Pragmatism
Pragmatism by William Jamesby William James
Shares rank 17 of 30 philosophy books by recommenders
People recommend it as a short, high-value philosophy read that exposes arguments which are really about nothing. Quotes describe it as roughly a four-hour read.
People recommend it as a short, high-value philosophy read that exposes arguments which are really about nothing. Quotes describe it as roughly a four-hour read.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Short, quick read
“pragmatism by William James is an easy 4 hour read”
Comment from 31 Aug 2026 in “How would you know whether an ancient culture had zero?” Exposes arguments about nothing
“you should go read Pragmatism the book because you're arguing about nothing”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Humanity has the debate about AI consciousness backwards” High value for philosophy time
“For ROI in philosophy, it doesn't get better than this.”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “Raising money fucked me up”
Other philosophy books people recommend
The four most recommended other philosophy books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tao Te Chingby Laozi | 32 | 3 | 91% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenanceby Robert Pirsig | 24 | 3 | 89% | 9 | 44 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Meditationsby Marcus Aurelius | 17 | 4 | 81% | 8 | — | Approved |
| I Am a Strange Loopby Douglas Hofstadter | 16 | 1 | 94% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Pragmatismby William JamesThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“pragmatism by William James is an easy 4 hour read”
“you should go read Pragmatism the book because you're arguing about nothing”
“For ROI in philosophy, it doesn't get better than this.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.