William James is considered by many people to be the most insightful and stimulating of American philosophers, and the second of the three great pragmatists, the link between Charles Sanders Peirce and John Dewey. William James was born in New York City on January 11, 1892 and would later become a leading American psychologist and philosopher in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was the oldest of five children in the household and a sibling to Henry James, who later became a famed novelist and writer (A&E Television Networks n.d.). His mother complained that “the trouble with him is that he must express every fluctuation of feeling, and especially every unfavorable symptom, without reference to the effect of those around him.” His life culminated in a reconstruction of spirituality and consciousness in relation to physiology and neuroscience. His life was also spent in perpetual diagnosis of backache, eyestrain, and nervous disorders. Unlike his siblings Garth Wilkinson, Robertson, and Alice, James’s psychological distress and physical disorders …show more content…
His soul experienced many dark nights, as displayed in his book The Varieties of Religious Experience. While his father had solved his own problems in the context of religion, William would form his salvation in the methodology of science and formal logic. He tried to comprehend his own difficult experience in physiological terms, and then to master its difficulties by the disciplines of psychology and philosophy. During the course of his own journey of discovery, he would lay down the foundations for modern science of psychology and build it as an American discipline. Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung made their way to American in 1909, and they the man they most wanted to meet was William James because of his genius
Many people attribute modern psychology to psychologist such as Sigmund Freud, Ivan Pavlov, and B.F. Skinner. Though, they were a part of developing modern psychology, many forget to recognize important founders such as William James. According to King, Viney and Woody, James came from a family with a strict father, raised in tolerance. James and his father had many encounters because of their different views. They were a wealthy and cultured family. James attended Harvard, studying a broad spectrum of just about everything. He finally received his medical degree in 1869, but then became depressed and anxious about life. He was not fond of medicine and was then offered to teach a course in the Relations between Psychology and Physiology. He was also the founder of Harvard’s first psychology laboratory. James then began to teach psychology as well as writing the first U.S. psychology text, Principles of Psychology, in 1890; this book was the main psychology textbook for many years to come (p.284). James was well known for his philosophy, which he explored many areas. For example individualism, which he believed that circumstances shape individuals and then individuals shape the world also that we understand reality only through individual experiences. Pluralism was another view which he believed that there are many ways to understand the world, and a variety of methods and topics to study. Also, for James pragmatism was a belief that if an idea worked it was valid; these ideas should have “cash value” as he stated. He meant that these ideas should be useful and apply them to the real world. Although philosophy was a major part of his work, he was also known as the American founder of psychology (King, Viney &Woody 2013, p.286). Wi...
Psychoanalysis is a theory that explores personality traits on the conscious and unconscious level. According to TheFreeDictionary.com, “Psychoanalysis is the most intensive form of an approach to treatment called psychodynamic therapy. Psychodynamic refers to a view of human personality that results from interactions between conscious and unconscious factors. The purpose of all forms of psychodynamic treatment is to bring unconscious mental material and processes into full consciousness so that the patient can gain more control over his or her life” (Psychoanalytic Treatment). Sigmund Freud is the founder of the Psychoanalysis Theory. He had many followers. One of those followers was Jung. As time went on, Jung’s perspective on personality
William states, "We're all trapped by other people's ideas, aren't we? " (Alexie, 63) William was obsessed with what society thought of him. Sherman Alexis describes him by, "No matter where he lived, William always felt uncomfortable, so he enjoyed other people's discomfort. " (60) William was insecure with himself.
For Carl Jung, his view on religious experience was based on all experiences being a psychological phenomenon. He differed from James in his view that a personal or individual experience with a God was indistinguishable from a communication with one’s unconscious mind. He ...
Sigmund Freud is considered to be one of the most studied and respected historical figures in psychology. Freud has had a huge impact on the way we think today. He also is responsible for creation psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud is even known as the “father of psychoanalysis”. Through endless contentious theories such as, the Case of Anna O, the Unconscious Mind, the Psyche, and the most infamous of his theories, the Psychosexual stage, Freud has generated many fans and supporters. His works has earned him a place in the list of psychology legends today.
Sigmund Freud is known as the founding father of psychology. If it wasn’t for Freud and his work psychology probably wouldn’t be around today (Javel, 1999). Although Freud had many followers there were some who didn’t agree with his work and found his work to be very controversial. There were also many who criticized his work, one of his most controversial and criticized work was his psychosexual stages of development and his believes about the famous “Oedipus Complex.” Psychoanalysis is the first known modality used to treat individuals with psychological disorders. Freud’s work was a foundation for many whether they believed in his work or not. From his work other psychologist
John Jay was born in New York, New York on December 12, 1745. John was the sixth of seven children who survived to adulthood in the Jay family. Shortly after his birth however they moved from Manhattan to Rye in order to provide a better life for his elder siblings, two of which were blind and another two suffered from mental handicaps. John Jay accomplished a lot when he was alive, some of these things include serving as the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, drafting New York’s first state constitution, president of the 1777 continental congress, and served as New York’s governor for six years before retiring from public office.With all these accomplishments, John Jay is one of the most important people that helped shaped America into what it is today.
