# Pragmatism — Character guide

> Key figures in Pragmatism by William James.

- [The Narrator](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/unknown_narrator.md): The first-person narrator and focal character throughout the lectures.
- [John Locke](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/locke.md): English philosopher referenced as a key figure in empiricism and pragmatism's lineage.
- [F. C. S. Schiller](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/schiller.md): Pragmatist philosopher whose views are discussed and debated in the lectures.
- [Herbert Spencer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/herbert_spencer.md): Philosopher and sociologist whose evolutionary ideas are critiqued in the lectures.
- [Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/leibnitz.md): Rationalist philosopher whose monadology is examined pragmatically.
- [Pragmatism](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/pragmatism_concept.md): The philosophical method and theory of meaning central to the book.
- [George Berkeley](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/berkeley.md): Idealist philosopher whose subjective idealism is discussed in relation to pragmatism.
- [Wilhelm Ostwald](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/ostwald.md): Chemist and philosopher whose energetic theory is cited in pragmatic contexts.
- [John Corcoran](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/john_corcoran.md): A contemporary philosopher mentioned in relation to pragmatic logic.
- [John Dewey](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/john_dewey.md): Pragmatist philosopher whose instrumentalism is discussed alongside Schiller's.
- [James Clerk Maxwell](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/clerk_maxwell.md): Physicist whose scientific methodology is referenced as a model for pragmatism.
- [The Absolute](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/the_absolute.md): Idealist metaphysical concept critiqued from a pragmatic standpoint.
- [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/charles_peirce.md): Founder of pragmatism whose ideas are foundational to the lectures.
- [Heinrich Rickert](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/heinrich_rickert.md): Neo-Kantian philosopher whose views on value are contrasted with pragmatism.
- [Immanuel Kant](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/kant.md): German philosopher whose critical philosophy is a key reference point for pragmatism.
- [David Hume](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/hume.md): Empiricist philosopher whose skepticism is discussed in relation to pragmatic truth.
- [George Stuart Fullerton](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/fullerton.md): Philosopher mentioned in the context of metaphysical debates.
- [Swami Vivekananda](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/swami_vivekananda.md): Indian philosopher and spiritual leader cited in discussions of religious experience.
- [Julius Caesar](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/julius_caesar.md): Historical figure used as an example in discussions of historical truth and reality.
- [Mr. Swift](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/mr_swift.md): A contemporary thinker referenced in the context of pragmatic ethics.
- [Thomas Henry Huxley](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/huxley.md): Biologist and agnostic philosopher whose views on science are discussed.
- [Charles Darwin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/darwin.md): Naturalist whose theory of evolution is referenced as influencing pragmatism.
- [Rudolf Hermann Lotze](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters/lotze.md): German philosopher whose work on value and reality is cited in the lectures.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pragmatism_se/characters