This volume traces the development and emergence of the strands of distinctively American philosophy during the second decade of the 20th century, through the addresses and biographies of the presidents of its oldest and largest philosophical society. Of special interest is the address of the first woman president of the American Philosophical Association, the emergence of discussion of the ethics of state occasioned by the World War I, and early criticisms of capitalism. The work contains the biographies, photographs, and addresses of 12 past presidents, and photographs and addresses of seven others whose biographies appeared in an earlier volume. While some histories of this period in 20th-century American philosophy have been written, and while some collections of articles by philosophers exist which include writings of some of these individuals, this text has concentrated on a representation of the leadership of the American Philosophical Association. It also lists the birthplaces of these philosophers, and identifies the colleges and universities which have produced and housed the leaders of 20th-century American Philosophy.
This work, and the other nine volumes being produced for the remaining decades of the century, stands as a record of the development and leadership of American Philosophy during its flowering in the 20th century.