American philosophic naturalism in the twentieth century

An insightful and rich anthology

This anthology provides great value for the reader who wants to get a rich and detailed understanding of 20th century American Pragmatic Naturalism. It accomplishes this task by (i) exploring the topic from multiple conceptual perspectives, and (ii) through the eyes of a large variety of authors. Additionally, each part and section of this work is benefitted by informative introductions by the editor John Ryder, which provide the reader with useful biographical and historical information that ties everything together in a way that we can see the grand tapestry of how these ideas emerged and developed over time. After reading this, the reader will have a very clear idea, philosophically, historically, and biographically, on how pragmatic naturalism progressed in America in the 20th century. Highly recommended.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the table of contents:

Introduction
Part I - Conceptions of Nature
Section 1 - Nature Discerned
1. The Discovery of Natural Objects (George Santayana)
2. Nature Unified and Mind Discerned (George Santayana)
3. Knowledge of Nature (F.J.E. Woodbridge)
Section 2 - The Nature of Nature: Materialism and Pluralism
1. Reformed Materialism and Intrinsic Endurance (Roy Wood Sellars)
2. Are Naturalists Materialists? (John Dewey, Sidney Hook, and Ernest NAgel)
3. Empirical Pluralism and Unifications of Nature (John Herman Randall Jr.)
4. Probing the Idea of Nature (Justus Buchler)

Part II - Nature, Experience, and Method
Section 3 - Experience
1. Experience and Philosophic Method (John Dewey)
2. In Dispraise of Life, Experience, and Reality (Morris R. Cohen)
3. Naturalistc and Pure Reflection (Marvin Farber)
4. Experience (Justus Buchler)
Section 4 - Science, Logic, and Knowldege
1. The Metaphysics of Reason and Scientific Method (Morris R. Cohen)
2. Logic Without Ontology (Ernest Nagel)
3. Epistemology Naturalized (W.V.O. Quine)

Part III - Values Ethical and Social
Section 5 - Ethical Theory
1. Naturalism and Ethical Theory (Abraham Edel)
2. My Good, Your Good, and Our Good (Evelyn Shirk)
Section 6 - Humanism and Social Relations
1. Nature and the Human Spirit (Sidney Hook)
2. Libertarianism: The Philosophy of Moral Freedom (Paul Kurtz)
3. Humanism and Democracy (Corliss Lamont)

Part IV - Values Aesthetic and Religious
Section 7 - Art and Aesthetics
1. The Live Creature (John Dewey)
2. The Social Bases of Art (Meyer Schapiro)
3. Poetic Judgment and Poetic Query (Justus Buchler)
Section 8 - Religion and the Religious
1. Ultimate Religion (George Santayana)
2. A Common Faith (John Dewey)
3. The Inevitability of Our Own Death (John McDermott)

Part V - Naturalism and Contemporary Philosophy
Section 9 - Nature Reconsidered
1. Modernity and the Spirit of Naturalism (Thelma Z. Lavine)
2. Human Natures (John Lachs)
3. Nature and Culture (Peter Manicas)
Acknowledgments