The Task of Criticism: Philosophy, History, and Community
by John William Miller

Edited by Joseph P. Fell, Vincent Colapietro, and Michael J. McGandy

"An outstanding collection!. . . Now that we have The Task of Criticism, there is no excuse for not being familiar with Miller's thought."
— John J. Stuhr, W. Alton Professor of Philosophy and American Studies, Vanderbilt University

"The Task of Criticism is a work of major significance that combines the insights of three excellent scholars with the philosophical corpus of a philosopher whose originality and importance have long been overlooked."
— Henry J. Saatkamp, Jr., President of Richard Stockton College

Available now from W. W. Norton and Company, this book is an introduction to Miller's compelling brand of historical idealism and presents Miller's best and most representative essays in a single, authoritative edition. The editors have selected 29 essays (some never before published) and have composed succinct introductions to each. Fell has contributed an introduction to the volume that places Miller's thought in context and exhibits the contemporary relevance of his philosophy. Order from W. W. Norton and Company.

The Active Life: Miller's Metaphysics of Democracy
by Michael J. McGandy

The Active Life, available now from SUNY Press, considers Miller's philosophy as a systematic effort to forge what he called, after Walt Whitman, a metaphysics of democracy. This political metaphysics incorporates the demands of the practical life (vita activa or bios politikos) and the theoretical life (vita contemplativa or bios theoretikos), showing them to be not only compatible but also equally necessary in the context of an energetic and responsible life. This synthesis offers terms for reconciling the ancient contest between theory and practice, forces the reconsideration of contemporary antimetaphysics, and sheds further light on Miller's historical idealism or actualism—its scope, its systematic character, and its dialectical form. The upshot of the work in the area of political philosophy is a reinterpretation of the ancient ideas of res publica and citizenship. Order from SUNY Press.

The Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers General Editor, John R. Shook The Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers (DMAP) is now available from Thoemmes Continuum, and includes an entry on John William Miller. DMAP comprises, in four volumes, over 1,000 entries on philosophers and other intellectuals who have influenced philosophical thought in America from 1860 to the present. This major new publication, whose senior editor is John R. Shook, is the most comprehensive reference source ever on American authors who wrote about philosophical ideas and issues. DMAP features intellectuals still active after the Civil War, such as the surviving Transcendentalists, through to present-day philosophers who began their academic careers by 1960, such as the most senior pragmatists, analytical philosophers, and continental philosophers. Visit the DMAP Web site for more information. Order from Thoemmes Continuum.

Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society

Shannon Kincaid reviews Miller's The Task of Criticism and McGandy's The Active Life in the Transactions (vol.42, no. 2, pp. 289–296, 2006).

The Committee is saddened to announce the death of James A. Diefenbeck. He was Professor of Philosophy emeritus at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and he passed away on July 15, 2005. Professor Diefenback studied with Miller at Williams (class of 1938), took his doctorate at Harvard in 1940, and taught at Southern Illinois University until his retirement in 1983. His principal work is A Celebration of Subjective Thought (Southern Illinois University Press, 1984), and he contributed an essay on Miller title "Acts and Necessity in the Philosophy of John William Miller" which appeared in The Philosophy of John William Miller (Bucknell University Press, 1990). He will be greatly missed.