William James

@Intellectuals & Academics, Career and Family ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ William James was an American philosopher and psychologist Depression American Harvard University Intellectuals & Academics Philosophers Psychologists Capricorn Celebrities William James, popularly recognized as ‘Father of American psychology’, started off his journey as a physician and later turned out to become one of the leading and influential philosophers and psychologists of the United States. He is also one of the main persons associated with philosophical school known as pragmatism. He is also cited as one of the founders of functional psychology. With a back up of many theories he proposed, he also explored the areas of religion, morality, metaphysics, human freedom and social philosophy. It was his provocative ideology along with his unique writing style that made his work more impactful. His writings touch a wide array of topics like metaphysics, religion, education, psychology and many more. His influenced great intellectuals such as Edmund Husserl, Bertrand Russell Richard Rorty and the U.S. President Jimmy Carter who could not ignore his philosophical school of thoughts.

Personal Details

Birthday: January 11, 1842 Died on: August 26, 1910 Nationality: American Famous: Harvard University, Intellectuals & Academics, Philosophers, Psychologists Spouses: Alice Gibbens Siblings: Henry James Known as: Father of American psychology Information Detail Birthday January 11, 1842 Died on August 26, 1910 Nationality American Famous Harvard University, Intellectuals & Academics, Philosophers, Psychologists Spouses Alice Gibbens Siblings Henry James Known as Father of American psychology Childrens Henry James Universities Harvard University Harvard Medical School Harvard University Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Notable Alumnis Harvard University Founder / Co-Founder American Society for Psychical Research Birth Place New York City, New York Gender Male Father Henry James Sr. Sun Sign Capricorn Born in New York City, New York Famous as Philosopher, Psychologist Died at Age 68

New York City, New York

William James born at Unsplash Birth Place

William James was born on January 11, 1842 in Aston House, New York to Henry James, Sr., and Mary Walsh James as their first child. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

His father, Henry James Sr., was a Swedenborgian theologian. He was born in a wealthy educated family wherein his father focused on providing quality education to his children. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

William James’ early interests in drawing took him to study under an American portraitist, William Morris Hunt (1860) though his love for art did not last long due to his lack of contentment and indecisiveness. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

It was only in 1863 that he finally joined the Harvard’s Medical School, before which he studied chemistry and physiology at the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard University. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

The James family made frequent trips to Europe wherein William James became fluent with German and French on account of his trans-Atlantic education. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

After a year of graduating, he was offered a job as an instructor which he accepted and continued to serve for 35 years. By mid 1870s he started teaching psychology. Unsplash Career

He is known to have introduced psychology as a subject and also the first one to introduce psychology laboratories in the United States. Unsplash Career

In 1872, he started with teaching physiology and continued to move to anatomy and philosophy. Unsplash Career

During most part of 1882-1883 James was in Europe visiting laboratories and meeting psychologists to delve deeper in psychological studies and its procedures. Unsplash Career

After his resignation from Harvard psychology lab, he drifted his focus towards philosophy. Unsplash Career

William James has quite a few masterpieces to his name. They have had major influence on people’s attitude towards the society, mind and body. He wrote intensively in the field of psychology, philosophy and religion alike. Unsplash Major Works

The article, “The Sentiment of Rationality,” was published as his first article in philosophy. Unsplash Major Works

The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy: the first book on philosophy which is a dedication to Charles Sanders Peirce (1897). Unsplash Major Works

Talks to Teachers on Psychology and to Students on Some of Life’s Ideals (1899). Unsplash Major Works

The Principles of Psychology (1890), a book that took ten long years to complete but touched some great personalities like Bertrand Russell and John Dewey Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	January 11, 1842
Died on	August 26, 1910
Nationality	American
Famous	Harvard University, Intellectuals & Academics, Philosophers, Psychologists
Spouses	Alice Gibbens
Siblings	Henry James
Known as	Father of American psychology
Childrens	Henry James
Universities	Harvard University Harvard Medical School Harvard University Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Notable Alumnis	Harvard University
Founder / Co-Founder	American Society for Psychical Research
Birth Place	New York City, New York
Gender	Male
Father	Henry James Sr.
Sun Sign	Capricorn
Born in	New York City, New York
Famous as	Philosopher, Psychologist
Died at Age	68

William James

American

Jan 11, 1842

Biography

Personal Details

New York City, New York