Sidney Hook Reconsidered by Matthew J. Cotter (Editor), Richard Rorty (Afterword)

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Synopsis

This American political and social philosopher began his career attempting to unite his teacher John Dewey's pragmatism with Marxism, migrating over the course of his career to a position at the conservative Hoover Institution and identification with the neoconservative movement. This volume contains 13 papers originally presented at an October, 2002 City U. of New York conference celebrating his 100th birthday, many penned by Hook's former students and colleagues. Although Hook's anti-Communism is necessarily a significant theme of the text, it is an important aim of the editor to demonstrate that an exclusive focus on such a theme would unfairly gloss over the complexity of Hook's naturalism, moral philosophy, philosophy of education, secular humanism, and democratic theory. The essays primarily consider aspects of Hook's work within the context of the American philosophical and intellectual traditions, there are also a few more personal reminiscences included. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR