James, William (1842–1910)

Abstract

William James (1842–1910) was the son of a theologian and brother of the novelist Henry James. He taught psychology and philosophy at Harvard University. HisPrinciples of Psychology(1890) is the foundation for much of modern psychology. An annotated version,On Psychology: Briefer Course, was published in 1892. Other major works includeThe Will to Believe(1897),Human Immortality(1898),The Varieties of Religious Experience(1902),Pragmatism(1907), andThe Meaning of Truth(1909). Along with Charles S. Peirce, John Dewey, and others, he was instrumental in establishing American pragmatism, which had a strong influence on symbolic interactionism, American educational practices, and contemporary epistemological issues. His conceptions of psychology, consciousness, cognition, self, self‐esteem, stream of consciousness, and habit have a profound relevance for many sociological assumptions regarding the nature of society and its influence on human conduct.