Hi Mark,
Thank you very much for the insights and links.
My list of guiding questions is evolving, and the issues you raise are
encouraging me to reconsider what I'm after as I study the text. I agree
that it is especially important to consider the question: "*w**ho was James
'arguing' with and what was he trying to accomplish -- in the context of
his times*?"
I also look forward to studying the work of Pierce and other contemporaries
of William James. I'd like our students to come away from the class with
an understanding of (a) the psychology of William James in its historical
context, as well as (b) how James might speak to the issues psychologists
are grappling with in 2018.
More to come...
~ Steve Q.
On Thu, Jul 12, 2018 at 2:25 PM, Mark Stahlman <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> Steve:
>
> I'm no expert on James but I know a bit about his "times," so if I were
> tackling this, some of the questions I'd ask might include --
>
> 1) Who was William James? What was *his* own "psychology" and how was it
> "formed"?
>
> 2) Who was James "arguing" with and what was he trying to accomplish -- in
> the context of his times?
>
> One of his contemporaries who I do know something about is Charles
> Pierce. Many lump them together as "pragmatists" but, in fact, Pierce
> quite deliberately separated himself and called his approach "pragmaticist"
> so that no one would confuse the two (no, it didn't work).
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__en.wiki
> pedia.org_wiki_Charles-5FSanders-5FPeirce&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnp
> nzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-
> UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=TwZMVpxpDzN4iLckzX6jg6pnl17lXU
> bIh4i_U-Hbyhw&s=XoFR9U7N_21x4b6sQ9_hYNPH79DegVxmUqoMJ3B2kFY&e=
>
> Btw, my study of Pierce is largely through John Deely, the recently
> deceased semiotician. Deely's only PhD student, Brian Kemple is a Fellow
> at my Center.
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__en.wiki
> pedia.org_wiki_John-5FDeely&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4
> uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgj
> O2gOz4-A&m=TwZMVpxpDzN4iLckzX6jg6pnl17lXUbIh4i_U-Hbyhw&s=1Ku
> WXV54ASrno6ufdQNNGiPMpP7e86ytB7U-nFjECHw&e=
>
> The James text that I've spent some time with is 1901-02 "The Varieties of
> Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature," which -- as was common at a
> time when *seances* were typical upper-class Saturday night entertainment,
> Psychic Societies were being formed (James co-founded the ASPR in 1884) and
> the Theosophical Society (founded in NYC in 1875) was capturing many
> people's imagination -- would seem to be relevant to how James treats
> "Psychology" (or perhaps not).
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__en.wiki
> pedia.org_wiki_American-5FSociety-5Ffor-5FPsychical-5FResear
> ch&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=
> HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=TwZMVpxpDzN4iL
> ckzX6jg6pnl17lXUbIh4i_U-Hbyhw&s=KxKqr-lMEIr5Mr1h3SdaNqW_-GuT
> zAUCCiBWjFxjg5Q&e=
>
> I recently visited the Edison Laboratory in nearby West Orange and
> confirmed with the experts there that Thomas Edison was *deeply* committed
> to "talking with dead people" (as was Alex. Graham Bell &al). Electricity
> had many definite influences on the behaviors of the time.
>
> So, for James, the "psychology" of his times included ectoplasm and
> tapping spirits. My guess is that this could be important for your own
> study of his work . . . !!
>
> Mark
>
> P.S. The best account of the "occult" developments in those times is
> probably the two-volume "Occult Underground" and "Occult Establishment"
> (i.e. James' own career) by James Webb (alas, now expensive but I think
> there are scans out there).
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.ama
> zon.com_Occult-2DEstablishment-2DJames-2DWebb_dp_0875484344&
> d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo
> 1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=TwZMVpxpDzN4iLckz
> X6jg6pnl17lXUbIh4i_U-Hbyhw&s=B9FoZBUdcHzDetBOCD36ft_5fjUmDI_
> k8zrF36zsWSQ&e=
>
> Quoting Steven Quackenbush <[log in to unmask]>:
>
> Dear ToK community,
>>
>> As mentioned in a previous post, I am co-teaching a course this fall
>> (entitled *Philosophical Psychology*) in which we have adopted William
>> James'
>> (1890) *Principles of Psychology* as our chief text. In preparation, I am
>> working my way through the entire book this summer. This reading project
>> is guided by three questions:
>>
>> 1) *How does James conceive the discipline of psychology? *
>>
>> 2) In a NYT article (that Gregg forwarded to members of this listserv),
>> David Brooks included William James on his list of "personalists." If
>> personalism "is a philosophic tendency built on the infinite uniqueness
>> and
>> depth of each person" (Brooks), *in what respect(s) does The Principles of
>> Psychology offer a personalistic account of the human organism?*
>>
>> 3) *Is there an ethics implicit in Principles of Psychology? * [If so,
>> how
>> might it be characterized?]
