The Contribution of William James to American Psychology - Essay Example

William James Table of Contents I. Introduction 3 II. Discussion 4 References 8 I. Introduction This paper explores the work of William James in the context of his being considered as the father of psychology in America and in the context of how his work and contributions are situated within the larger backdrop of American psychology. The thesis is that it is by virtue of his important contributions to the psychological sciences- from functionalism as a foundational paradigm to original thinking on emotions, how the self is perceived and characterized, and stream of consciousness- as laid down in his work The Principles of Psychology, and the impact of that work on later psychologists, that we can consider William James to be indeed American psychologys father. (Gordon,1995; Goodman, 2013; The New York Times Company, 2011; Wozniak, 1999; Taylor, 1998; Vernon, 2010; Ferreri, 2006). William James is known for his masterpiece The Principles of Psychology written in 1890 and he is noted for traversing three disciplines in psychology philosophy and physiology to come up with original and groundbreaking ideas relating to human consciousness and the mechanics of human thought processes and perception among other things. The influence of this work is far reaching and fertilized the thinking and work of later intellectuals both in America and in Europe, including John Dewey, Edmund Husserl, and Bertrand Russell (Goodman, 2013). It is on the strength of the book, which is said to be as relevant and foundational to the thinking and practice of American psychologists up to the present day, that William James is considered to be the foremost American psychologist, and effectively the founder of psychology in the country. The book itself is considered to be the first book on psychology in America. In particular, James is credited with being the early champion of the functionalist school, which in contrast to the structuralist school argued that consciousness is not something that can be partitioned into components. In opposition to a structural interpretation of consciousness, James argued that consciousness is unity, that is characterized by continuity of flow, as well as by transitions. As opposed to discrete elements, consciousness is a flow or a stream (Gordon, 1995). II. Discussion There is consensus that prior to William James work, American psychology simply did not exist, but that psychology as it was practiced in the United States mainly was transplanted from European conceptions about the nature of the human psyche and the theoretical underpinnings of psychological science as it was espoused in Europe. It was only during the time of William James, on the other hand, that a truly organic form of psychology that was rooted in the original ideas of the man, relating to his now widely cited and used concepts relating to the emotions and to “stream of consciousness”, came to life. It is in this sense, first and foremost, that James can be considered to be the father of psychology in America, cemented by the centrality of the book that he wrote on psychologys foundational principles in later theorizing and practice of psychology in the United States (Vernon, 2010; Ferreri, 2006; Hunt, 1994). The literature does make the distinction of making James the father of psychology as it is scientifically grounded, and here the earlier rigorous training of James in the medical sciences as well as in philosophy came to good use when he went about establishing the basic tenets of scientific psychology in America. On the other hand, even as he is considered a man of science, it is also said that his psychological concepts and treatment of psychology was fertilized not only by his excellent grasp of medicine, but also of philosophy, so that his brand of psychology is said to cull insights from many different disciplines. Be that as it may, he is credited with broadening the perspective of psychology to include physiology, as well as philosophy and related disciplines (Wozniak, 1999; Ferreri, 2006; Hunt, 1994). An example of the unique insight that James brought to psychology was his successful attempts at marrying physiology to investigations into the nature of consciousness, and at the same time grounding consciousness studies to then evolving ideas relating to evolution. Through a persistent investigation of the physiological roots of instincts, for instance, James was able to arrive at a theory of instincts that ground emotions, as well as habits, to physiological, and neural/brain, foundations. It is these kinds of cross-pollinations of ideas that James was able to pull off into a brilliant synthesis, exemplify the kind of unique perspective that James brought into psychology in general and the study of human consciousness in particular. Prior to James this was not done, and after James American psychology came to base its thinking along the lines that James had laid (Taylor, 1998). James, too, is the father of modern scientific psychology in America because it was on the basis of his work, as laid down in his book, that James was said to have successfully launched psychology not just as a discipline that was separate from philosophy, but also as a scientific discipline rather than as a social science discipline. As a science, he was able to ground the budding American psychological discipline in the traditional medical sciences, and in particular physiology and biology. At the same time, with his unique approach that culled insights from various other disciplines, James also leveraged the insights from his philosophical ideas to establish his ideas relating to the notion of the self, the consciousness stream, belief and sensation as well as imagination, human will, and the emotions. With regard to the emotions, James for instance made use of his insights into physiology and philosophy to posit that the way the human being experiences emotions is through a chain of events that starts with perception, which triggers specific biological expressions, which then trigger the experience of the emotions. This is counter-intuitive and went against the conventional thinking of the time. James leveraged his insights into instincts to arrive at this conception of the processes that lead to the experience of emotions. It is here, moreover, that James posited the tight relationship between consciousness and the life of the mind on the one hand and the biological processes inherent in human bodies on the other hand (Taylor, 1998; Pomerleau, n.d.). Finally, James can be considered to be the father of modern American psychology because of the way the ideas that he propounded in his work is universally considered as having determined the future course of the evolution of psychological practice in America, up to the present day. For one, it is said that James functional approach to the study of consciousness and the mind, which emphasized the role of processes rather than individual elements, the importance of viewing consciousness as stream and flow, launched American psychology into new avenues for exploration that have yielded much fruit and insight, as evidenced by the present-day profound understanding of modern-day psychologists into the nature of the human mind. Moreover, James is credited with having established the theoretical underpinnings of an American psychological practice that was sympathetic to psychoanalysis, and as such allowed for psychoanalytical practice to be widely received and accepted in mainstream American thinking moving forward (Gordon,1995; Goodman, 2013; The New York Times Company, 2011; Wozniak, 1999; Ferreri, 2006; Hunt, 1994; Taylor, 1998; Pomerleau, n.d.) . In all, for the great impact of his work and the influence of his thinking on the later practice and evolution of American psychology, William James is indeed worthy of being called the father of modern psychology in America (Wozniak, 1999; Ferreri, 2006; Hunt, 1994; Taylor, 1998; Pomerleau, n.d.). References Ferreri, A (2006). The contribution of William James to the origins of “scientific” psychology. PubMed. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19569444 Goodman, R. (2013). William James. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/james/#3 Gordon, O. (1995). William James and Functionalism. A Brief History of Psychology, The University of Utah. Retrieved from http://www.psych.utah.edu/gordon/Classes/Psy4905Docs/PsychHistory/Cards/James.html Hunt, M. (1994). The Psychologist Malgre Lui: William James- From The Story of Psychology. University of Kentucky. Retrieved from http://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Pajares/hunt.html Pomerleau, W. (n.d.). William James (1842-1910). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy/ Gonzaga University. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/james-o/#H2 Taylor, E. (1998). 2. Biological Consciousness and the Experience of the Transcendent: William James and American Functional Psychology. Serendip at Bryn Mawr College. Retrieved from http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/Mind/James.html The New York Times Company (2011). William James Dies; Great Psychologist. On This Day, The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0111.html Vernon, M. (2010). William James, part 4: The psychology of conversion”. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/nov/08/psychology-religious-conversion Wozniak, R. (1999). Introduction to The Principles of Psychology William James (1890). Classics in Psychology, 1855-1914: Historical Essays. Retrieved from http://psychclassics.asu.edu/James/Principles/wozniak.htm Read More