Russell on Pragmatism

Abstract

Russell's views on the pragmatists are briefly contrasted, largely with Dewey's views, on two major points -- an epistemological account of truth, and the importance of the notion of "desire" for theory of value. It is concluded that the burst in interest in the work of the pragmatists has done a disservice to Russell's original criticisms, and that a particularly salient part of Russell's commentary revolves around his trenchant attack on the motivations behind pragmatist doctrine.