William James

William James (January 11, 1842, New York–August 26, 1910, Chocorua, New Hampshire) was a pioneering psychologist and philosopher. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and the philosophy of pragmatism.

Professional career

James studied medicine, physiology, and biology, and began to teach in those subjects, but was drawn to the scientific study of the human mind at a time when psychology was constituting itself as a science. James's acquaintance with the work of figures like Hermann Helmholtz in Germany and Pierre Janet in France facilitated his introduction of courses in scientific psychology at Harvard University. He established one of the first—he believed it to be the first—laboratories of experimental psychology in the United States in Boylston Hall in 1875. (On the question of this claim to priority, see Gerald E. Myers, William James: His Life and Thought , p. 486.)

Related Topics:
Psychology - Science - Hermann Helmholtz - Pierre Janet - Harvard University - 1875

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

William James spent his entire academic career at Harvard. He was appointed instructor in physiology for the spring 1873 term, instructor in anatomy and physiology in 1873, assistant professor of psychology in 1876, assistant professor of philosophy in 1881, full professor in 1885, endowed chair in psychology in 1889, return to philosophy in 1897, and emeritus professor of philosophy in 1907.

Related Topics:
Physiology - 1873 - Anatomy - 1876 - Philosophy - 1881 - 1885 - 1889 - 1897 - 1907

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Among James's students at Harvard were such luminaries as George Santayana, W.E.B. DuBois, G. Stanley Hall, Ralph Barton Perry, Gertrude Stein, Horace Kallen, Morris Raphael Cohen, Alain Locke, C. I. Lewis, and Mary Calkins.

Related Topics:
George Santayana - W.E.B. DuBois - G. Stanley Hall - Ralph Barton Perry - Gertrude Stein - Horace Kallen - Morris Raphael Cohen - Alain Locke - C. I. Lewis - Mary Calkins

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~