and his career when he stumbles upon West Wind, a ruin of an estate in the hinterlands of New Hampshire that belonged to the eminent Harvard philosopher William Ernest Hocking. Hocking was one of the last true giants of American philosophy and a direct intellectual descendent of William James, the father of American philosophy and psychology, with whom Kaag feels a deep kinship. It is James's question "Is life worth living?" that guides this remarkable book. The books Kaag discovers in the Hocking library are crawling with insects and full of mold. But he resolves to restore them, as he immediately recognizes their importance. Not only does the library at West Wind contain handwritten notes from Whitman and inscriptions from Frost, but there are startlingly rare first editions of Hobbes, Descartes, and Kant. As Kaag begins to catalog and read through these priceless volumes, he embarks on a thrilling journey that leads him to the life-affirming tenets of American philosophy-- self-reliance, pragmatism, and transcendence-- and to a brilliant young Kantian who joins him in the restoration of the Hocking books. Part intellectual history, part memoir, American Philosophy is ultimately about love, freedom, and the role that wisdom can play in turning one's life around"-- Amazon.com.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-245) and index.
    Contents
    • Maybe
    • Hell. In a dark wood, a library ; Finding West Wind ; "Pestilence-stricken multitude" ; Fraud and self-reliance ; Walden and frozen lakes
    • Purgatory. The task of salvation ; Divine madness ; On the mountain ; The will to believe ; Evolutionary love
    • Redemption. A philosophy of loyalty ; On the steps ; Women in the attic ; I knew a phoenix ; East Wind ; The mystery of being
    • The cult of the dead.
    ISBN
    • 0374154481 ((cloth))
    • 9780374154486 ((cloth))
    LCCN
    2016001908
    OCLC
    932060334
    Other standard number
    • 40026554439
    Statement on language in description
    Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage. Read more...
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