Louis Menand: The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America. 2001. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 546 pp.

Abstract

Louis Menand’s The Metaphysical Club, daunting in its choice of subject matter, closely aligns itself with the ancient sense of the word ‘history’ as a fluid, almost epic narrative. The Metaphysical Club of the title was a conversation group that met in Cambridge for a few months in 1872. Its membership roster listed some of the greatest intellectuals of the day: Charles Peirce, William James, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Chauncey Wright, amongst others. There is no record of the Club’s discussions or debates—in fact, the only direct reference to the Club is made by Peirce in a letter written thirty-five years later. Menand utilizes the Club as a jumping-off point for a sweeping analysis of the beliefs of the day. The subtitle of the book belies its true mission: ‘a story of ideas in America.’ Menand discusses the intellectual and social conditions that helped shape these men by the time they were members of the Club. He then shows the philosophical, political, and cultural impact that these men went on to have. In doing so, Menand traces a history of ideas in the United States from immediately prior to the Civil War to the beginning of the Cold War.

3. Pragmatic Idealist in Action, 1850-1865

“…108 On the very same day, carrying William Sewel's The History of the … Quakers and the second volume of Thomas Clarkson's A Portraiture of Quakerism, Emerson left with Charles 105 Richardson states that "The loss that darkened his life also freed him. Ellen's death cut Emerson loose" (Richardson,118). 106 JMN 4: 27;[40][41] to visit his oracle, Mary, on her farm in Waterford, Maine, with its inspiring mountain views.…”

“…I am moved by strange sympathies, I say continually 'I will be a naturalist'." 118 A week afterward in late July, having reached England, Emerson steamed up the Thames, finding "nothing surprizing" [sic] in a London familiar from "books & pictures & maps & traditions". After checking into his room at Russell Square, he stopped in St. Paul's Cathedral during a service.…”

“…Emerson more formally entertained his children and their friends in his study, or led them on Sunday afternoon nature walks. 118 Thoreau's capable hands, sprightly conversation, independence, and attention to the children could not help but impress Lidian as well. 119 Then in early January 1842, Henry returned home to nurse his brother John, ill with lockjaw (tetanus).…”

Richard Bernstein and his concept of pragmatic fallibilism

“…Moreover, it was in his book, The Abuses of Evil: The Corruption of Politics and Religion Since 9/11, that he developed the idea of the concept of "pragmatic fallibilism" (Bernstein, 2005). In that book, he praises Louis Menand's work, The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America (Menand, 2001) because Menand claimed that the violence of slavery was one of the central reasons why the pragmatists were invested in the role of experience and believed that democracy should be a radical experiment of inclusion and openness. Dewey defined democracy as a "way of life."…”

“…Moreover, it was in his book, The Abuses of Evil: The Corruption of Politics and Religion Since 9/11 , that he developed the idea of the concept of “pragmatic fallibilism” (Bernstein, 2005). In that book, he praises Louis Menand's work, The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America (Menand, 2001) because Menand claimed that the violence of slavery was one of the central reasons why the pragmatists were invested in the role of experience and believed that democracy should be a radical experiment of inclusion and openness. Dewey defined democracy as a “way of life.” He thought that citizens should be active participants as they face unavoidable social and political conflicts, and Bernstein claimed that: “A fallibilistic orientation, [which] requires a genuine willingness to test one's ideas in public and to listen carefully to those who criticized them,” should be open to the ideas of others (Bernstein, 2005, p. 299).…”