There have been many influential influences to the English culture throughout its hundreds of years of existence, but there was one man who arguably was one of the most important figures to have ever changed the course of English culture forever. This man was no inventor who sparked a new age, nor an artist who introduced a romantic theme. Shockingly, this man was not even of English descent, but rather a conqueror from a foreign land. He is most well known as William the Conqueror and the date 1066, is remembered as the year of his arrival to Anglo-Saxon England when he began the famous Norman invasion. This alien invader to the British island was a Duke in the northern region of France. To be more specific, he was the Duke of Normandy, a province of France whose culture was descended from the Norse influence of Vikings. In a series of tactfully genius military battles, William the Conqueror captured the English throne. Few figures in history can boast of conquering an entire nation and even less can claim that they kept control and influenced their new lands. After his invasion and being crowned king of England, William began to dig into England like a tick and his Norman culture spread. William had pulled off an amazing feat through his invasion in England and as well as his earlier life when he rose to power in Normandy which allowed him to embark on such rigorous campaign.
John Tyler was the 10th president. John Tyler had some great accomplishments. John Tyler has some good facts about him. John Tyler had a great life in his childhood and early life.
James argues that, although one's temperament modifies one's way of philosophizing, its presence is seldom recognized. This statement by James prompted me to the reading of part of Pl...
In the year 1896, a new term “theory of psychoanalysis” was invented by Sigmund Freud in which “it refers to all the processes that take place in our mind of an unconscious way and to a form of treatment of the nervous disorders” (Rodriquez). Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was an Austrian neurologist who created and developed an entirely new approach to discover about the personality and the subconscious of the human. His creation in the psychology field was “at once a theory of the human psyche, a therapy for the relief of its ills, and an optic for the interpretation of culture and society” (Jay). Sigmund Freud is regarded as one of the most influential and controversial characters of the twentieth century due to his discoveries in many aspects of the field of psychology included Freud’s self-analysis that he left behind.
James was an authoritarian parent. He was controlling, in-charge and no one questioned him. He would play the role of the doting father. When his children made mistakes, he made a point to criticize them. He often compared them to other kids that he felt were “more perfect.” When his often unspoken expectations were not met he would yell and scream striking fear into his entire family. “He’s not a warm, fuzzy kind of guy, and he’s not going to inspire feelings of intimacy. But when his system works, he can boast about one thing: His recruits tend to obey” (Dewar).
Rationalism and empiricism were two philosophical schools in the 17th and 18th centuries, that were expressing opposite views on some subjects, including knowledge. While the debate between the rationalist and empiricist schools did not have any relationship to the study of psychology at the time, it has contributed greatly to facilitating the possibility of establishing the discipline of Psychology. This essay will describe the empiricist and rationalist debate, and will relate this debate to the history of psychology.
Psychology started, and had a long history, as a topic within the fields of philosophy and physiology. It then became an independent field of its own through the work of the German Wilhelm Wundt, the founder of experimental psychology and structuralism. Wundt stressed the use of scientific methods in psychology, particularly through the use of introspection. In 1875, a room was set-aside for Wundt for demonstrations in what we now call sensation and perception. This is the same year that William James set up a similar lab at Harvard. Wilhelm Wundt and William James are usually thought of as the fathers of psychology, as well as the founders of psychology?s first two great ?schools? Structuralism and Functionalism. Psychologist Edward B Titchner said; ?to study the brain and the unconscious we should break it into its structural elements, after that we can construct it into a whole and understand what it does.? (psicafe.com)
Psychology formerly integrated with the subject philosophy; these two formerly considered as one. Philosophy was the center of all learning but many academicians focus more on mathematics, physics, and biology. By the late 1800s, many philosophers created their own disciplines and the era of modern psychology slowly emerged. They soon began calling themselves psychologist. Authors have varying opinion about the founding fathers of the said science; some traces its roots as far as Aristotle and Plato (Benjafield 1996). Other authors believe that modern psychology started at the introduction of experimental psychology and for this reason, several experimental psychologist were also named the father of psychology including, Wilhelm Wundt and Gustav Fechner (Matson, 2009). However, one thing is for sure about psychology – it originated in Europe and introduced in the United States sometime in the late 1880s. Prior to this period, psychology crosses the realms of the paranormal because many practitioners at that time engaged themselves in psychic healing and spiritual quest. They were known as pseudo-psychologists and they were particularly popular in Germany. At the onset of modern psychology in the United State, the discipline focused more on the academics. American psychologists at that time put more emphasis on teaching rather than engaging themselves in research. It was at this period when several schools of thoughts emerged to explain behavior, cognition, and consciousness. In this paper, two of the earliest school of thoughts will be discussed. These are Structuralism and Functionalism. These two will be compared and contrasted.