Abstract

This dissertation examines the work that Ralph Nader has undertaken in order to understand the intellectual significance of his contribution to American life. It shows why Ralph Nader is best understood as a pragmatist, and it explains how the work Nader is doing extends the most important American intellectual tradition. Support for the thesis that Nader is a pragmatist is drawn from reviews of key insights of John Dewey, Roscoe Pound, Walter Lippmann, and George Herbert Mead. The author contends that one can understand Nader and other pragmatists more clearly by examining their work in light of The Pragmatic Imperative. Consideration of this ethical principle explains why these pragmatists declined to undertake the broad systematic studies and theory building others maintain is possible and necessary. Instead of trying to develop a theory, Nader focuses on solving problems. In the process he is creating and reconstructing what the author calls The Public Responsibility Philosophy of Communication, even though Nader has not named the philosophy he teaches daily to those who join his organizations. This philosophy is an extension and clarification of The Public Philosophy Walter Lippmann wrote about. The Public Responsibility Philosophy of Communication also clarifies and reconstructs what has been called The Social Responsibility Theory of the Press. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the basic characteristics of Public Interest Journalism, and it comments on the role such journalism should play in the future