William James and the foundations of modern psychology

William James was a prominent psychologist and philosopher in the early 20th century. Presently, James' work is outdated, but only in the sense that Galileo's or Darwin's work is outdated. Both Darwin and Galileo were originators in their respective fields. Their work served as a basis for many incredible discoveries and innovations in the modern world. The work of James, too, serves as a foundation for modern science. He is one of the founders of what we currently call psychology and philosophy today ("Significance and Influence," 2002).

James was the originator of "pragmatism," and this new school of philosophical thought was so useful, that it even resonated in the works of such prominent early physicists as Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr. These men depended upon, "a world of events connected with one another by kinds of next-to-next relations, a world various, manifold, changeful, originating in chance, perpetuated by habits... And transformed by breaks, spontaneities, and freedoms" ("Significance and Influence," 2002). This world is a world that was first described by James in his works on pragmatism. In his famous novel entitled Pragmatism, James claims that the pragmatic method attempts "to interpret each notion by tracing its respective practical consequences" (p. 28). He also claims that in order to "develope a thought's meaning, we need only determine what conduct it is fitted to produce: that conduct is for us its sole significance" (p. 29). In other words, James describes for men such as Einstein and Bohr a way to view scientific data -- everything has a consequence and thus everything has an origin. Because of James, men such as Einstein and Bohr knew that if they developed a thought or idea inside of their heads, they needed to determine its consequence and its origin in order to connect it, practically, with the rest of the world.

But if one only studies the influence that James had on men who worked in the fields of "pure" science such as physics, one is only gaining a periphery view of the influence, and thus the achievements of the great William James. Perhaps in order to understand better the accomplishments of this unique man, one should view his obituaries, and thus view a summary of the legacy he left on Earth when he died. One of his obituaries was printed in the New York Times in August 26th, 1910. This obituary claims that James' text entitled Principles of Psychology, "practically founded the modern science of psychology in America" ("Obituary," 2002, p.1). The obituary also claims that this text became a standard textbook for University uses. James thus has had, and will continue to have, an everlasting influence on modern psychology. Without James, perhaps American psychology wouldn't be what is it today.

Besides changing the world of psychology forever, William James can add several other accomplishments to his resume. Early in James life, he was influenced by Louis Agassiz, who was a pupil of Charles Darwin. Agassiz started James out in a career as a zoologist. James studied plants and fish in 1865 in an expedition to Brazil with Agassiz. James then abandoned this study in order to go onto Harvard Medical School and graduate with an M.D. In 1870. In 1872, James became an Assistant Professor of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology, and he retained this post until 1880. From 1880 to 1885, he was an Assistant Professor of Philosophy, and then he became a professor of Philosophy until 1889. He was then a Professor of Psychology from 1889 to 1897, and then a Professor of Philosophy from 1897 to 1907 ("Obituary," 2002, p.1).

James first began to take up mental studies when he graduated from Harvard Medicine. After he did this, he began to work as an independent investigator in a small laboratory room that Harvard had given to him. There, he collected sheep's heads and frogs and pursued physiological psychology. It was from these studies that he deduced the information written in his famous textbook Principles of Psychology ("Obituary," 2002, p.1).

James' accomplishments do not end with this textbook, however. In 1880, he submitted many writings for The Atlantic Monthly. He was also a longtime contributor to The International Journal of Ethics. He later became president of the American Psychological Association and of the International Society for Physical Research.

James also received honorary degrees from Padua, Princeton, Edinburgh and Harvard. He was a Gifford Lecturer on natural religion at the University of Edinburgh from 1899 to 1901, as well. He was also a corresponding member of the Institute of France and of the Royal Prussian Academy of science. He was also a member of the National Academy of Sciences ("Obituary," 2002, p.1).

It wasn't until James retired from teaching that he began to study pragmatism, whereupon he became the chief American advocate of pragmatism. Using the words of the New York Times' obituary: for James, pragmatism was "a trend in philosophical thought which holds that 'that is true which works'" ("Obituary," 2002, p.1). It is this study of pragmatism that made James truly famous.

These achievements, and the influence that James had on the field of philosophy and psychology, can be compared to that of famous psychologists Sigmund Freud and Karl Jung. Judging this fact, one should look at the lives of all three men and compare whether or not their early experiences have any similarity in order to determine whether James represents an "eminent" psychologist.

