Book excerpt: "In this fresh, provocative account of the American philosophical tradition, Roger Ward explores the work of key thinkers through an innovative, and in many ways counterintuitive, lens: that of religious conversion. From Jonathan Edwards to Cornel West, Ward threads the history of American thought into an extended, multivalent encounter with the religious experience. Looking at Dewey, James, Peirce, Rorty, Corrington, and other thinkers, Ward shapes new understanding of their fundamental concerns demonstrating that, whether explicit or implicit, religious themes have deeply influenced the development of American philosophy." "Roger Ward's innovative reading of the American philosophical tradition will be welcomed not only by philosophers, but also by historians and other students of America's religious, intellectual, and cultural legacy - and by all who seek to know more fully the possibilities of human life and change."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved