The pluralistic philosophy of Stephen Crane

In spite of an extensive secondary literature that bristles with philosophical labels concerning his "outlook," Stephen Crane's philosophy has been virtually ignored. Patrick Dooley's systematic examination of Crane's writings - novels, sketches, short stories, news dispatches, and poems, whether famous or previously ignored - discloses coherent but subtle metaphysical, epistemological, social, and ethical positions. Dooley provides a sustained, direct discussion of Crane's philosophy and offers vivid depictions of fundamental philosophical issues. Crane lived in a society that had lost confidence in religion's ability to answer questions about the nature of reality, the significance of human actions, the meaning of truth, and the validity of conventional morality. Crane's fundamental philosophical view, Dooley finds, is that reality is comprised of changing and interrelated processes.