William James

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William James

William James, the son of a Swedish theologian and brother of novelist Henry James, was born in New York City on January 11th, 1842. A great American philosopher, William James began his education in art, but quickly moved into medicine. He earned an M.D. from the Harvard School of Medicine in 1869, but never became a practicing doctor. In addition to medicine, James studied at Harvard's Lawrence Scientific School. His writings at this time did not reflect his scientific education however. Instead James wrote about philosophy.

His first works included Some Remarks on Spencer's Notion of Mind Correspondence (1878) and The Sentiment of Rationality (1882). These early works illustrated James' distain for absolutism. He was an evolutionist in the true Darwinian sense. He believed that the human mind was the primary organ of adaptation and could be observed in all of its functions, whether they are cognitive, emotional or impulsive. These works fused together psychology and philosophy into what he later called pragmatism.

In 1890 James published his most notable work titled The Principles of Psychology. This twelve hundred-page manuscript was a mixture of psychology, physiology, philosophy and personal reflection. Its publication catapulted James into the forefront of psychology as a leader of the "physical school." This masterpiece influenced future thinkers such as Bertrand Russell, John Dewey, Edmond Husserl and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

An important idea throughout James' work was the notion that humans help to "create" truths. In his many writings, James concentrates on three themes: the importance of religion, the importance of human passion, and the ways in which humans respond to life. All of these themes will later be incorporated into the sociological theory symbolic interaction. His latest writing includes Pragmatism, A Pluralistic Universe, and Essays in Radical Empiricism. These writings solidified his commitment to pragmatism. James broke pragmatism into five main themes: a philosophical temperament; a theory of truth; a theory of meaning; a holistic account of knowledge, and a method of resolving philosophical disputes.

In 1907 James resigned his professorship at Harvard University. He continued to publish until 1910, when he died of heart failure in his summer home. James will always be known for his effort to understand reality through the nature of experiences, making him an influential theorist to symbolic interactionists as well as sociologists in general.


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Other Influential Contributors William James William James, the son of a Swedish theologian and brother of novelist Henry James, was born in New York City on January 11th, 1842. A great American philosopher, William James began his education in art, but quickly moved into medicine. He earned an M.D. from the Harvard School of Medicine in 1869, but never became a practicing doctor. In addition to medicine, James studied at Harvard's Lawrence Scientific School. His writings at this time did not reflect his scientific education however. Instead James wrote about philosophy. His first works included Some Remarks on Spencer's Notion of Mind Correspondence (1878) and The Sentiment of Rationality (1882). These early works illustrated James' distain for absolutism. He was an evolutionist in the true Darwinian sense. He believed that the human mind was the primary organ of adaptation and could be observed in all of its functions, whether they are cognitive, emotional or impulsive. These works fused together psychology and philosophy into what he later called pragmatism. In 1890 James published his most notable work titled The Principles of Psychology. This twelve hundred-page manuscript was a mixture of psychology, physiology, philosophy and personal reflection. Its publication catapulted James into the forefront of psychology as a leader of the "physical school." This masterpiece influenced future thinkers such as Bertrand Russell, John Dewey, Edmond Husserl and Ludwig Wittgenstein. An important idea throughout James' work was the notion that humans help to "create" truths. In his many writings, James concentrates on three themes: the importance of religion, the importance of human passion, and the ways in which humans respond to life. All of these themes will later be incorporated into the sociological theory symbolic interaction. His latest writing includes Pragmatism, A Pluralistic Universe, and Essays in Radical Empiricism. These writings solidified his commitment to pragmatism. James broke pragmatism into five main themes: a philosophical temperament; a theory of truth; a theory of meaning; a holistic account of knowledge, and a method of resolving philosophical disputes. In 1907 James resigned his professorship at Harvard University. He continued to publish until 1910, when he died of heart failure in his summer home. James will always be known for his effort to understand reality through the nature of experiences, making him an influential theorist to symbolic interactionists as well as sociologists in general.