Prediction Theories

Chapter Four claims that James’s remarkably subtle and nuanced registry of emotions and personal interactions-long taken to indicate an apolitical aestheticism-should be linked directly to his engagement with pressing political and social questions. These include the ongoing debate about “bigness” which preoccupied many of the leading intellectuals of his day, including his brother, William James. Despite its idiosyncratic and intensely personal aspect, The American Scene provides an acute theoretical analysis of the limitations and challenges of democratic institutions, and even offers a coherent and distinctive theory of the State.