Description: The Things in Heaven and Earth is a development and application of the Columbia Naturalism of John Dewey, John Herman Randall, Jr., and Justus Buchler. The chapters deal with systematic ontology, epistemology, constructivism and objectivity, philosophical theology, art, democratic theory, foreign policy, education, humanism, and cosmopolitanism.
Brief description: John Ryder is Professor of Philosophy and Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (United Arab Emirates). He is the author of Interpreting America: Russian and Soviet Studies of the History of American Thought and co-editor of The Blackwell Guide to American Philosophy.
Review Quotes: "This is a work of profound scholarship and original philosophy. The author obviously has command of a wide range of theoretical and practical resources--including not only philosophy, its history and American philosophy in particular, but, also, the arts, the natural and social sciences, and political theory. He makes effective use of this vast arsenal of resources to advance his perspective and satisfactorily accomplish the mission of the book. His illustrations and practical examples, across all the above-mentioned fields and practices, give the distinct impression of a well-seasoned thinker who, in this work, is putting years of experience, accumulated wisdom and insight to work, provocatively and effectively."-----Richard E. Hart, Bloomfield College