William James, Moral Philosophy, and the Ethical Life

Virtue theory, natural law, deontology, utilitarianism, existentialism: these are the basic moral theories taught in Ethics, History of Philosophy, and Introduction to Philosophy courses throughout the United States. When the American philosopher William James (1842 1910) find his way into these conversations, there is uncertainty about where his thinking fits. While utilitarianism has become the default position for teaching Jamess pragmatism and radical empiricism, this default position fails to address and explain Jamess multiple criticisms of John Stuart Mills formulaic approach to questions concerning the moral life. Through close readings of Jamess writings, the chapters in William James, Moral Philosophy, and the Ethical Life catalogue the ways in which James wants to avoid the following: (a) the hierarchies of Christian natural law theory, (b) the moral calculus of Mills utilitarianism, (c) the absolutism and principle-ism of Immanuel Kants deontology, and (d) the staticity of the virtues found in Aristotles moral theory. Elaborating upon and clarifying Jamess differences from these dominant moral theories is a crucial feature of this collection. This collection, is not, however, intended to be wholly negative that is, only describing to readers what Jamess moral theory is not. It seeks to articulate the positive features of Jamess ethics and moral reasoning: what does it mean to an ethical life, and how should we theorize about morality?