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William James's Radical Empiricism Essays Published in French

publication · 2026-04-23

A French translation of William James's essays on radical empiricism has been published, highlighting France's historical resistance to pragmatism. Despite James's friendship with Bergson, who wrote a substantial introduction to the 1911 French translation of Pragmatism, the movement was condemned by Durkheim in 1913 as an attack on reason and a danger to national culture rooted in Cartesian rationalism.

Key facts

  • William James's Essais d'empirisme radical published in French
  • France historically resistant to pragmatism
  • James was friends with Bergson
  • Bergson wrote introduction to 1911 French translation of Pragmatism
  • Durkheim condemned pragmatism in 1913
  • Durkheim called pragmatism an attack on reason
  • Durkheim saw pragmatism as a danger to French national culture
  • French culture characterized by Cartesian rationalism

Entities

Artists

  • William James
  • Henri Bergson
  • Émile Durkheim

Locations

  • France
  • Germany

Sources