The Book Prize Index

The Promise of Pragmatism: Modernism and the Crisis of Knowledge and Authority

John Patrick Diggins

For much of our century, pragmatism has enjoyed a charmed life, holding the dominant point of view in American politics, law, education, and social thought in general. After suffering a brief eclipse in the post-World War II period, pragmatism has enjoyed a revival, especially in literary theory and such areas as poststructuralism and deconstruction. In this sweeping critique of pragmatism and neopragmatism, one of our leading intellectual historians traces the attempts of thinkers from William James to Richard Rorty to find a response to the crisis of modernism. John Patrick Diggins analyzes the limitations of pragmatism from a historical perspective and dares to ask whether America's one original contribution to the world of philosophy has actually fulfilled its promise. In the late nineteenth century, intellectuals felt themselves in the grips of a spiritual crisis.

HistoryHistory · medium confidenceHistory81 signalsLlm Classifier: History -> HistoryKeyword Classifier: American History -> American HistoryKeyword Classifier: Arts & Criticism -> Arts & CriticismWorld War IIEducation & UniversitiesWar & Military StrategyIntellectual History & Ideas

Award History

0 wins · 1 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
PROSE Award for History1994Honorable mentionOfficial source
View all award history (1)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

    These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.

    • William James62%
    • Richard Rorty55%

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

    These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.

    • America42%

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.

    This suggestion did not meet the normal display threshold and is more likely to be wrong.

    Diggins argues that pragmatism and neopragmatism fail to resolve the modern crisis of knowledge and authority, and questions whether America’s original philosophical contribution fulfilled its promise.

    Model confidence 47%

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    70 / 100 academic

    Academic

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 62%.