Sigmund Freud grew up as a Jewish boy in a time when the Jewish world was undergoing many enormous changes. When Freud's father, Jacob, was a boy, Christians would often accost him, and he would do nothing to defend himself. Because Sigmund was appalled by his father's conduct, Sigmund continually sought "substitute" father figures in historical men such as Hannibal, a figure who was a Semitic general from Carthage. This, combined with Freud's childhood need for the sole attention of his mother, is probably the reason that he developed his theory of the Oedipal complex. Moreover, traumatic experiences in Freud's early life, such as sexual abuse, are thought to have influenced him in his theories about the psyche in general and in his theories about human piety (Fonda, 1990, p.1). Freud was thus obviously greatly influenced by his childhood. If it wasn't for the experiences of his early life, he would have probably never come up with the groundbreaking psychological theories that he did.

The theories of Karl Jung were also influenced by traumatic childhood experiences. According to lectures given in the Department of Religious Studies and Carleton University by Marc Fonda:

When we look at Jung's psychology of religion we find many themes that were important in his own life and early experience (e.g.: the division of the personality into two opposing halves, the contracting forces of light and darkness, a god that is both good and terrible, the emptiness of Protestant ritual and dogma, the contrasting power of the catholic church, and so on.) We also note his early familiarity with the power of natural symbols as well as his notions that the writings of any psychologist is intimately related to his personal experience. (Fonda, 1990, p.1)

One need to only look at the life of William James, and then at his philosophical views, to conclude to that James, like Freud and Jung, drew philosophical conclusions about life based upon his upbringing. James believes that, "all the magnificent achievements of mathematical and physical science - our doctrines of evolution, of uniformity of law, and the rest - proceed from our indomitable desire to case the world into a more rational shape in our minds than the shape into which it is thrown there by the crude order of our experiences (James, 1956, p. 147). In other words, James believes that all of the theories that man constructs about the world are based upon man's experiences in the world. James no doubt developed this theory because this was how he constructed his theories of the world. James was brought up in a very educated family. He had many experiences that were not only American in nature, but European as well. Although James received his medical degree at Harvard, he also studied psychology in Germany. An article in radicalacademy.com entitled "The Philosophy of William James" puts it most succinctly when it claims:

The results of his thinking are by no means confined to his native country, and his background is anything but exclusively American. Very few American families maintained such intimate contact with Europe as did Henry James, Sr., a theologian and philosophical writer, and a great amateur of wide culture, and his sons William and Henry.

William James formed his theories of pragmatism in the same fashion that both Freud and Jung formed their theories -- through and based upon his childhood experiences. He thus fits the profile of most eminent psychologists. Although all three of these men have different backgrounds, there is one thing that is similar within all of these backgrounds: it is the experiences of these men's lives that helped to form their now famous psychological and philosophical theories.

Besides being able to be classified as an "eminent" psychologist, can James also be classified as a figure that fits the Zeitgeist, or the spirit of the times? One can try to classify James in this way simply by comparing James' work to that of other prominent authors and philosophers of his time.

James lived in the Modernist era. During this era, authors, artists and philosophers were all struggling to disprove the notions of Romanticism and Classicism. This is made evident by the sarcastic way in which T.E. Hulme, a prominent Modernist author, describes Romanticism. "You might say if you wished that the whole of the romantic attitude seems to crystallize in verse round metaphors of flight...[one] is always flying, flying over abysses, flying up into the eternal gases. The world infinite in every other line" (1997, p.400).

Modernists thus were trying to get away from the far-fetched ideas of Romantics and were trying to base their theories on reality. In James' The Meaning of Truth, James does exactly this when he claims that, "The common consent of mankind has agreed that some feelings are cognitive and some are simple facts having a subjective, or what one might almost call a physical existence, but no such self-transcendent function as would be implied in their being pieces of knowledge" (1975, p. 14). With this statement, James maligns the idea that there is an "ultimate" truth to be discovered. He doesn't agree with the common Romantic theory that one's ultimate goal is to transcend reality in order to gain a definitive grasp on life.

Besides trying to disprove the ideas of Romanticism, Modernists were also experimenting in the avant-garde. Prominent Modernist writer Gertrude Stein demonstrates with her book Three Lives. According to the introduction in the 1990 edition of this book, "The Influence of Cezanne, Matisse, and Picasso in the formation of Gertrude Stein's prose style is a key to understanding her radically new approach to writing in Three Lives" (p. x). The introduction also claims that "Stein's break with the conventions of storytelling was more sweeping than Joyce's rebellion against his predecessors" (p. xv). According to this introduction, it is easy to deduce that Stein was intrinsically involved with experimentation and radical innovations. This thus leads to the conclusion that Modernists, or the individuals of both James' and Stein's era, were also primarily involved with innovation and new modes of thought. Stein was, after all, merely transplanting the resourceful methods of Cubism, represented in the paintings of Cezanne, Matisse, and Picasso, into the genre of literature.

