Wilhelm Jerusalem, Europe's Early Interpreter of Pragmatism: Introduction to Translations

Abstract:Viennese philosopher and sociologist Wilhelm Jerusalem (1854–1923) has been the subject of renewed interest as an early interpreter of pragmatism in early twentieth century German-speaking intellectual circles. This article introduces a set of English translations of Jerusalem's work on pragmatism by outlining Jerusalem's life, the development of his ideas, and his influence. The accompanying translated pieces come from the period 1907–1910 when Jerusalem was intensively involved in defending and developing pragmatist philosophy. They include the "translator's foreword" to his German translation of James's Pragmatism lectures; a published obituary for James; and two excerpts from his popular Introduction to Philosophy that introduce pragmatism to German students and elaborate his own "empirical," "genetic," "biological and social" point of view, influenced by pragmatism.