C. I. Lewis's a Priori : A Window into the Late Works of Henry James

Abstract: The relationship of the a priori to the acquisition of empirical knowledge has perplexed philosophers since the Enlightenment. C. I. Lewis stresses a plasticity to the a priori that involves a synergistic relationship between the analytic and the empirical. For Lewis, prior knowledge is both infused with and enhances empirical investigation. Lewis's unique conception of the a priori , inspired by both Immanuel Kant and the American Pragmatists, provides a valuable window into the mature phase of Henry James, whose late novels and other writings similarly suggest a melding of the life of the mind with acquisition of the unfamiliar.