William James's The Principles of Psychology: 'A seemingly inexhaustible source of ideas'

• Published in: The British journal of psychology Vol. 82; no. 2; pp. 217 - 227
• Main Author: Valentine, Elizabeth R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.1991; Cambridge University Press; British Psychological Society
• Subjects: Attention; Emotions; Humans; James, William (1842-1910); Mental Processes; Motivation; Personality Development; Psychological Theory; Psychology; Social Environment; William James
• ISSN: 0007-1269; 2044-8295
• DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1991.tb02396.x

Selected topics from The Principles of Psychology are evaluated in the light of current psychological knowledge. It is argued that James's main contribution lies in his acute observation of experience, resulting in the framing of searching questions about fundamental problems, and that many of his insights have inspired recent work. This is illustrated with reference to his chapters on the will, attention and emotion. The main advances since his time have been in the reformulation of his ideas in information‐processing terms, enabling their empirical testing in laboratory experiments, computer simulation and neuropsychology. James' Principles is without question the most literate, the most provocative, and at the same time the most intelligible book on psychology that has ever appeared in English or in any other language … Part of James' genius was his ability to recognize a fundamental problem, to formulate it clearly, to marshall the available facts and theories, and then to throw it back to the reader, cleaned and polished, as a challenge to his curiosity … If ever there was a man who knew how to ask searching questions, it was William James (MacLeod, 1969, p. v.).