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This paper explores Romano's presentation of philosophy-as-a-way-of-life, as distinct from philosophy-as-an academic discipline, on the American scene. After briefly indicating the nature of his belief in America as philosophical, emphasis is placed on surveying the breadth of philosophical America - from Emerson through Obama, and from psychological therapy through cyber-philosophy - and on Romano's valuable blurring of our fixed ideas about what philosophy is and should be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper elaborates on Romano's landmark book as a paradigm extension from philosophy as a doctrine to philosophy as a personal disposition to think reflectively. Romano's pragmatism highlights philosophy as a reflective tendency in the service of the relevant and for the benefit of a better life as it is actually lived. Rather than staying within its own territory, the point is to enter what might seem like non-philosophical realms of action with the idea of cultivating them. Breaking away from the overtly academic boundaries of philosophy, Romano's book paves the way for a positive philosophy movement and for philosophy that contributes to people's actual conduct of their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strenuous effort on behalf of moral ideals was a life-long concern for William James. Growing out of his own well-documented personal struggles as a young man, it was also a cultural phenomenon in late 19th century America. For many, the cause of the problem of depleted moral energy was environmental. Herbert Spencer's definition of mind as the correspondence of inner relations to outer relations lent intellectual support to this reduction of moral lethargy to environmental factors and writers such as George Beard and Theodore Roosevelt seemed to be in agreement. While many employed America as an environment in this cultural discussion, William James resisted this environmental reductionism and instead employed 'America' as a metaphorical trope around which he organized his thoughts on moral energy. This was no mere literary device on James' part, but instead a reflection of his own disagreements with Spencer that led James to articulate his own groundbreaking model of consciousness as reflex action. As the framework for addressing the issue of moral strenuousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]