The modern era was thus an era of change. Prominent modernist W.E.B. Du Bois perhaps represents this best. Du Bois was a black man, who, according to the preface of his book The Souls of Black Folk, wanted to "make a name [for himself] in literature and thus to raise [his] race" (1999, p. xxi). He was thus a man who was primarily concerned with the change associated with the black race. He wanted to make things better for the African-American. He even went so far as to challenge the theories of Booker T. Washington, who, before Du Bois, was the prominent black theorist of his time. Du Bois claims that:

Mr. Washington's cult has gained unquestioning followers, his work has wonderfully prospered, his friends are legion, and his enemies are confounded. To-day he stands as the one recognized spokesman of his ten million fellows, and one of the most notable figures in a nation of seventy millions. One hesitates, therefore, to criticise a life which, beginning with so little, has done so much. And yet the time is come when one may speak in all sincerity and utter courtesy of the mistakes and shortcomings of Mr. Washington's career. 1999, pp. 35-36

Thus, Du Bois turns his nose up at contemporary thought and questions authority. He thus epitomizes the Modern era - an era which questions much and takes something as fact only after it has been thoroughly investigated.

The question, then, is whether or not James epitomizes the Modern era. Does he have the sarcasm and the contempt for Romantic thought that Hulme holds? Does he have the innovative spirit of Picasso, Matisse, Cezanne and Stein? Does he question authority in the unabashed manner that Du Bois does? In essence, does his work contain the spirit of Modernism?

Perhaps there are several ways that one can answer these questions. One way to answer them is to look at the immediate influences that James had on his contemporaries. According to Alan Filreis, an English professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Gertrude Stein was actually a follower and student of William James while she studied at Harvard. James thus obviously had a great impact on the life and work of Gertrude Stein. This idea can be furthered if one looks more closely at the way that Stein wrote her stories. Put simply, Stein tried to transplant the style of Cubism in painting to literature. According to Filreis, "In her own work, she attempted to parallel the theories of Cubism, specifically in her concentration on the illumination of the present moment and her use of slightly varied repetitions and extreme simplification and fragmentation" (2002, p.1). In other words, Stein tried to represent moments with her innovative literary work. In James' The Meaning of Truth, James claims that In the whole field of symbolic thought we are universally held both to intend, to speak of, and to reach conclusions about -- to know, in short - particular realities, without having in our subjective consciousness any mind-stuff that resembles them even in a remote degree. We are instructed about them by language which awakens no consciousness beyond its sound; and we know which realities they are by the faintest and most fragmentary glimpse of some remote context they may have and by no direct imagination of themselves. (1975, p.31)

James, therefore, speaks of fragmentary glimpses, or, if one puts it in the language of Stein, moments that humans hold onto in their minds and that are representative of certain objects. Taking James' statement into account, it is obvious that Stein used his theories of pragmatism, along with Picasso's theories of cubism, in her innovative literary works.

Besides influencing and subscribing to the same theories as Stein, James also besmirched Romanticism in the same way that Hulme did. Although this is not blatantly obvious in his philosophical works, one can find evidence of this in the many letters of James that he wrote to several people throughout his life. In a letter that James wrote to Thomas W. Ward in 1868, James responds to Ward's complaints about an experience with love and a love interest. James writes, "If you have any doubt as to the absolute integrity of your feelings, or see any macula whatever in the young female, my advice (grounded on a long and deep experience in such matters!!) is to drop the concern entirely" (1960, pp. 50-51). James gives advice that reeks of practicality and experience. James in no way speaks of a "higher truth" that would almost definitely be spoken of by a Romantic philosopher, or a philosopher that is of the pre-modern era. James does go on to write, "[I] would refer you [Ward] to the last lines of a poem by R.W. Emerson: 'Give all to love." Damn it, Tom, a little fleck hardly visible to the naked eye at first in the being of a girl we are attracted to, ends by growing, when we are bound to her in any way, bigger than the whole world, so that it mixes with everything and nauseates it for our enjoyment" (1960, 51). To the uneducated reader, it would seem that James is actually crediting the theory of Romanticism as valid. However, if one reads "in between the lines," one should recognize that James is giving Ward the advice of "giving all to love" in a sarcastic manner. He ends his advice with the tell-all statement that love is actually, in all honesty, nauseating. In other words, James doesn't tell Ward to accept his love for his woman as a sort of "higher truth" and form of transcendence. James actually claims that Ward needs to be practical with his feelings. He needs to accept that love, at times, can seem bigger than the world. However, at other times, it can be quite troublesome and repulsive.