Some Problems Of Philosophy: Beginning Of An Introduction To Philosophy

by William James

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Classics

248 pages, Paperback

Published November 3, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist who was also trained as a physician. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, James was one of the leading thinkers of the late nineteenth century and is believed by many to be one of the most influential philosophers the United States has ever produced, while others have labelled him the "Father of American psychology". Along with Charles Sanders Peirce and John Dewey, he is considered to be one of the greatest figures associated with the philosophical school known as pragmatism, and is also cited as one of the founders of the functional psychology. He also developed the philosophical perspective known as radical empiricism. James' work has influenced intellectuals such as Émile Durkheim, W. E. B. Du Bois, Edmund Husserl, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Hilary Putnam, and Richard Rorty.

Born into a wealthy family, James was the son of the Swedenborgian theologian Henry James Sr and the brother of both the prominent novelist Henry James, and the diarist Alice James. James wrote widely on many topics, including epistemology, education, metaphysics, psychology, religion, and mysticism. Among his most influential books are Principles of Psychology, which was a groundbreaking text in the field of psychology, Essays in Radical Empiricism, an important text in philosophy, and The Varieties of Religious Experience, which investigated different forms of religious experience.
William James was born at the Astor House in New York City. He was the son of Henry James Sr., a noted and independently wealthy Swedenborgian theologian well acquainted with the literary and intellectual elites of his day. The intellectual brilliance of the James family milieu and the remarkable epistolary talents of several of its members have made them a subject of continuing interest to historians, biographers, and critics.

James interacted with a wide array of writers and scholars throughout his life, including his godfather Ralph Waldo Emerson, his godson William James Sidis, as well as Charles Sanders Peirce, Bertrand Russell, Josiah Royce, Ernst Mach, John Dewey, Macedonio Fernández, Walter Lippmann, Mark Twain, Horatio Alger, Jr., Henri Bergson and Sigmund Freud.

William James received an eclectic trans-Atlantic education, developing fluency in both German and French. Education in the James household encouraged cosmopolitanism. The family made two trips to Europe while William James was still a child, setting a pattern that resulted in thirteen more European journeys during his life. His early artistic bent led to an apprenticeship in the studio of William Morris Hunt in Newport, Rhode Island, but he switched in 1861 to scientific studies at the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard University.

In his early adulthood, James suffered from a variety of physical ailments, including those of the eyes, back, stomach, and skin. He was also tone deaf. He was subject to a variety of psychological symptoms which were diagnosed at the time as neurasthenia, and which included periods of depression during which he contemplated suicide for months on end. Two younger brothers, Garth Wilkinson (Wilky) and Robertson (Bob), fought in the Civil War. The other three siblings (William, Henry, and Alice James) all suffered from periods of invalidism.

He took up medical studies at Harvard Medical School in 1864. He took a break in the spring of 1865 to join naturalist Louis Agassiz on a scientific expedition up the Amazon River, but aborted his trip after eight months, as he suffered bouts of severe seasickness and mild smallpox. His studies were interrupted once again due to illness in April 1867. He traveled to Germany in search of a cure and remained there until November 1868; at that time he was 26 years old. During this period, he

Reviews

[robin friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

William James's Introduction To Philosophy

Throughout his life, William James had the ambition to write a book presenting his philosophy in systematic form. He alluded to this goal repeatedly in his published books of philosophy, particularly the "Varieties of Religious Experience." But, as was the "Varieties", James other philosophical works such as "Pragmatism" and "A Pluralistic Universe" consisted of lectures while "The Meaning of Truth" consisted of a collection of essays, most of which had earlier been published separately.

Late in his life, James tried to realize his project of giving an exposition of his philosophy in his final book, "Some Problems of Philosophy" which is aptly subtitled "A Beginning of an Introduction to Philosophy". James began writing this book in 1909, but illness slowed and ultimately stopped his work well before it could be completed. Before his death in 1911, James authorized the publication of what he had written with the note: "Say that I hoped by it to round out my system, which now is too much like an arch built only on one side."

The book James left is a mixture, with some sections that are suitable for a beginner in philosophy and with other sections that are highly technical. The book is of interest because James clearly wanted to integrate the two primary philosophical ideas developed in his earlier works: pragmatism and radical empiricism.

