This review essay is occasioned by two books on the moral and political thought of William James. Sarin Marchetti’s Ethics and Philosophical Critique in William James and Trygve Throntveit’s William James and the Quest for an Ethical Republic pose crucial questions for how we are to frame, interpret, and assess the philosophical contributions of William James more than one hundred years after his passing. In offering interpretations of James as contributing to social and political questions through his moral philosophy, both books raise important questions that bear on contemporary debates in political philosophy between ideal theorists and political realists. If ideal theorists put moral philosophy first and extract a political vision therefrom, political realists seek to begin theoretical reflection in the specifically political circumstances of our lives. This review essay is centered on the following question: through which of these two lenses should the writings of William James be received?

这篇评论文章是由两本关于威廉詹姆斯的道德和政治思想的书引起的。萨林·马尔凯蒂 (Sarin Marchetti)在威廉·詹姆斯 (William James) 和特里格夫·斯隆特维特 (Trygve Throntveit) 的《威廉·詹姆斯和对道德共和国的追求》中的伦理学和哲学批判对我们如何在威廉·詹姆斯去世一百多年后构建、解释和评估他的哲学贡献提出了关键问题。在将詹姆斯解释为通过他的道德哲学对社会和政治问题做出贡献时，这两本书都提出了重要的问题，这些问题与当代理想理论家和政治现实主义者之间的政治哲学辩论有关。如果理想理论家将道德哲学放在首位并从中提取政治愿景，那么政治现实主义者则寻求在我们生活的具体政治环境中开始理论反思。这篇评论文章集中在以下问题上：应该通过这两个镜头中的哪一个来接收威廉·詹姆斯的著作？