The Polytheism of William James

William James on the Self

In the late nineteenth century William James pieced together a theory of self that is remarkably modern, some might say 'post-modern.' In Chapter X of his magnum opus, The Principles of Psychology (1890), entitled "The Consciousness of Self," James discusses the manifold nature of the self treating it in its native complexity. Among other things, he proposes a notion of identity and experience ...

romantic education:reading william wordsworths the prelude in the light of the history of ideas

عصر روشنگری زمان شکل گیری ایده های مدرن تربیتی- آموزشی بود اما تاکید بیش از اندازه ی دوشاخه مهم فلسفی زمان یعنی عقل گرایی و حس گرایی بر دقت و وضوح، انسان عصر روشنگری را نسبت به دیگر تواناییهایش نابینا کرده و موجب به وجود آمدن افرادی تک بعدی شد که افتخارعقلانیتشان، تاکید شان بر تجربه فردی، به مبارزه طلبیدن منطق نیاکانشان وافسون زدایی شان از دنیا وتمام آنچه با حواس پنجگانه قابل درک نبوده و یا در ...

William James and the evolution of consciousness

Despite having been relegated to the realm of superstition during the dominant years of behaviourism, the investigation and discussion of consciousness has again become scientifically defensible. However, attempts at describing animal consciousness continue to be criticised for lacking independent criteria that identify the presence or absence of the phenomenon. Over one hundred years ago Willi...

William Faulkner, William James, and the American Pragmatic Tradition (review)

William James as American Plato ?

Alfred North Whitehead wrote a letter to Charles Hartshorne in 1936 in which he referred to William James as the American Plato. Especially given Whitehead’s admiration of Plato, this was a high compliment to James. What was the basis for this compliment and analogy? In responding to that question beyond the partial and scattered references provided by Whitehead, this article briefly explores t...