James introduces pragmatism in chapter IV of "Some Problems in Philosophy" in discussing the relationship between perceptual and conceptual knowledge, where he states that "the pragmatic rule is that the meaning of a concept may always be found, if not in some sensible particular which it directly designates, then in some particular difference in the course of human experience which its being true will make." In evaluating the truth of falsity of a concept, for James, the important consideration is the use of the concept and the difference it makes in understanding experience. If the concept is of no use, it is likely empty. James developed his theory of pragmatism at length in his books "Pragmatism" and "The Meaning of Truth."

James introduces his discussion of radical empiricism, or pluralism, in chapter V of "Some Problems of Philosophy" titled "Precept and Concept -- The Abuse of Concepts." Pluralism became increasingly important to James as he developed his philosophy and in a work such as "A Pluralistic Universe" it greatly overshadows pragmatism and may be inconsistent with it. James argues against monism and rationalism, finding them "forever inadequate to the fullness of the reality to be known." He maintains that concepts, while useful in understanding reality for specific purposes, ultimately distort and limit its nature. Reality for James is found in the experiential flow -- the stream of consciousness of immediate experience -- rather than in any conceptual system engrafted upon it. His teaching on this point was heavily influenced by the French philosopher Henri Bergson, and it also bears similarity to the phenomenology of Edmund Husserl.

In the remainder of "Some Problems of Philosophy", James expounds upon the significance of his radical empiricism, as he explores problems of causation, chance, and activity. The rationalistic, scientific universe is, for James, a deterministic, fatalistic universe which leaves no room for creativity or for growth. Interestingly, James's discussion of these issues includes some rather technical treatments of the mathematical philosophy being developed by Bertrand Russell and others. James argues that causation, as explained by Hume and Kant, is a conceptual overlay on experience which does not explain causation as an activity analogous to human will. He suggests, as he did in "A Pluralistic Universe" a theory of panpsychism, to explain the nature of causation and free activity. He alludes to the problem of relating the activity of the will to the physiological activity of the brain (the "mind-body" problem) but, unfortunately, at this point the book abruptly ends. The book closes with a brief appendix "Faith and the Right to Believe" drawn from the concluding chapter of "A Pluralistic Universe" and alluding to James's early essay "The Will to Believe".

"Some Problems of Philosophy" does not succeed in becoming the systematic exposition of his thought that James hoped it would be. I don't think it adequately integrates pragmatism and radical empiricism. On James's own account, its treatment of both doctrines is sketchy. But the book is well worth reading for its hints of the direction in which James's thought was going. Thus, this book will be of most interest to those readers with a good grasp of James's thought as developed in the "Varieties", "Pragmatism", "A Pluralistic Universe" and the essays.

Robin Friedman

[Illiterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

James on metaphysics, contrasting rationalism and empiricism, favoring the latter. It is unfinished.

[Richard Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

James is easier to read than almost any other philosopher. But he doesn't dumb it down. This may be only the beginning of an introduction, but it covers a lot of ground and has deep discussions of some basic issues -- the one and the many, thought vs. perception, causality and the infinite to name a few. In some ways the questions that are the subject of this book are things that don't have much impact on our lives, and most people are able to get through their lives quite happily without ever worrying about them, but if you have an inquiring mind and keep asking the questions behind the questions, you will eventually get to the things that James is talking about here. The analysis that James provides for these basic questions is surprisingly comprehensible, and his conclusions are all reasonable and hard to reject outright, even when I didn't wholly agree with him.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aristotle answers Plato and James calls it Pragmatism.

[Chra · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتێبەکە باسی لە کۆمەڵێک بابەت و کێشەی فەلسەفە دەکرد, بەڵام بۆ من کەمێک تێگەیشتنی قورس بوو.

[Alex Kartelias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never has any philosopher gone into so much depth into Metaphysics than William James. Even though this is an unfinished textbook, the criticisms he gives concerning the Rationalistic perspective of causality and the case that he makes with his, "Radical Skepticism" is astounding. He also demonstrates- very persuasively- the malady of conceptual thinking: it "substitute[s] concepts for percepts" there by, " substitut[ing] their relations" and its, "conceptual scheme... Can only cover the perceptual flux in spots and incompletely". While bringing up counter arguments from Kant and others- whom he unhesistantly challenges- he explores different ideas that he either rejects our utilizes for his arguments from his contempories. His written style is very clear and unambiguous- which is unstereotypical for a philosopher- and he humbly gives illuminating analogies to illustrate key concepts. William James would happy to know that though his goal was never accomplished, what he did put effort in made a big impact on his students and beyond.