| ID | 159507 |
| Title Proper | Pragmatism and prophecy |
| Other Title Information | H. G. Wells and the metaphysics of socialism |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | BELL , DUNCAN |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Read throughout the world, H. G. Wells was one of the most famous political thinkers of the early twentieth century. During the first half of the 1900s, he elaborated a bold and idiosyncratic cosmopolitan socialist vision. In this article, I offer a new reading of Wells's political thought. I argue that he developed a distinctive pragmatist philosophical orientation, which he synthesized with his commitments to Darwinian evolutionary theory. His pragmatism had four main components: a nominalist metaphysics; a verificationist theory of truth; a Jamesian “will to believe”; and a conception of philosophy as an intellectual exercise dedicated to improving practice. His political thought was shaped by this philosophical orientation. Wells, I contend, was the most high-profile pragmatist political thinker of the opening decades of the twentieth century. Acknowledging this necessitates a re-evaluation of both Wells and the history of pragmatism. |
| `In' analytical Note | American Political Science Review Vol. 112, No.2; May 2018: p. 409-422 |
| Journal Source | American Political Science Review 2018-04 112, 2 |
| Key Words | Pragmatism and Prophecy ; H. G. Wells ; Metaphysics of Socialism |