When William James published Pragmatism , he gave it a subtitle: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking . In this article, I argue that pragmatism is an epistemological method for articulating success in, and between, a plurality of practices, and that this articulation helped James develop radical empiricism. I contend that this pluralistic philosophical methodology is evident in James’s approach to philosophy of religion, and that this method is also exemplified in the work of one of James’s most famous students, W.E.B. Du Bois, specifically in the closing chapter of The Souls of Black Folk , “Of the Sorrow Songs.” I argue that “Sorrow Songs” can be read as an epistemological text, and that once one identifies the epistemic standards of pragmatism and radical empiricism in the text, it’s possible to identify an implicit case for moderate fideism in “Sorrow Songs.” I contend that this case illuminates the pluralistic philosophical methodology James worked throughout his career to develop, and that the James-Du Bois approach to philosophy may even help locate the epistemic value of other religious practices, beyond the singing of hymns, and identify terrain mainstream philosophy has long neglected.

中文翻译：

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一些旧思维方式的新名称：WEB 杜波依斯的“悲伤之歌”中的实用主义、激进经验主义和认识论

当威廉詹姆斯出版实用主义时，他给它起了一个副标题：一些旧思维方式的新名称。在这篇文章中，我认为实用主义是一种在多种实践中和之间表达成功的认识论方法，这种表达帮助詹姆斯发展了激进的经验主义。我认为这种多元哲学方法论在詹姆斯的宗教哲学方法中是显而易见的，而且这种方法也体现在詹姆斯最著名的学生之一 WEB Du Bois 的作品中，特别是在《黑人的灵魂》的最后一章，“悲伤之歌”。我认为“悲伤之歌”可以被理解为一种认识论文本，一旦人们在文本中确定了实用主义和激进经验主义的认识标准，可以在“悲伤之歌”中确定温和信仰主义的隐含案例。我认为这个案例阐明了詹姆斯在其整个职业生涯中努力发展的多元哲学方法论，詹姆斯-杜波依斯的哲学方法甚至可以帮助定位其他宗教实践的认知价值，超越赞美诗的歌唱，并确定主流哲学长期以来一直被忽视。