>>
>>
>> Chapter 1 of *The Principles of Psychology *offers a sketch of James'
>> conception of psychology as a scholarly discipline. I consider this
>> chapter to be a self-standing document (even as I imagine that subsequence
>> sections of the text will enrich his opening reflections). My outline of
>> this introductory material is included in the attachment entitled
>> "Principles of Psychology Chapter 1"
>>
>> My approach to studying the remainder of the text will not take the form
>> of
>> a page-by-page outline. Rather, what I'm trying to do is identify the
>> conceptual "seeds" that seem most likely to bear fruit (in light of the
>> concerns guiding my reading). The second attachment (labelled "An
>> Exploration of James' Principles of Psychology") represents my attempt to
>> highlight those aspects of James' discussion *in chapters 2-8* that seem
>> most relevant to the questions posed above. This document does not
>> presume
>> familiarity with* The Principles of Psychology. * I make heavy use of
>> quotations from James' text and I try to clarify passages that strike me
>> as
>> obscure (yet important). Participants on this listserv might be
>> especially interested in (a) James' distinction between *knowledge of
>> acquaintance* and *knowledge-about *(p. 2), and (b) the discussion of
>> *sources
>> of error* in psychology, including (1) the misleading influence of
>> language
>> (p. 3), and the so-called Psychologist's Fallacy (pp. 3-6).
>>
>> Please note that this is a work in progress (subject to revision based on
>> feedback from others and my continued study of the text).
>>
>> My reading schedule for the remainder of the summer is as follows:
>>
>> - July 24: Chapters 9-16
>> - August 7: Chapters 17-22
>> - August 21: Chapters 23-28
>>
>> I welcome your input on the attached notes (or any other aspect of this
>> project).
>>
>> ~ Steve Q
>>
>> P.S., The complete text of *The Principles of Psychology* is available
>> online here: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__psychcla
>> ssics.yorku.ca_James_Principles_index.htm&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnp
>> nzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-
>> UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=5Pqqanfy7OhvaKuNcrR1FQI_MPCK-j
>> ULqaKEBfFGK5c&s=oVxHIrvbN2eVy17Pd6BFz5SuuEARYLzwz1QUxkp6mbg&e=
>>
>> I am using the following print edition:
>>
>> - Volume 1: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-
>> 3A__www.amazon.com_Principles-2DPsychology-2DVol-2D1_dp_&d=D
>> wIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IX
>> YDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=5Pqqanfy7OhvaKuNcrR1
>> FQI_MPCK-jULqaKEBfFGK5c&s=nijv9-bYCDPNGwT0BNtzUHlmBA0muXAZnNbKh5TFlQ4&e=
>> 0486203816/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1525970541&sr=1-2&
>> keywords=principles+of+psychology+william+james
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.
>> amazon.com_Principles-2DPsychology-2DVol-2D1_dp_0486203816_
>> ref-3Dsr-5F1-5F2-3Fs-3Dbooks-26ie-3DUTF8-26qid-3D1525970541
>> -26sr-3D1-2D2-26keywords-3Dprinciples-2Bof-2Bpsychology
>> -2Bwilliam-2Bjames&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSj
>> Odn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&
>> m=5Pqqanfy7OhvaKuNcrR1FQI_MPCK-jULqaKEBfFGK5c&s=Sx_bqL9u
>> roWGURckR50FVhB5IyHyrhqUvapUt9TSi3I&e=>
>> - Volume 2: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__urldefense.proofpoint&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=GqwI14cZSUEfBLsMIBR42vxFQffBkTOooz2FM8HYNiA&s=wKuZVOUqdh-oGExE7vfoQYuQkWJM-hW5IDYZJ9ACy8A&e=.
>> com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.amazon.com_Great-2DBooks-2DWester
>> n-2DWorld-2DWilliam_dp&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4
>> uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgj
>> O2gOz4-A&m=5Pqqanfy7OhvaKuNcrR1FQI_MPCK-jULqaKEBfFGK5c&s=Era
>> aCvdVR4a70KAatAgN0z-Qv9VZ1wdz9_YdImAugeU&e=
>> /B000HMOKB6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1525970655&sr=1-
>> 1&keywords=great+books+of+the+western+world+53+william+james
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.
>> amazon.com_Great-2DBooks-2DWestern-2DWorld-2DWilliam_
>> dp_B000HMOKB6_ref-3Dsr-5F1-5F1-3Fs-3Dbooks-26ie-3DUTF8-
>> 26qid-3D1525970655-26sr-3D1-2D1-26keywords-3Dgreat-
>> 2Bbooks-2Bof-2Bthe-2Bwestern-2Bworld-2B53-2Bwilliam-
>> 2Bjames&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_
>> 5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=
>> 5Pqqanfy7OhvaKuNcrR1FQI_MPCK-jULqaKEBfFGK5c&s=EG1lG5c9xTExr2
>> mp0DISYWeII9NPUrWJZvTM2Sa4BPg&e=>
>>
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