Spiritual Pragmatism: William James, Sri Aurobindo and Global Philosophy

Abstract

Accounts of the history of pragmatism in philosophy have usually been confined to American and, more recently, European thought from the late nineteenth century to the present. Attempts have sometimes been made to widen its scope by discussing similarities between modern Western pragmatism and aspects of ancient Eastern philosophies such as Buddhism and Confucianism. But the affinities of the modern Indian philosopher Sri Aurobindo with pragmatism have attracted little attention. A recognition of this aspect of his thought would help to extend the relevance of pragmatism beyond the West and contribute to a fuller and more accurate appreciation of an original, important, and often neglected thinker. A comparison of his philosophy with the American pragmatist tradition raises somewhat different questions than a comparison of modern pragmatism with ancient philosophies of India and China. At the same time, Sri Aurobindo formulated his version of pragmatism against the background of the Vedantic tradition, highlighting the broadly pragmatic spirit that has always tended to characterize Indian philosophies.