Although Jefferson may have had these ideas in mind, I think he meant something more than this-something quite distinct-and I imagine the American relationship to European thought to have been far…

Although Jefferson may have had these ideas in mind, I think he meant something more than this-something quite distinct-and I imagine the American relationship to European thought to have been far less that of a client than is usually supposed. I am inclined to believe that the framers were an authentically American, uniquely American, and uniquely lawyerly generation of thinkers who have as much in common with twentieth-century pragmatists as with seventeenth-century empiricists (or rationalists).

Evidence

Simmel’s extraordinary originality may well be connected with his position as a relatively isolated thinker. He was, indeed, a “stranger” in the academy. The stylistic manifestations of a marginal position are striking in his written work. Neither in Simmel’s text nor in annotations does one find acknowledgment of scholarly predecessors or contemporaries. He speaks for himself, along with the immortal dead. What is more, Simmel deliberately shied away from recruiting disciples to carry on his kinds of inquiry. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 10 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: European immigrants brought developed labor traditions that shaped American radicalism. — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 989; I am inclined to believe that the framers were an authentically American, uniquely American, and uniquely lawyerly generation of thinkers who have as much in common with twentieth-century pragmatists as with seventeenth-century empiricists (or rationalists).; Americans believed their nation was exempt from European history’s burdens — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 474 (+6 more)

Related

• I am inclined to believe that the framers were an authentically American, uniquely American, and uniquely lawyerly generation of thinkers who have as much in common with twentieth-century… (similarity 0.83)

Broader Connections

• I am inclined to believe that the framers were an authentically American, uniquely American, and uniquely lawyerly generation of thinkers who have as much in common with twentieth-century… #corroborates (1.00)
• Intellectual originality can be a product of marginal social position #complicates (0.75) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 10
• These elements in turn imply an outlook that is progressive (in the sense of forward-looking), secular, and experimental, and that is commonsensical without making a fetish of common sense-for… #expands (0.60)
• Americans believed their nation was exempt from European history’s burdens #exemplifies (0.50) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 474
• The tendencies that many years ago were fruitfully absorbed into legal realism can indeed help in the formulation of a new jurisprudence, but it will be new largely in jettisoning the naive… #responds-to (0.50)
• Americans mistakenly believe they are different from other nations. #complicates (0.40) — Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie, 121
• As he does with Wittgenstein, Winter intends to indict me for the particularist fallacy and for practice fetishism, though in my case it is not because I am a behaviorist, but because I am a… #corroborates (0.40)