Marianne Janack : Pragmatism and Philosophy of Science

HISTEPS WG Seminar Series 2025/2026 - Marianne Janack (Hamilton College), Pragmatism and Philosophy of Science

Abstract:
How ought we to understand science? The classical pragmatists (Peirce, Dewey, James, and Mead) all thought of themselves as scientists as well as philosophers, and saw the line between these disciplines as more permeable than did their contemporaries: the logical positivists and the British analytic philosophers. Thomas Kuhn suggested that the term ‘science’ was historically variable and had vague boundaries, and that it was not exactly the extension and refinement of ordinary epistemic practices that Quine claimed it was.

William James’s investigations into psychic science—telepathy, spirit communication, and foreknowledge of future events—are now often dismissed as an unfortunate foray into an unscientific metaphysics. This dalliance with metaphysics is often diagnosed as a symptom of James’s interest in and commitment to Protestantism. But in my discussion of James’s investigations into mediumship and spirit communication, I will present a different interpretation of this interest. James, I will argue, was challenging what he saw as scientific dogma: dogmas about what counted as observation and evidence, how and where investigations ought to be conducted, and who could be counted as a reliable testifier.

Roberto Gronda, Marianne Janack, Giancarlo Marchetti (Eds.), "Pragmatism and Philosophy of Science", London & New York: Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e...

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The HISTory of Epistemology and Philosophy of science Working Group (HISTEPS WG) brings together scholars from Italy and abroad to explore topics at the intersection of the history of science, philosophy of science, and philosophy of mathematics. Members meet online on a regular basis to read and discuss primary sources in these fields, as well as to present and critically engage with recent contributions in the secondary literature.

To know more about the HISTEPS WG: https://pric.unive.it/projects/sciplu...

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HISTEP | WG is part of the project SCIPLU (Young Researchers PNRR, MSCA2024\_0000054) and is jointly coordinated by Dr. Matteo Vagelli at the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and Professor Roberto Gronda at the Department of Civilizations and Forms of Knowledge, University of Pisa.