Blackwell Reference Online

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William James was the son of a theologian and brother of the novelist Henry James. He taught psychology and philosophy at Harvard University. His Principles of Psychology (1890) is the foundation of modern psychology. An annotated version, On Psychology: Briefer Course , was published in 1892. Other major works include The Will to Believe (1897), Human Immortality (1898), The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), Pragmatism (1907), and The Meaning of Truth (1909). Along with Charles S. Peirce, Charles H. Cooley, and John Dewey, he was instrumental in establishing American pragmatism. This intellectual tradition has been an influential framework for symbolic interactionism, US educational practices, and many epistemological issues. James's conceptions of psychology, consciousness, cognition, self, self-esteem, stream of consciousness, and habit have a profound relevance for many sociological assumptions regarding the nature of society and its influence on human conduct. As defined by James, psychology deals with consciousness, cognition, emotion, motivation, and conduct, all of which must be understood within the context of nature and evolution. His psychology rejects dualism, an ancient and prevalent assumption that asserts that mind (cognition and soul) and body are distinct and separate entities. James replaces dualism with parallelism, which posits that mind ... log in or subscribe to read full text