post 1

Chaz Moore

(A) At first American philosophy seems to be strictly influenced by several great thinkers of the 20th century. Upon reflecting on Native American thought it becomes strangely apparent how they directly intertwine. Was it that the settlers came and sought knowledge from these Natives? I see an integration occurring between the Natives and the Settlers of the early years of the colonies.

The Natives considered their background and their life and their sense of being as an integral, unified part of nature. They know the land and the land knows them. This directly connects with the pragmatist's thoughts on the self and society. For pragmatist, instead of connected the self and the land they see self being defined by the social environment. This makes more sense because these days we conduct our lives in a more urban landscape. It seems that although we have lost connection with the land we live in, we have found a definition of ourselves through society to replace it. Perhaps the Native Americans would agree as well.

(B) The story of 'American Thought' would intuitively begin in 1776 due to the associated beginnings of American with the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War, but America didn't just appear at this moment. There was a building up of thought that brought the country to that moment and so now put in this perspective it is more natural to say that there is no real starting point. Relating all the influences back to the very beginning whatever that may be would be ridiculous, but what I really mean is that to define a specific year would set a limitation on American Thought, which I consider to be a wide spectrum. If I were required to set a date I would have to say the colonial era because they had specific values that they brought to the new land. Also this would be more appropriate for my studied subject of Native Americans. There thoughts and philosophies remain in some shape or form in our culture.