The Active Life: Miller's Metaphysics Of Democracy (S U N Y Series in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences)

During this period Miller worked closely with Hocking and it was under Hocking's direction that Miller wrote his dissertation. The work, titled "The Definition of the Thing," earned him his doctorate in 1922. Following a short time teaching at Connecticut College, in 1924 Miller took up an appointment at Williams College. He would remain at Williams (excepting sabbaticals and visiting teaching appointments) until his retirement in 1960. At Williams Miller taught courses across the whole philosophical curriculum, served as department chair from 1931 through 1955, and was named, in 1945, Mark Hopkins Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy (a title inherited from his colleague and predecessor as chair, James Bisset Pratt). Both Harvard and Williams were, for Miller, defining institutions. At Harvard University Miller was steeped in a philosophical culture and became intimately familiar with a set of philosophical problems-many of which were the personal property of James and Royce. One of the tasks of graduate students at Harvard in the 1920s was resolving the Battle of the Absolute that had been waged by these genial adversaries. (Indeed one important way of conceiving of Miller's actualism is as a synthesis of pragmatism and idealism.) While he would change many of the terms and would venture into new philosophical territory, the intellectual charge of making sense of the dispute that animated the Harvard Philosophy Department remained with Miller the whole of his philosophical career. In the case of Williams College, Miller was not captivated by a philosophical figure or school. He was transformed and redefined by teaching. Research and scholarly interests were made subordinate to the primary task of liberal education and Miller's own sense of scholarship-that is, the thoughtful apprehension of the conditions of one's endeavors. Miller's interest was in educating responsible citizens who would bring philosophy to life in the worlds of art, business, law, or politics. Thus it was that his own academic scholarship declined while his energies were poured into class notes, philosophical correspondence, and philosophical essays. As Miller's bibliography illustrates, little of his writing was published prior to his death and the majority of the works that have appeared posthumously are occasional pieces in the best sense of that term-that is, philosophical writings directed toward a specific individual or that deal with philosophical questions apropos of some matter bearing on personal action. Abstract philosophy-written for no one in particular and cut off from action-became anathema to Miller. If at Harvard University he was steeped in philosophical issues, at Williams College he was steeped in an educational culture that profoundly influenced his philosophy. In light of this account of Miller's philosophical life, there is no doubt that this book runs the risk of being too scholarly (in the pejorative sense of the term). This PREFACE ix x PREFACE PREFACE xi xii PREFACE Joseph P. Fell, now chairperson of the Fund Committee, deserves particular mention among the members of the John William Miller Fellowship Fund. Across the whole writing process I have received from him support, generous editorial comments, and philosophical criticisms that have been invariably helpful. This book has been significantly improved by his contributions. The late George P. Brockway, Vincent Colapietro, Christopher Gowans, and Judith Green all offered commentary on earlier drafts of this book and each added to my thinking regarding Miller. Peter Hare provided important criticisms of the penultimate draft of the book and previously, in his capacity as editor of the Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society, kindly considered and published two of my essays on Miller. (Sections 3.2 and 3.3 were originally published in a different form, in the Transactions [vol. 34, 1998] as "The Midworld: Clarifications and Developments.") I thank Hare and the Charles S. Peirce Society for maintaining a forum in which the ideas contributing to the American philosophical tradition can be shared and explored. Much of the research that contributed to this