

The Freedom to Chooseįor almost three years after receiving his MD, James lived in his family home battling ill health and depression. While this philosophy waned for most of the 20th Century, supplanted by linguistic philosophy, it is currently enjoying a renaissance, and many contemporary philosophers are returning to James as the main inspiration for new theories of perception, meaning, and belief. Together with Charles Sanders Peirce, who first coined the term, James founded the philosophical school of pragmatism, which holds that the meaning of an idea is to be sought in its practical effects, that the function of thought is to guide action, and that truth is to be tested by the practical consequences of belief.
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He also discusses the concept of free will, which plays a crucial role in his theory of happiness. His first major work was Principles of Psychology (1890), which sums up the state of psychology then, and points forward in two directions, to an objective laboratory psychology, and to a phenomenological study of the stream of consciousness.
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His education was interrupted by bouts of illness and depression, which he was able to overcome only by what has been described as a “Promethean act of will.” James was appointed instructor in anatomy and physiology at Harvard, subsequently becoming assistant professor of philosophy, and eventually full professor of philosophy and psychology. He entered Harvard Medical School in 1863 and graduated with a doctor of medicine (MD) after six years. James began his career as an art student but soon became interested in science. Unusual for a philosopher, he was happily married and had five children. The family lived in Europe for five years and returned to the USA, eventually settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where James remained for the rest of his life. A Little Backgroundīorn in New York in 1842, William James was the oldest of the five children of Henry James Sr., a theologian, and the brother of Henry James, the novelist. Those who suffer from a “crisis of meaning” emerge stronger with more enthusiasm for life than those who just go through the motions and take the easy path. James has many insights concerning happiness, chief among them the idea that happiness consists in orienting yourself to a higher purpose, even if that purpose cannot be rationally proved to exist. Together with Charles Sanders Peirce, James founded the philosophical school of pragmatism, which holds that the meaning of an idea is to be sought in its practical effects, that the function of thought is to guide action, and that truth is to be tested by the practical consequences of belief. William James (1842-1910) was a leading philosopher and psychologist at the turn of the 19th Century. High School Happiness and Wellbeing Curriculum.Make a Difference: Change the World, Change Yourself.

Annotated Bibliography – Strengths and Virtues.The Philosophy of Virtuous Use of Strengths.Annotated Bibliography – Getting in the Flow.Annotated Bibliography-Mindfulness and Positive Thinking.

Review of Key Studies on Mindfulness and Positive Thinking.The Philosophy and Science of Mindfulness.Mindfulness and Positive Thinking Expand.Annotated Bibliography – Spiritual Engagement.Key Studies on Religious/Spiritual Engagement & Meaning.The Philosophy of Finding Meaning in Life.Spiritual Engagement and Meaning Expand.Review of Key Studies on Caring/Volunteering.The Philosophical Basis of Caring, Compassion, and Interdependence.What Is Happiness? The Science and the Hype.
