Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking

A major American thinker who made lasting contributions to both psychology and philosophy, James was born in New York City in 1842. His highly cultured family included his father, the religious philosopher Henry James Sr., and his brother, the novelist Henry James. James received a varied education at home and in Europe, eventually attending Harvard University to study science and medicine. His poor health prevented him from practicing medicine, however, so he instead devoured books on psychology and religion which would ignite his future intellectual interests. 

In 1872, James became an instructor in physiology at Harvard, and then switched to teaching psychology. He was a pioneer in this field, transforming the study of the mind from a branch of philosophy to a laboratory science; he is often considered “the father of American psychology” (Ehrenfeld, Temma. "How William James encourages us to believe in the possible.” Encyclopedia Britannica.). James’s marriage to Alice Gibbens in 1878 complemented what was generally a happy period of his life. However, James was not satisfied to stay in the psychological laboratory permanently, and instead gravitated toward the study of religious and philosophical questions.

James examined such questions as free will, determinism, life after death, and the existence of God, using his background in scientific research to shed light on these topics in the essay collection The Will to Believe (1896). He then produced his major work on religion, Varieties of Religious Experience, in 1902. James’s background in psychology led him to conclude that the universality of religious experience proves that mankind has an innate need for religious belief.

Influenced by the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce, James adopted the philosophy of pragmatism, rejecting fixed absolutes in favor of deriving truth from the diversity of life as found in human experience. James’s lectures on pragmatism in Boston and New York in 1906–1907 were very popular, and resulted in the publication of Pragmatism in April 1907. In the last period of his life, James also lectured at the University of California, Stanford University, and Manchester College, Oxford, causing his ideas to become widespread in the English-speaking world and provoking lively critical reaction to pragmatic philosophy. After suffering from bouts of ill health, James died in New Hampshire in 1910 at the age of 68.

Through his descriptive and accessible writing, James brought philosophy to a non-specialist audience. His training in psychology made him view philosophical questions from the light of human needs, while his American background may have predisposed him to emphasize the importance of practical experience—an emphasis particularly evident in Pragmatism, which is often considered the key expression of his thought. James is generally considered one of the most significant and influential American philosophers.