Enduring Philosophical Implications of William James’ Radical Empiricism
Filosofija Sociologija February 19, 2026 Chengbing Wang
William James's radical empiricism, a metaphysical philosophy holding that pure experience is the key to understanding reality while emphasizing the reality of relations and the integrity of experience, formed gradually and has not received sufficient scholarly attention. As a pragmatic metaphysical theory, it joins with James's view of truth to form the whole of Jamesian philosophy. A historical evaluation shows radical empiricism has close connections with Henri Bergson's philosophy and early phenomenology, serving as a bridge between Jamesian philosophy and contemporary European philosophical currents. In comparative philosophy and global dialogues, radical empiricism stands as a significant topic in dialogue between Eastern and Western philosophy.