American Exceptionalism & Pragmatism

What does American Exceptionalism & Pragmatism tell us in regards with American society and cultural structure ?

How did intellectual conversations in Boston’s Saturday Clubs creat Elon Musk and Technocrats ?

We need to look at the multilayered nature of American society and structure, its extremely variable historical adventure, and its interaction with the entire world.

This country, which is a reflection of the Protestant Ethic, is one of the newest countries in history where the work ethic is sacred. We all know this. So, does America’s wealth come only from its military power and the exploitation structure it created using it? Where was America at the breaking points of society and history?

Succes and work ethics is primary beliefs in Anglo-Saxon culture. Especially, Protestan ethic was shaped the whole dynamics of this country and it’s people mindset.

American Exceptionalism & Pragmatism : Civil War

American Civil War had been most destructive war in the American history. So many people died in this war. One of the distinctive feature about the war, in initiall phase of this war , southern rebellions who struggle with slavery was seem to be betrayers for northern’s plantantion owners. After the end of war, they had become a patriotist for everyone !

This sudden changes towards new conditions or reality during the less period, this show us to rethink the American Pragmatism.

New attitudes towards existing circumstances and changing dynamics in regard to adaptation has been placed in the heart of American Pragmatism’s roots. This first radical persptective shifting was a critical cornerstone in the emerging of Pragmatist Mindset.

Pragmatists prioritize self-creation over self-knowledge and thus find transcendental ideas beyond the scope of language to be irrelevant. They contend that all objects, numbers, academic institutions, and aspects of life must be aligned with the overarching objective of envisioning and subsequently actualizing a more ideal future.

According to them, it is necessary to nurture multifaceted cognitive ambitions. Fixed self is not the self, it is essential to blend new selves into social life. Holmes and William James emphasized this notion in theor articles. There was a one truth.

American Pragmatism : Technocrats

”Amerika is addicted to oil. ” George W. Bush

When we look at the background of Technocrats, they believed in removing all politicians. Instead, scienctist and engineers would run the world. In suprizingly, they changed their names to numbers such as 1NG6X. Elon Musk and his story tell us that every failure of a initiative doesnt have to be the end of story.

When I watch the documentary about Elon Musk, I realized that the nature of ambition of a technocrat perspective. And also we can see the American pragmatism in this documentary.

In the last years of 1900’s, Elon Musk and his fellonies were going to Russia for examining Russian rockets technology. They were meeting with military officials. In this meeting, Russian officials were underestimating his vision and dream about the rockets tehcnolgy. After this meeting, they felt that this is wasted time and they decided to come back to homeland. Elon Musk said his friends, ” why don not we produce our rockets and do not move forward ourselves . “

When he said this sentence to his fellonies, he was clearly serious on this idea. In another point that we need to mention about Elon Musk, he was seeing the all employees as a vector for the running the task and purpose in the company. According to his friends explanations, he has a sensitive to any failure and his obsession to reach out the goals is rather be important for him.

While I was watching the documentary, success culture and the vision of future in analythical ways which associated with technocrat’s background came up into my mind. Because this big desire for the changing the world was reflecting the American Pragmatist ideas in the beginning of the 1900’s. His mindset’s roots was dating back to the fathers of the pragmatism.

Entellectuals Clubs in 1900s : Cambridge Apostles & Harvard Saturday Clubs

In the book of The Age Of Nothing, Peter Watson follows the intellectual and historical paths of American Pragmatism. This book explains how it was born. In addition to this, the book also includes comparative analyses of analytical thoughts and French abstract thoughts, and how they sometimes feed eachother.

The shaping of the American tradition of thought was particularly evident after the Civil War. After the Civil War, intellectuals like William James, John Dewey and Ralph. W. Emerson, they developed powerful ideas which digging into the structure of American thinking. New concept was going to placed in the heart of American soul and it was going to spread all around the world. In addition to education, democracy, freedom and justice, there was also an emphasis on technical rationality. All these ideas was discussing in Harvard Saturday Conversation Clubs and Cambridge Apostles meetings.

https://www.wbur.org/news/2017/03/24/bostons-new-saturday-club

https://www.varsity.co.uk/features/25279

When we look at this meeting, Pragmatism tradition sparked with exclusive standpoints.For pragmatists, there is no difference between numbers, tables, stars, social institutions and academic discipline. Digging deeper in a matter is a waste of time and it is necessary to focus on experience.

American pragmatists have embraced the Darwinian theory of evolution, that language rather than the mind is the distinguishing feature of our species. We need to move beyond transcendental histrionics and replace it with empirical stories of experimentation. they focused on creating a better future for themselves. Technical Ratioanality and cognitive short-cuts was vital pillar for their mindset.

For them, future projection in the present was their salvation and they had to use their intelligence to achieve it. They strongly believed in it and put it into practice.

American and French School of Reality

If we leave the intellectual revolution to the French, after we need to leave the practical revolution to the Americans. Vita Activa vs Vita Contemplativa. Even if this argument is so radical, actually we will be need to focus the mainstream of specific background in both cultures. For instance Michel Foucault and Noam Chomsky conversation about the nature of human and structure of the language !

The encounter between concrete and analytical thought against abstract thought and the first emergence of the distance between them is especially evident in the productions of these two cultures.

Considering the relationship that objects establish with us, or our relationship with objects, it is very essential to examine these two schools in terms of analytical thinking and using mind design for the future. Because the diversity of the current production, science and art world is creating a revolution by integrating these two schools.

Life is enslaved by the notions. There is no one truth as Charles Baudelaire mentioned before .