Robbins Library Notes

Good morning, readers!

Right now, I’m working on a guide to the portraits in the Bechtel Room, Emerson Hall 107.  It’s been fascinating to research the history of the twenty-two faculty portrayed in painting, photography, and sculpture in this room.

In doing so, I have uncovered several histories of philosophy about the Department.  Most cover from the founding of Harvard in 1636 through the 1930s. You may find these of interest:

*Campbell, J. (2006).  A Thoughtful Profession: The Early Years of the American Philosophical Association.  Chicago: Open Court Publishers.

*Kuklick, B. (1977).  The Rise of American Philosophy: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1860-1930.  New Haven: Yale University Press.

*Joralemon, D. R. (1980).  Too Many Philosophers.  American Heritage Magazine 31(6).  Retrieved 22 September 2009 from  http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1980/6/1980_6_16_print.shtml.

*Menand, L. (2000).  The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America.  New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.

*Palmer, G. H. & Perry, R. B. (1930).  Philosophy: 1870-1929.  In The Development of Harvard University Since the Inauguration of President Eliot, 1869-1929. S. E. Morison, Ed. Cambridge: Harvard University Press: 3-32.

*Rand, B. (1929).  Philosophical Instruction in Harvard University from 1636-1906.  Boston: Harvard Graduates Magazine Association.

The history of the Department of Philosophy in the latter seven decades of the twentieth century and the early decades of the twenty-first century remains to be written.  Nonetheless, there are a few sources that give a broader context to this historical period, and which include references to the Department during this time.  These include:

*Brightman, E. S. (1947).  Philosophy in the United States 1939-1945.  The Philosophical Review 56 (4): 390-405.

*Floyd, J. & Shieh, S. (2001).  Future Pasts: The Analytic Tradition in Twentieth-Century Philosophy.  New York: Oxford University Press.

*McCumber, J. (2001).  Time in the Ditch: American Philosophy and the McCarthy Era.  Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.

*Reisch, G. (2005).  How the Cold War Transformed Philosophy of Science: To the Icy Slopes of Logic.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

*West, C. (1989). The American Evasion of Philosophy: A Genealogy of Pragmatism. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

I have reviewed McCumber and Reisch in an earlier post, if you are interested in learning more about those two books.

Are there other items to add to this list?  Please let me know in the comments box.