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American Thought: A Critical Sketch, by Morris R. Cohen
- Abstract
Morris Cohen was working intermittently during the later years of his life on a general history of American thought, but did not complete more than a disjointed series of notes. These have now been edited and seen through the press by members of his family. Admirers of his philosophy will be grateful for the piety which has been displayed by his executors in giving his literary remains to the public. General readers should, however, be warned that this book is by no means a comprehensive history, since it omits a number of important figures and does not present any unifying theme or mode of interpretation. Probably the most interesting section is the general introduction, which analyzes in gloomy terms the obstacles to intellectual speculation in the American environment. The remainder of the book contains some discerning insights but is too sketchy and disorganized to be of much value to students of intellectual history and is marred by a few startling factual errors (Douglas Southall Freeman, for example, being confused with his Victorian namesake, is cited as the main author of the racist approach to history).
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