#000548
The Principles of Psychology, Vol. I
William James
The first volume of the book that founded modern psychology in America. Published in 1890 by Henry Holt in the American Science Series, William James's *The Principles of Psychology* runs to some 1,400 pages across two volumes; this is Volume I. Synthesizing physiology, philosophy, and introspection, James set out to treat mental life as a natural science while never losing sight of its lived texture. Volume I lays the groundwork — the scope of psychology, the functions of the brain, habit, the celebrated chapter on the 'stream of consciousness,' the self, attention, and memory. Written in prose so vigorous and quotable that it became a literary landmark as well as a scientific one, the book shaped generations of psychologists and philosophers. More than a century on, it is still read not merely as history but as a living argument about how minds work.
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The author
William James (1842–1910) was a Harvard philosopher and psychologist and a founder of American pragmatism. Trained in medicine and physiology, he built the first experimental psychology teaching laboratory in the United States and brought to the young science both rigor and a gift for language rare among scientists.
The book
The Principles of Psychology appeared in 1890 in two volumes as part of Henry Holt's American Science Series (Advanced Course). Volume I covers the foundations — the brain and nervous system, habit, the stream of thought, the consciousness of self, attention, and memory. James spent roughly twelve years writing it; a condensed one-volume Psychology: Briefer Course followed in 1892 for classroom use.
How it has aged
A genuine classic. Its four great contributions — the stream of consciousness, the James–Lange theory of emotion, and the psychology of habit and will — remain reference points, and its central chapters are still assigned today. Naturally, much of its physiology and some of its faculty-based framework have been superseded, and it predates the statistical and neuroscientific methods that now dominate the field. But as a founding statement, and as prose, it is unsurpassed.
For more context
Read alongside Volume II and James's later Varieties of Religious Experience and Pragmatism.
Sources
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- William James
- Publisher
- Henry Holt and Company
- Place of publication
- New York
- Year
- 1890
- Edition
- American Science Series, Advanced Course
- ISBN
- None
- Shelf
- Science
- Location
- Colorado