William James Background Information
- Born into a wealthy New England family on January 11, 1842.
- He came from a talented family. His father, Henry James, was one of the most
controversial writers on politics and religion in the nineteenth century. His brother,
Henry James Jr., was a writer of modern psychological fiction, and he was
a big
supporter/critic of William’s work.
- He first studied panting until his father pressured him to turn his attention to
the sciences.
- In 1861 he began studying chemistry and comparative anatomy after entering Harvard,
but later switched to medicine because Chemistry didn’t interest him.
- He began the study of consciousness in the context of Darwin's theories after falling
in
with the Darwinians.
- Transferred to Harvard's medical school in 1864, and received his degree in 1869.
- In 1872 he was asked by the president of Harvard to teach a physiology and anatomy
class.
He gradually integrated psychology into class.
- In 1875 he introduced psychology to the United States by teaching the first course
and establishing the first laboratory.
- In 1878 he began writing The Principles of Psychology.
- He received an honorary psychology degree from Harvard.
- He was elected president of the American Psychological Association in 1894 and 1904.
- In 1909 he became an executive member of the National Committee for Mental Hygiene.
- In 1907 he published Pragmatism: A New Way for Some Old Ways of Thinking.
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