Pragmatism is the American philosophy founded by Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), and made popular by William James (1842–1910). Peirce was a cantankerous genius who obtained some employment in the Harvard Observatory and the US Coast and Geodesic survey, both thanks to his father, then one of the few distinguished mathematicians in America. In an era when philosophers were turning into professors, James got him a job at Johns Hopkins University. He created a stir there by public misbehaviour (such as throwing a brick at a ladyfriend in the street), so the President of the University abolished the whole Philosophy Department, then created a new department and hired everyone back – except Peirce. Peirce did not like James's popularization of pragmatism, so he invented a new name for his ideas – pragmaticism – a name ugly enough, he would say, that no one would steal it. The relationship of pragmaticism to reality is well stated in his widely reprinted essay, ‘Some consequences of four incapacities’ (1868).