The Impact of William James (Research Paper Sample)

Last Name Professor Course Date The Impact of William James Introduction There are few names that are considered the pioneers in the history of psychology. Names like Skinner, Jung, Freud and Maslow capture one’s immediate attention in the field of psychology. Similarly, one name that completely stands out as far as American psychology is concerned is William James. Despite the fact that he founded no school of thought and trained no disciples, he is still regarded as a powerful force in the history of psychology CITATION Sch15 \l 1033 (Schultz and Sydney ). The theory of emotion presented by William James perturbed feather at the time it was published CITATION Jam84 \l 1033 (James). However, the theory has persisted from the year 1884 when it was revived through modern textbooks. These textbooks greatly recognized the theory. The recognition can be exemplified by the fact that the article in which the theory was proposed has roughly 1500 citations. This paper aims to discuss the various aspects of the life of William James. The aspects mainly focus on the work and theories proposed by him. In addition, this paper will also discuss the educational background of William James along with his contributions in psychology. Life of William James William James was born on January 11, 1842 in New York City. He was born in an intellectual family as his father was a philosopher while his brother, Henry James, became a renowned novelist of fiction. After his early education in a medical school, James turned his focus on human psyche as he write a masterwork on human psyche tilted ‘The Principles of Psychology.’ Later, he produced another masterpiece entitled ‘The Will to Believe’ and various other literary essays in the field of philosophy. The essay was published in 1897 as he became known for this work. The details of his work will be presented in subsequent sections. James was one of the leading American philosopher and psychologist of the 19th and 20th century CITATION Ger02 \l 1033 (Gergen). He was the oldest among five children in the family. All the children in the family were educated by renowned tutors in Europe and New York City. In the early stages of his career, William James had the aspirations of becoming a scientist or an artist. He even started to study painting with William Hunt during the time his family was living in Rhode Island. He eventually decided different paths for his future. In 1861, he enrolled at Lawrence Scientific School where he researched into hot topics like physiology and chemistry. Later, he went to study at the prestigious Harvard Medical School in the year 1864. After studying for one year, James decided to take a break from education in order to join Louis Agassiz's expedition. He also travelled to Germany after two years to recuperate his health concerns including depression, back pain and sight problems. After the completion of his medical degree in 1869, James became a lecturer at the University. During his starting years as lecturer, he taught subjects like philosophy and psychology. James married Alice Howe in the year 1878. They had five children named Alexander, Herman, Henry, William and Margaret. Unfortunately, he was devastated as he lost Herman to some complications from whooping cough at an early age of 2. William James died in Chocorua on August 26, 1910. Major Works William James was hired to complete a book on psychology which on that time one of the most emerging fields. James took almost ten years to write it which was one of the early primers on psychology. The book was published in 1890 and entitled ‘The Principles of Psychology.’ The book was so instrumental that it influenced other leading thinkers such as John Dewey and Bertrand Russell. James also became more involved in Philosophical issues and theories as his career progressed. This is also evident from his published book in 1902 titled ‘The Varieties of Religious Experiences.’ The book is considered as one of the leading works in the field. James later published another of his works titled Pragmatism in which he explored his own philosophical beliefs. His last major published work during his lifetime was entitled ‘A Pluralistic Universe’ in the 1909. During the following year, James went to his family’s home in New Hampshire where he died of heart failure. Comparative, Gestalt, Social Psychology and cognitive may all owe a great deal to William James CITATION Placeholder2 \l 1033 ( Aronson). Although James publish his first encyclopedia manual in the field of psychology, James impact is also evident through his work in the field of philosophy. He did a great deal to present pragmatism as a philosophical thought. This also included publications of series of lectures. These works particularly conceptualized the concept the human mind as an integrated system. He also introduced many concepts for the manner in which knowledge is acquired and even touched upon the influence of others on human behavior. He even postulated various levels of animal intelligence and proposed as a process of evolution. Although his ideas had not experimental and sophistication evidence experienced by modern theories, he laid sound foundation for investigation in these areas. William James even predicted one of the major concerns presently faced by clinical psychology. The problem of reification was at that time known as intellectual viciousness. The idea that emotion, mental disorders and behavior would be abstracted in such a way that creates few logical fallacies. This is another contributions credited to William James. Theory of Emotions Humans have primitive instincts just like other animals. These instincts include specific forms of sympathy, desires and fear. These instincts don’t require anything to the taught to as humans and animals consciously focus on the ends. However, humans also have few emotions that are learnt and also involve behavior terms such as focus. The simplest example of such emotions is the fear of failure and desire to attain an academic degree. We normally tend to assume that our perceptions trigger the emotional responses which eventually transform as bodily expressions. On the other hand, James thinks of this sequence of emotions and response as something different CITATION Jam84 \l 1033 (James). He thinks that the true sequence is the perception that is followed by the bodily expressions. The expressions later transform into emotional feelings. Feelings are those physical events su...