Abstract
Haack's topic here is the terms "pragma - tism" and "pragmaticism," why Peirce felt the need for the new term, which was "ugly enough to be safe from kidnappers," and why he thought its ugliness was actu - ally a good thing. What was the origin of pragmatism as a philosophical movement? When, where, and how did the word "prag - matism" get into philosophical circulation? Why does Peirce conclude, only a few years after he had taken his bows as the founder of the movement, that he needed a new word for the original idea? Who were the kidnappers he worried about? Why did he think the ugliness of this new word a good thing? How does this relate to his distaste for "studying in a literary spirit"? And, as always, what can we learn from all this?-a good deal, Haack discovers, about the state of philosophy today.