WILLIAM JAMESJanuary 11, 1842 in New York City August 26, 1910, in Chocorua, New Hampshire.

INTRODUCTION William James is considered by many to be the most

insightful and stimulating of American philosophers,as well as the second of the three great pragmatists(the middle link between Charles SandersPeirce and John Dewey).

As a professor of psychology and of philosophy atHarvard University, he became the most famous livingAmerican psychologist and later the most famousliving American philosopher of his time.

Avoiding the logically tight systems typical ofEuropean rationalists, such as the German idealists,he cobbled together a psychology rich in philosophicalimplications and a philosophy enriched by hispsychological expertise.

More specifically, his theory of the self andhis view of human belief as oriented towardsconscious action raised issues that requiredhim to turn to philosophy.

There he developed his pragmaticepistemology, which considers the meaning ofideas and the truth of beliefs not abstractly,but in terms of the practical difference theycan make in people’s lives.

He explored the implications of this theory inareas of religious belief, metaphysics, humanfreedom and moral values, and socialphilosophy.

His contributions in these areas includedcritiques of long-standing philosophicalpositions on such issues as freedom vs.determinism, correspondence vs. coherence,and dualism vs. materialism, as well as athorough analysis of a phenomenologicalunderstanding of the self and consciousness,a “forward-looking” conception of truth(based on validation and revisableexperience), a thorough-going metaphysicalpluralism, and a commitment to a full view ofagency in connection with communal andsocial concerns.

Thus he created one of the last greatphilosophical systems in Westernthought, even if he did not live quitelong enough to complete every aspect ofit. The combination of his provocativeideas and his engaging writing style hascontributed to the enduring impact ofhis work.

SPOUSE :

Alice Howe Gibbens(m.1878)

CHILDREN:

Henry, William, Herman

Margaret Mary and Alexander

around 1858He studied painting with William Morris

Hunt while the family was living in Newport,Rhode Island,.

1861enrolled at the Lawrence Scientific

School, at Harvard University where hedeveloped into such topics as chemistry andphysiology.

1864study at Harvard Medical School,he

took a break from his education to join LouisAgassiz's expedition to the Amazon basin.

1866

James returned to Harvard and resumed hismedical classes. He was often haunted by anassortment of ailments accompanied by depressionand suicidal thoughts. After a depressive collapse,James left for two years and spent time in Franceand Germany, studying with Helmholtz and learning ofthe New Psychology.

1869He received his doctorate, after earning his

medical degree, he decided not to practice medicine.He eventually became a lecturer at HarvardUniversity. Initially a lecturer in physiology, he wentto teach psychology and philosophy.

ACHIEVEMENTS1972

James was asked to teach physiology at Harvard.He taught anatomy and physiology and spent the

rest of 1873 and 1874 recuperating in Europe,primarily Italy. Slowly, he began infiltratingphysiological psychology into his courses atHarvard,

1875he began teaching psychology, beginning with“The Relations between Physiology andPsychology”. It has been said that James jokedthat the first psychology lecture he ever heardwas his own.

The same year, he established the firstlaboratory of experimental psychology inthe United States

1878he signed a publishing contract with

Henry Holt and began working on his book,The Principles of Psychology, during hishoneymoon .One year after the tragedy oflosing his son, he move to Cambridge.

In 1879, James began teachingphilosophy at Harvard, becoming anassistant professor of philosophy thenext year.

He published “The Sentiment ofRationality,” his first important articlein his new discipline. As he got deeperinto philosophy, he developed a negativeattitude towards psychology.

After becoming a full professor of philosophy in1885 and of psychology in 1889, he publishedhis Principles of Psychology in 1890. It had takenhim close to twelve years to finish it, and, thoughit would be extremely successful, he wasdissatisfied with it and disgusted with psychology

1886

James finished and published his mostrenowned and influential book, The Principles ofPsychology, combining his ideas on psychology andphilosophy. The book was written with muchclarity and charm and vehemently disputedWundt’s view of psychology, more specifically

In 1897

James’s first philosophical book, TheWill to Believe and Other Essays inPopular Philosophy, was published,dedicated to Charles Sanders Peirce.

1898

he lectured on pragmatism in“Philosophical Conceptions and PracticalResults.” He stated that humans werepractical beings and their mind is to beused to adapt to the ways of the world

James also promoted EducationalPsychology. His lectures to Cambridge professorswere compiled and published in 1899, Talks toTeachers on Psychology and to Students on Some ofLife’s Ideals. These lectures were used to trainteachers and professors throughout the nation forthirty years after his publication

During the end of the turn of the century,James was a member of the American PhilosophicalAssociation and the American PsychologicalAssociation.

He continued to lecture and publishworks based now primarily on philosophy andreligious ideas. His religious publicationsincluded ten essays comprised in The Will toBelieve, discussing his philosophies and theemotional risk of religion.

After receiving an honorary doctoratefrom Harvard in 1903, James and his brotherembarked on a trip to the Mediterranean andattended the Fifth International Congress ofPsychology in Rome. Like the United States,all of Italy admired James.

James wrote considerably on the concept of pragmatism. According to pragmatism, the truth of an idea can never be proven. James proposed we instead focus on what he called the "cash value," or usefulness, of an idea.

James opposed the structuralist focus on introspection and breaking down mental events to the smallest elements. Instead, James focused on the wholeness of an event, taking into the impact of the environment on behavior.

The James-Lange theory of emotion proposes that an event triggers a physiological reaction, which we then interpret. According to this theory, emotions are caused by our interpretations of these physiological reactions. Both James and the Danish physiologist Carl Lange independently proposed the theory.

(1890) The Principles of Psychology. Classicsin the History of Psychology, an internetresource developed by Christopher D. Greenof York University, Toronto, Ontario.

(1897) The Will to Believe

(1907) Pragmatism: A new name for some oldways of thinking. New York: Longman Greenand Co.

James became more interested in philosophical issues as his career progressed.

In 1902, he published The Varieties of Religious Experience, which is considered to be another one of his leading works.

Pragmatism(1907) further explored his philosophical beliefs.

A Pluralistic Universe (1909) proved to be his last major work to be published during his lifetime.

he receives an honorary doctorate from Harvard in 1903

As a professor of psychology and of philosophy at Harvard University, he became the most famous living American psychologist and later the most famous living American philosopher of his time

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