William James: A Poetic Approach to Consciousness

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at some of William James' works and shows how, within his writings, an entire unofficial school of psychology existed. It shows how James exemplified scientific creativity. He was interested in all facets of psychology, was deeply immersed in his field, and could effectively see the many sides of a single issue. The paper presents some excerpts from his writings to discuss his philosophy.

From the Paper:

"Mind engenders truth upon reality. . . .Our minds are not here simply to copy a reality that is already complete. They are here to complete it, to add to its importance by their own remodeling of it, to decant its contents over, so to speak, into a more significant shape. In point of fact, the use of most of our thinking is to help us to change the world" (James in Fadiman & Frager, 1994, p. 299). When William James spoke these words, did he realize that he would embody his words? James? work is eloquent and powerful, poetic and parsimonious. He was a person who possibly thought with both his mind and his heart. James? work on the psychology of consciousness is currently studied and many of the questions he posed are still debated today (Fadiman & Frager, 1994)."

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