James became fond of philosophy and, in particular, of pragmatism. This is a philosophical approach to assessing the truth of the meaning behind a theory or belief via its successful practical application. One of the doctrines that came about from pragmatism was radical empiricism, which was actually proposed by James. It states that experience has to be viewed both at the physical level as well as how meaning or values can arise as a result of that experience. He became deeply involved with this idea, and it would frequently be seen in his writings.
