Dear ToK community,
This fall, I am co-teaching (with Frank Underkuffler, a colleague in our
philosophy department) a course entitled *Philosophical Psychology. *We
have offered this class twice in the last few years, and we typically focus
on issues of interest to this group, including the general problem of
disciplinary identity. In fact, we used Gregg's *A New Unified Theory of
Psychology *as a primary text when we taught the course in Spring 2014.
This year, we are trying something a little different. There are times
when it is appropriate to take four steps back before taking five forward.
In this spirit, I feel compelled (as if by some mysterious force) to read
William James' (1890) *Principles of Psychology* in an effort to deepen my
understanding of what it means to be a psychologist in the first half of
the 21st century.
I've studied large sections of this book in the past, but never the whole
thing [from cover(s) to cover(s)]. My colleague and I have decided to
adopt *Principles of Psychology* as our primary text this fall. Of course,
we will not likely assign every chapter (and we will almost certainly "skip
around", discussing material in whatever order makes the most pedagogical
sense, given the questions we are addressing in the class).
But this summer I plan to read the entire book -- chapter by chapter --* in
order.* I will be guided by three preliminary questions (which may
themselves evolve over time).
1) How does James conceive the discipline of psychology?
- Here I'm inspired by David Leary's (2018) comment (in his
recently-published *Routledge Guide):*
- "...much of the value and potential contemporary relevance of *The
Principles of Psychology* is embedded less in its instructive
treatment of this or that topic, and more in the overarching vision
conveyed by its various parts, when read and considered in unison....he,
after all, saw *everything* as interrelated" (p. x).
- Note that I've only read the preface to Leary's book. My intention is
to complete my study of James' text before systematically reviewing
the secondary literature. This is not a dogmatic methodological precept.
I may consult the secondary literature if significant interpretive puzzles
arise, but I'd like to my reading of James to be as "fresh" as reasonably
possible (i.e., uncontaminated by decades of expert discussion).
2) William James has been characterized as a "personalist"; e.g., see the
NYT article by David Brooks forwarded to this listserv by Gregg a few weeks
ago. 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? What does it mean to consider James a personalist?
3) Is there an ethics implicit in *Principles of Psychology*? Note that
this question may be closely tied to Question #2. Also note that Questions
#2 and #3 will likely need to be modified as my understanding of William
James deepens. [Sometimes, the question to ask at the beginning of a study
of this sort is simply: "What questions *should* I be asking?". All I can
really say at present is that I am especially interested in James' (a)
vision of psychology, (b) account of the person, and (c) understanding of
the Good Life.]
My outline of Chapter 1 [which addresses Question #1 above] is attached. I
plan to proceed on the following schedule:
- July 10: Chapters 2-8
- July 24: Chapters 9-16
- August 7: Chapters 17-22
- August 21: Chapters 23-28
I will prepare notes for each of these readings. My intention (as always)
is for these notes to make sense to those who haven't read James' text.
However, I will focus on themes relevant to my guiding questions (outlined
above). I am not trying to craft a synopsis of each section.
For those interested in accompanying me on this journey, the complete text
is available online here:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__psychclassics.yorku.ca_James_Principles_index.htm&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=SJJcEEGxHNeN86ITzU5oDPuGXIyLTcnsbWPFURrukRs&s=vIqA2A3u3vGT-GyKnTtYK6TWt4ZXaN7meW2mOldBYeg&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_&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=SJJcEEGxHNeN86ITzU5oDPuGXIyLTcnsbWPFURrukRs&s=ghM2E01sTlTYoVN833Fi2c8i6fm5NV4e2rwT2exSkIs&e=
dp/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=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=SJJcEEGxHNeN86ITzU5oDPuGXIyLTcnsbWPFURrukRs&s=EEtvLEBbeCKFH570l6Sd_8eidsUzaCnletx66nz1cOw&e=>
- Volume 2: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.amazon.com_Great-2DBooks-2DWestern-2DWorld-2DWilliam_&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=SJJcEEGxHNeN86ITzU5oDPuGXIyLTcnsbWPFURrukRs&s=wyF_dkI6tLz6dB_qZVLkQ9J775aTMSYdVmsVBKzES3g&e=
dp/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=SJJcEEGxHNeN86ITzU5oDPuGXIyLTcnsbWPFURrukRs&s=4bFkqMdhmcFmmAdQ0GOxC_QNdN3c98agmAnjhGI-pWQ&e=>
I welcome your input on the attached notes (or any other aspect of this
project).
~ Steve Q.
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