These essays, deceptively simple in phrasing, address current and historic issues.They speak to anyone who has been baffled by the old conflict between personal freedom and causal order. More widely, they examine the role of action in the projection of any general order, including the physical. They find history as the career and evolution of self-criticizing and self-correcting action. They reject all "theories" of history, whether as a chaos or an episode in an ahistoric totality. They propose a common source of science and the humanities, of laboratory and the Muses. Key words here are act and action. They contrast with passivity and with the convention that requires us to keep out of our own thought in order to avoid illusion and egotistical pretentiousness.

The Paradox of Cause and Other Essays

Politics & Social Sciences

Miller, John William

Philosophy

W.W.Norton&Company

Essays examine the scope of philosophy, solutions to the problem of universals, the relationship between sign and meaning, things and thoughts, and the differences between grammar and logic.

The Definition of the Thing: With Some Notes on Language

An examination of the philosophical aspects of the study of history includes discussions of documentation, the concept of time, and the influence of the past on the present.

The Philosophy of History with Reflections and Aphorisms

History

Americas

"Miller uses argument, aphorism, and plays on words to make points. . . . [A] fascinating . . . book." ―Library Journal Miller addresses here to theory of knowledge, the problem of cognition, the age-old questions of whether universals are real or names only, of how one distinguishes between appearance and reality, of how subject and object can be brought together without one swallowing up the other.

The Midworld of Symbols and Functioning Objects

Discusses the nature of psychology, compares the theories of psychoanalysis and behaviorism, and shows the unity of general and abnormal psychology

In Defense of the Psychological

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Psychology & Counseling

W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.

The Definition of the Thing is John William Miller’s Harvard dissertation of 1922. In this unusually provocative and original essay, Miller had already worked out a number of the basic contentions of his mature philosophy. A classic volume by a noted philosopher, available again. John William Miller (1895-1978) taught at Williams College, where from 1945 to 1960 he was Mark Hopkins Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy. His extraordinary teaching is described in Masters: Portraits of Great Teachers, edited by Joseph Epstein. While deeply indebted to Plato, Kant, and Hegel, Miller arrived at a strikingly original reinterpretation of the history of philosophy, which, he believed, resolved long-standing epistemological and moral problems generated by that history. In The Definition of the Thing, an unusually provocative and original essay, Miller had works out a number of the basic contentions of his mature philosophy.

The Definition of the Thing: with Some Notes on Language

The Philosophy of History with Reflections and Aphorisms consists of essays and some notes written by John William Miller between 1943 and 1974. Criticizing all attempts to interpret history on premises not themselves historical, Miller holds that "to view history philosophically is to consider it as a constitutional mode of experience, a way of organization no less fundamental than physics or logic". A classic volume by a noted philosopher, available again. John William Miller (1895-1978) taught at Williams College, where from 1945 to 1960 he was Mark Hopkins Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy. His extraordinary teaching is described in Masters: Portraits of Great Teachers, edited by Joseph Epstein. While deeply indebted to Plato, Kant, and Hegel, Miller arrived at a strikingly original reinterpretation of the history of philosophy, which, he believed, resolved long-standing epistemological and moral problems generated by that history. The Philosophy of History criticizes all attempts to interpret history on premises not themselves historical. Miller holds that "to view history philosophically is to consider it as a constitutional mode of experience, a way of organization no less fundamental than physics or logic."

Historical Study & Educational Resources

“Dry wit and analytic adroitness . . . . [This survey] contains some rich and stimulating material.” ―Kirkus Reviews Discusses the nature of psychology, compares the theories of psychoanalysis and behaviorism, and shows the unity of general and abnormal psychology.

These essays, deceptively simple in phrasing, address current and historic issues. They speak to anyone who has been baffled by the old conflict between personal freedom and causal order. More widely, they examine the role of action in the projection of any general order, including the physical. They find history as the career and evolution of self-criticizing and self-correcting action. They reject all "theories" of history, whether as a chaos or an episode in an ahistoric totality. They propose a common source of science and the humanities, of laboratory and the Muses. Key words here are act and action. They contrast with passivity and with the convention that requires us to keep out of our own thought in order to avoid illusion and egotistical pretentiousness.

A new chapter in American thought devoted to the authority of critique and the defense of democracy. Erudite and eloquent, John William Miller's writing engages readers with his "earthy" treatment of basic philosophical questions. Designed as an introduction to a compelling historicist philosophy, this volume presents Miller's best and most representative essays in a single, authoritative edition. Miller (1895-1978) taught at Williams College, and he is well known for his extraordinary teaching (described in Masters: Portraits of Great Teachers). He was also a philosopher of the first rank, who arrived at a strikingly original reinterpretation of the history of philosophy and the perennial philosophical problems, especially dualism. Challenging the dogmatism and nihilism that mark so much of recent philosophy, Miller advocated a thoughtful and engaged approach to life―one that revitalizes philosophical activity, embraces history, and joins reflection with participation in a democratic community. The editors have selected twenty-nine essays and have composed succinct introductions to each. Joseph P. Fell has contributed a general introduction that places Miller's thought in context and exhibits the contemporary relevance of his philosophy.

The Task of Criticism: Essays on Philosophy, History, and Community

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Miller, John William. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Miller, John William

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Miller, John William. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Paradox of Cause and Other Essays

The Definition of the Thing: With Some Notes on Language

The Philosophy of History with Reflections and Aphorisms

The Midworld of Symbols and Functioning Objects

In Defense of the Psychological

The Definition of the Thing: with Some Notes on Language

The Philosophy of History with Reflections and Aphorisms

In Defense of the Psychological

The Paradox of Cause and Other Essays

The Task of Criticism: Essays on Philosophy, History, and Community