book was undertaken in the John William Miller Papers that are preserved in the Williamsiana Collection of the Williams College Archives. College Archivist Sylvia Kennick Brown made great efforts to facilitate my archival work and I am indebted to her for assuring that my trips to Williams College were always fruitful. Lynne Fonteneau-McCann and Linda Hall also assisted me in the archives and both deserve my thanks. A final word of appreciation goes to my editor, Jane Bunker, for entertaining my book proposal, shepherding the manuscript through the review process, and, along with her editorial staff, overseeing the editing and production of the book. THE ACTIVE LIFE MILLER’S METAPHYSICS OF DEMOCRACY......Page 4 Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 8 Abbreviations......Page 16 Introduction: The Active and Contemplative Lives......Page 22 1. A Metaphysics of Democracy?......Page 34 1.1 SENSES OF DEMOCRACY......Page 36 1.2 AMERICA’S ANTIMETAPHYSICAL TRADITION......Page 40 1.3 RORTY’S CHALLENGE......Page 43 1.4 MILLER’S ANTIMETAPHYSICAL SYMPATHIES......Page 47 1.5 REVISIONS OF METAPHYSICS AND HISTORY......Page 49 1.6 REINVIGORATING CRITICISM......Page 54 1.7 CONCLUSION......Page 57 2. Action......Page 60 2.1 DISCLOSURE OF ACTION......Page 61 2.2 DIALECTIC AND DEFINITION......Page 68 2.3 DIALECTIC AND ACTION......Page 76 2.4 ACTION AS CONSTRUCTIVE......Page 81 2.5 CONCLUSION......Page 90 3. Symbol......Page 92 3.1 SYMBOLIC ENVIRONMENT......Page 93 3.2 SIGNS AND SYMBOLS......Page 99 3.3 SYMBOLS AND ARTIFACTS......Page 105 3.4 INTERPRETATION......Page 114 3.5 RES PUBLICAE......Page 124 3.6 CONCLUSION......Page 129 4. History......Page 130 4.1 HISTORY AS CONSTITUTIONAL......Page 131 4.2 FATE, DEMONRY, NEMESIS......Page 139 4.3 CONFLICT, REVISION, ACTION......Page 145 4.4 REFLECTION AND AUTONOMY......Page 152 4.5 HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY......Page 159 4.6 CONCLUSION......Page 165 5. Democracy......Page 168 5.1 METAPHYSICS OF MORALS......Page 170 5.2 LIBERAL DEMOCRACY......Page 182 5.3 UNIVERSALITY AND PROCESS......Page 187 5.4 DEMOCRACY AND PHILOSOPHY......Page 193 5.5 CONCLUSION......Page 203 Epilogue: The Scholar and the Citizen......Page 206 INTRODUCTION......Page 214 1. A METAPHYSICS OF DEMOCRACY?......Page 216 2. ACTION......Page 217 3. SYMBOL......Page 220 4. HISTORY......Page 223 5. DEMOCRACY......Page 229 EPILOGUE......Page 234 References......Page 236 A......Page 244 C......Page 245 E......Page 246 H......Page 247 M......Page 248 P......Page 249 S......Page 250 W......Page 251 The ancient antagonism between the active and the contemplative lives is taken up in this innovative and wide-ranging examination of John William Miller's effort to forge a metaphysics of democracy. The Active Life sheds new light on Miller's actualist philosophy--its scope, its systematic character, and its dialectical form. Michael J. McGandy persuasively sets Miller's actualism in the context of Hannah Arendt's understanding of the active life and skillfully presents actualism as a response to Whitman's challenge to craft a democratic form of metaphysics. McGandy concludes that Miller reveals how the philosophical and the political are inextricably connected, how there is no active life without the contemplative life, and that the contemplative life is founded in the active life. "The ancient antagonism between the active and the contemplative lives is taken up in this examination of John William Miller's effort to forge a metaphysics of democracy. The Active Life sheds new light on Miller's actualist philosophy - its scope, its systematic character, and its dialectical form. Michael J. McGandy sets Miller's actualism in the context of Hannah Arendt's understanding of the active life and skillfully presents actualism as a response to Whitman's challenge to craft a democratic form of metaphysics. McGandy concludes that Miller reveals how the philosophical and the political are inextricably connected, how there is no active life without the contemplative life, and that the contemplative life is founded in the active life."--Jacket Introduction: The Active And Contemplative Lives -- A Metaphysics Of Democracy? -- Action -- Symbol -- History -- Democracy. Michael J. Mcgandy. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 215-222) And Index.