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Idealism, Pragmatism, and Feminism

The Philosophy of Ella Lyman Cabot

John Kaag

Idealism, Pragmatism, and Feminism provides an account of the life and writings of Ella Lyman Cabot (1866-1934), a woman who received formal training, but not formal recognition, in the field of classical American philosophy. It highlights the themes of idealism, pragmatism and feminism as they emerged in the course of career as an educational reformer and ethicist that spanned nearly four decades. Cabot's writings, developed in graduate seminars at Harvard and Radcliffe at the turn of the century complement, and in many cases anticipate, the thinking of the "fathers" of the American philosophical cannon: Charles Sanders Peirce, Josiah Royce, William James, and John Dewey. Her formal philosophical writing focuses on the concepts of growth, creativity, and the moral imagination—a fact that is especially interesting given that these concepts are developed by a woman who faced serious obstacles in her personal and intellectual development. Indeed, these concepts are not merely philosophical ideals, but practical tools that Ella Lyman Cabot used to negotiate the gender roles and intellectual marginalization that she faces at the turn of the century. The discipline of philosophy was very slow to incorporate the insights of women into its self-definition. An analysis of the writings of Ella Lyman Cabot reveals this point, but also the pointed ways in which she sought to express her genuinely creative insights.

Lexington Books

Pages: 242 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9½

978-0-7391-6780-9 • Hardback • October 2011 • $128.00 • (£98.00)

978-0-7391-8598-8 • Paperback • July 2013 • $57.99 • (£45.00)

Subjects: Philosophy / Movements / Pragmatism, Biography & Autobiography / Educators, Biography & Autobiography / Philosophers, Biography & Autobiography / Women, Education / History, Education / Philosophy, Theory & Social Aspects, Philosophy / History & Surveys / Modern, Social Science / Feminism & Feminist Theory, Social Science / Regional Studies, Social Science / Women's Studies, Philosophy / American Philosophy, Philosophy / Gender Philosophy

Idealism, Pragmatism, and Feminism

The Philosophy of Ella Lyman Cabot

Hardback

Paperback

Summary

Idealism, Pragmatism, and Feminism provides an account of the life and writings of Ella Lyman Cabot (1866-1934), a woman who received formal training, but not formal recognition, in the field of classical American philosophy. It highlights the themes of idealism, pragmatism and feminism as they emerged in the course of career as an educational reformer and ethicist that spanned nearly four decades. Cabot's writings, developed in graduate seminars at Harvard and Radcliffe at the turn of the century complement, and in many cases anticipate, the thinking of the "fathers" of the American philosophical cannon: Charles Sanders Peirce, Josiah Royce, William James, and John Dewey. Her formal philosophical writing focuses on the concepts of growth, creativity, and the moral imagination—a fact that is especially interesting given that these concepts are developed by a woman who faced serious obstacles in her personal and intellectual development. Indeed, these concepts are not merely philosophical ideals, but practical tools that Ella Lyman Cabot used to negotiate the gender roles and intellectual marginalization that she faces at the turn of the century. The discipline of philosophy was very slow to incorporate the insights of women into its self-definition. An analysis of the writings of Ella Lyman Cabot reveals this point, but also the pointed ways in which she sought to express her genuinely creative insights.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 242 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9½

978-0-7391-6780-9 • Hardback • October 2011 • $128.00 • (£98.00)

978-0-7391-8598-8 • Paperback • July 2013 • $57.99 • (£45.00)

Subjects: Philosophy / Movements / Pragmatism, Biography & Autobiography / Educators, Biography & Autobiography / Philosophers, Biography & Autobiography / Women, Education / History, Education / Philosophy, Theory & Social Aspects, Philosophy / History & Surveys / Modern, Social Science / Feminism & Feminist Theory, Social Science / Regional Studies, Social Science / Women's Studies, Philosophy / American Philosophy, Philosophy / Gender Philosophy

Author

John J. Kaag is assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 Chapter 1: The Life of American Philosophy - The Education of Ella Lyman Cabot
Chapter 3 Chapter 2: Women and Forgotten Movements in American Philosophy: Ella Lyman Cabot and Mary Parker Follett on Growth and Creativity
Chapter 4 Chapter 3: Ella Lyman Cabot's Chance: The Nature of Contingency in the American Philosophical Tradition
Chapter 5 Chapter 4: Everyday Ethics: Morality and the Imagination
Chapter 6 Chapter 5: "How Does it Feel to Be a Problem?" - Women in American Thought
Chapter 7 Chapter 6: Cabot on Peace Education: Moral Psychology, Ethics, and International Affairs (1906-1930)
Chapter 8 Chapter 7: "Thought is Never at Rest:" Ella Lyman Cabot and the Struggle of Idealism
Chapter 9 Appendix: Selected Writings of Ella Lyman Cabot

Reviews

This thoughtful, sensitive, fascinating study of a thoughtful, sensitive, fascinating woman revives an almost forgotten American philosopher. John Kaag's account of the life and work of Ella Lyman Cabot locates her in relation to her better-known contemporaries, traces the development of her thought, narrates details of her remarkable marriage, and compellingly argues for the importance of her ideas. His penetrating analysis also supports his own argument for the value of philosophical thought that is grounded in and useful for daily experience and of the kind of practical idealism that Cabot's work embodies.

— Patricia Meyer Spacks, Edgar Shannon Professor of English Emerita, University of Virginia

As one who has long identified with idealistic pragmatism and feminism, I highly recommend this engaging and well-researched book. It goes far to reduce a significant gap in the literature of classical American philosophy.
— Mary Briody Mahowald, University of Chicago

John Kaag succeeds brilliantly in presenting Ella Lyman Cabot as an original philosopher in her own right, and as a conversation partner with leading intellectuals of her day. He skillfully places the achievements and tensions in her thought within intellectual, historical, and biographical contexts. The scholarship is meticulous and imaginative; the writing elegant and gracious. Kaag thoroughly justifies Cabot's inclusion as a significant philosopher and feminist theorist in American intellectual thought.
— Marilyn Fischer, University of Dayton

Idealism, Pragmatism, and Feminism is really a must read for anyone interested in American philosophy and it makes an important contribution to the contemporary process of expanding the cannon of significant thinkers in the pragmatist tradition.
— Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Idealism, Pragmatism, and Feminism

The Philosophy of Ella Lyman Cabot

John Kaag

Idealism, Pragmatism, and Feminism

The Philosophy of Ella Lyman Cabot

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