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Perry, the ‘Ego-Centric Predicament’, and the Rise of Analytic Philosophy in the United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2022

MATTHIAS NEUBER
MATTHIAS NEUBER*
Affiliation:
JOHANNES GUTENBERG UNIVERSITY MAINZ maneuber@uni-mainz.de
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Abstract

This paper examines Ralph Barton Perry's analysis of the ‘ego-centric predicament’. It will be shown that Perry convincingly argued against prevailing contemporary versions of idealism and that it makes perfectly good sense to consider him a precursor of subsequent trends in American analytic philosophy. Perry's appraisal and promotion of the contemporary logic of relations in the framework of early twentieth-century American neorealism provides further evidence of his being a proto-analytic philosopher. His personal acquaintance with Bertrand Russell proved instructive in this regard. On the whole, Perry's distinctive approach to philosophy was instrumental in establishing the analytic style of reasoning in the United States. This paper is devoted to substantiating this claim. It is thus hoped that a clearer picture of early twentieth-century American philosophy will begin to emerge.

Keywords

Perryego-centric predicamentAmerican neo-realismanalytic philosophy
Type
Article
Information
Journal of the American Philosophical Association , Volume 10 , Issue 1 , March 2024 , pp. 185 - 204
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Philosophical Association

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