author
William Caldwell
1863–1942
A Scottish-born philosopher and teacher, he spent decades at McGill University and wrote clearly about big questions in modern thought. His best-known work, Pragmatism and Idealism, explores the clash between practical philosophy and older idealist traditions.
1 Audiobook
Pragmatism and idealism
by William Caldwell
About the author
Born in Edinburgh on November 10, 1863, William Caldwell studied at the University of Edinburgh, earning an MA in 1884 and a DSc in 1886. After further study in Germany, France, and Cambridge, he moved to North America in the early 1890s and taught philosophy at Cornell before joining McGill University.
Caldwell became Sir William Macdonald Professor of Moral Philosophy at McGill, where he taught for many years and helped shape philosophical study in Canada. He is especially associated with Pragmatism and Idealism (1913), a book that engaged with major debates of his time and introduced readers to thinkers such as William James and John Dewey in a serious but approachable way.
He died in 1942, leaving behind work that sits at the meeting point of ethics, metaphysics, and the history of ideas. For listeners interested in early 20th-century philosophy, his writing offers a thoughtful window into a period when new ways of thinking were challenging older systems.