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The philosophic soul of reform : Herbert Croly's ideal of progressivism

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The philosophic soul of reform : Herbert Croly's ideal of progressivism

LaPierre, Patrick (1997) The philosophic soul of reform : Herbert Croly's ideal of progressivism. Masters thesis, Concordia University.

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Abstract

American historians have found that within the passionate reform movements that inundated America from the 1890's to 1917, there was a corresponding intellectual movement away from the rigid and abstract formal logic that had characterized nineteenth century thought. This social thought, stressing the limits of the rational and defining itself in opposition to metaphysics, a priori reasoning, and absolute truth, defined the ideology of the progressive era. Herbert Croly (1869-1930) is commonly referred to as one of the leading progressive minds. His book The Promise of American Life (1909) is consistently cited, by historians, as a representative expression of progressive thought. Using this source and a number of his other writings, this thesis suggests that Herbert Croly's thought was, in fact, at variance with progressive currents. This thesis argues that Croly's idealist political philosophy was heavily influenced by Immanuel Kant's conception of individual freedom and Josiah Royce's idea of community. Croly then, rejected the trend toward the relative and experiential nature of truth and ethics, the strictly empirical nature of social knowledge, and process being exalted over the ideal

Divisions:Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > History
Item Type:Thesis (Masters)
Authors:LaPierre, Patrick
Pagination:vi, 124 leaves ; 29 cm.
Institution:Concordia University
Degree Name:M.A.
Program:History
Date:1997
Thesis Supervisor(s):Scheinberg, Stephen J
Identification Number:JC 251 C76L37 1997
ID Code:377
Deposited By: Concordia University Library
Deposited On:27 Aug 2009 17:11
Last Modified:13 Jul 2020 19:46
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