Morton White
Encyclopedia
Morton White is an American
philosopher and historian of ideas. He is both a central figure in the philosophical movement of Holistic Pragmatism
and a noted historian of American philosophical thought. He was a professor in the Department of Philosophy at Harvard from 1953 to 1970, and since then has been at the Institute for Advanced Study
in Princeton, NJ where he is currently professor emeritus.
White was born in the Lower East Side
of New York City
. White attended City College of New York
as an undergraduate before doing his postgraduate studies at Columbia University
, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1942 and was influenced by John Dewey
. In 1949 he published Social Thought in America, a critical history of liberal social philosophy as represented by the ideas of Dewey, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
, Thorstein Veblen
, Charles A. Beard
, and James Harvey Robinson
. When the book was republished in 1957 he added a preface in which he softened some of his criticisms, and he added an epilogue in which he attacked the religious liberalism of Reinhold Niebuhr
and the conservatism of Walter Lippmann
. "Time and recent events," he wrote, "have brought the liberal outlook under a very different kind of attack- an attack with which I have no sympathy- and I fear that my own critical observations might wrongly be associated with arguments, positions, and purposes quite foreign to my own." In his 1956 work, Toward Reunion in Philosophy, White attempted to reconcile the pragmatic and analytic traditions in American philosophy.
At Harvard, White was a colleague of Willard Van Orman Quine
, and the philosophical views of the two are closely related, particularly in their rejection of a sharp distinction between a priori and empirical statements. But White rejects Quine's view that "Philosophy of science is philosophy enough." Using the framework of Holistic Pragmatism, White argues that philosophical inquiry can just as well be applied to cultural institutions beyond science, such as law and art.
Book websites
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
philosopher and historian of ideas. He is both a central figure in the philosophical movement of Holistic Pragmatism
Pragmatism
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition centered on the linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called intelligent practice...
and a noted historian of American philosophical thought. He was a professor in the Department of Philosophy at Harvard from 1953 to 1970, and since then has been at the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
in Princeton, NJ where he is currently professor emeritus.
White was born in the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. White attended City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
as an undergraduate before doing his postgraduate studies at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1942 and was influenced by John Dewey
John Dewey
John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...
. In 1949 he published Social Thought in America, a critical history of liberal social philosophy as represented by the ideas of Dewey, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932...
, Thorstein Veblen
Thorstein Veblen
Thorstein Bunde Veblen, born Torsten Bunde Veblen was an American economist and sociologist, and a leader of the so-called institutional economics movement...
, Charles A. Beard
Charles A. Beard
Charles Austin Beard was, with Frederick Jackson Turner, one of the most influential American historians of the first half of the 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science...
, and James Harvey Robinson
James Harvey Robinson
James Harvey Robinson was an American historian.Robinson was born Bloomington, Illinois. He taught history at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University , becoming a full professor in 1895...
. When the book was republished in 1957 he added a preface in which he softened some of his criticisms, and he added an epilogue in which he attacked the religious liberalism of Reinhold Niebuhr
Reinhold Niebuhr
Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr was an American theologian and commentator on public affairs. Starting as a leftist minister in the 1920s indebted to theological liberalism, he shifted to the new Neo-Orthodox theology in the 1930s, explaining how the sin of pride created evil in the world...
and the conservatism of Walter Lippmann
Walter Lippmann
Walter Lippmann was an American intellectual, writer, reporter, and political commentator famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of Cold War...
. "Time and recent events," he wrote, "have brought the liberal outlook under a very different kind of attack- an attack with which I have no sympathy- and I fear that my own critical observations might wrongly be associated with arguments, positions, and purposes quite foreign to my own." In his 1956 work, Toward Reunion in Philosophy, White attempted to reconcile the pragmatic and analytic traditions in American philosophy.
At Harvard, White was a colleague of Willard Van Orman Quine
Willard Van Orman Quine
Willard Van Orman Quine was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition...
, and the philosophical views of the two are closely related, particularly in their rejection of a sharp distinction between a priori and empirical statements. But White rejects Quine's view that "Philosophy of science is philosophy enough." Using the framework of Holistic Pragmatism, White argues that philosophical inquiry can just as well be applied to cultural institutions beyond science, such as law and art.
Selected bibliography
- The Origin of Dewey's Instrumentalism (Columbia University Press, 1943)
- Social Thought in America: the revolt against formalism (Viking, 1949)
- (Ed.) The Mentor PhilosophersThe Mentor PhilosophersThe Mentor Philosophers was a series of 6 books each covering a period of philosophical thought, published by the New American Library. Each book was edited by an esteemed contemporary philosophy academic and contained analysis of a group of philosophers from a chosen period.The series was very...
: The Age of Analysis: twentieth century philosophers (Houghton Mifflin, 1955) - Toward Reunion in Philosophy (Harvard University Press, 1956)
- (Morton and Lucia White) The Intellectual versus the City : from Thomas Jefferson to Frank Lloyd Wright (Harvard, 1962)
- (Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.Arthur Meier Schlesinger, Jr. was an American historian and social critic whose work explored the American liberalism of political leaders including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. A Pulitzer Prize winner, Schlesinger served as special assistant and "court historian"...
and Morton White, eds.) Paths of American Thought (Houghton Mifflin, 1963) - The Foundations of Historical Knowledge (Harper & Row, 1965)
- Science and Sentiment in America (Oxford University Press, 1972)
- The Philosophy of the American Revolution (Oxford University Press, 1978)
- What Is and What Ought to be Done : an essay on ethics and epistemology (Oxford University Press, 1981)
- (Morton and Lucia White) Journeys to the Japanese, 1952-1979 (British Columbia University Press, 1986)
- Philosophy, The Federalist, and the Constitution (Oxford University Press, 1987)
- The Question of Free WillFree will"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
: a holistic view (Princeton University Press, 1993) - A Philosopher's Story (Penn State University PressPenn State University PressThe Penn State University Press, also called Penn State Press was established in 1956, and is a non-profit publisher of scholarly books and journals. It is the independent publishing branch of the Pennsylvania State University and is a division of the Penn State University Library system...
, 1999) (Autobiography) - A Philosophy of Culture: The Scope of Holistic Pragmatism (Princeton University Press, 2002)
- From a Philosophical Point of View: Selected Studies (Princeton University Press, 2004)
External links
Book websites