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    The Letters of William James, Vol. I
    The Letters of William James, Vol. I
    The Letters of William James, Vol. I
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    The Letters of William James, Vol. I

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    Experience the life-changing power of William James with this unforgettable book.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherScarlet Tree Press
    Release dateDec 16, 2020
    ISBN9791220252195
    The Letters of William James, Vol. I
    Author

    William James

    William James (1842–1910) was an American philosopher, physician, and psychologist. The brother of novelist Henry James, William James is remembered for his contributions to the fields of pragmatism and functional psychology. 

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      The Letters of William James, Vol. I - William James

      Project Gutenberg's The Letters of William James, Vol. 1, by William James

      This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

      almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

      re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

      with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license

      Title: The Letters of William James, Vol. 1

      Author: William James

      Editor: Henry James

      Release Date: July 23, 2012 [EBook #40307]

      Language: English

      *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LETTERS OF WILLIAM JAMES V.1 ***

      Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed

      Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was

      produced from images available at The Internet Archive)

      THE LETTERS OF WILLIAM JAMES

      [Illustration: Photo of William James.]

      FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY ALICE BOUGHTON, NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 9, 1907]

      THE LETTERS OF

      WILLIAM JAMES

      EDITED BY HIS SON

      HENRY JAMES

      IN TWO VOLUMES

      VOLUME I

      [Illustration: colophon]

      THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY PRESS

      BOSTON

      COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY

      HENRY JAMES

          _To my Mother,

        gallant and devoted ally

      of my Father's most arduous

          and happy years,

      this collection of his letters

            is dedicated._

      PREFACE

      WHETHER William James was compressing his correspondence into brief

      messages, or allowing it to expand into copious letters, he could not

      write a page that was not free, animated, and characteristic. Many of

      his correspondents preserved his letters, and examination of them soon

      showed that it would be possible to make a selection which should not

      only contain certain letters that clearly deserved to be published

      because of their readable quality alone, but should also include letters

      that were biographical in the best sense. For in the case of a man like

      James the biographical question to be answered is not, as with a man of

      affairs: How can his actions be explained? but rather: What manner of

      being was he? What were his background and education? and, above all,

      What were his temperament and the bias of his mind? What native

      instincts, preferences, and limitations of view did he bring with him to

      his business of reading the riddle of the Universe? His own informal

      utterances throw the strongest light on such questions.

      In these volumes I have attempted to make such a selection. The task has

      been simplified by the nature of the material, in which the most

      interesting letters were often found, naturally enough, to include the

      most vivid elements of which a picture could be composed. I have added

      such notes as seemed necessary in the interest of clearness; but I have

      tried to leave the reader to his own conclusions. The work was begun in

      1913, but had to be laid aside; and I should regret the delay in

      completing it even more than I do if it were not that very interesting

      letters have come to light during the last three years.

      James was a great reader of biographies himself, and pointed again and

      again to the folly of judging a man's ideas by minute logical and

      textual examinations, without apprehending his mental attitude

      sympathetically. He was well aware that every man's philosophy is biased

      by his feelings, and is not due to purely rational processes. He was

      quite incapable himself of the cool kind of abstraction that comes from

      indifference about the issue. Life spoke to him in even more ways than

      to most men, and he responded to its superabundant confusion with

      passion and insatiable curiosity. His spiritual development was a matter

      of intense personal experience.

      So students of his books may even find that this collection of informal

      and intimate utterances helps them to understand James as a philosopher

      and psychologist.

      I have not included letters that are wholly technical or polemic. Such

      documents belong in a study of James's philosophy, or in a history of

      its origin and influence. However interesting they might be to certain

      readers, their appropriate place is not here.

      A good deal of biographical information about William James, his brother

      Henry, and their father has already been given to the public; but

      unfortunately it is scattered, and much of it is cast in a form which

      calls for interpretation or amendment. The elder Henry James left an

      autobiographical fragment which was published in a volume of his

      Literary Remains, but it was composed purely as a religious record. He

      wrote it in the third person, as if it were the life of one "Stephen

      Dewhurst," and did not try to give a circumstantial report of his youth

      or ancestry. Later, his son Henry wrote two volumes of early

      reminiscences in his turn. In A Small Boy and Others and "Notes of a

      Son and Brother" he reproduced the atmosphere of a household of which

      he was the last survivor, and adumbrated the figures of Henry James,

      Senior, and of certain other members of his family with infinite

      subtlety at every turn of the page. But he too wrote without much

      attention to particular facts or the sequence of events, and his two

      volumes were incomplete and occasionally inaccurate with respect to such

      details.

      Accordingly I have thought it advisable to restate parts of the family

      record, even though the restatement involves some repetition.

      Finally, I should explain that the letters have been reproduced

      _verbatim_, though not _literatim_, except for superscriptions, which

      have often been simplified. As respects spelling and punctuation, the

      manuscripts are not consistent. James wrote rapidly, used abbreviations,

      occasionally simplified his spelling, and was inclined to use capital

      letters only for emphasis. Thus he often followed the French custom of

      writing adjectives derived from proper names with small letters--_e.g._

      french literature, european affairs. But when he wrote for publication

      he was too considerate of his reader's attention to distract it with

      such petty irregularities; therefore unimportant peculiarities of

      orthography have generally not been reproduced in this book. On the

      other hand, the phraseology of the manuscripts, even where grammatically

      incomplete, has been kept. Verbal changes have not been made except

      where it was clear that there had been a slip of the pen, and clear what

      had been intended. It is obvious that rhetorical laxities are to be

      expected in letters written as these were. No editor who has attempted

      to improve away such defects has ever deserved to be thanked.

      Acknowledgments are due, first of all, to the correspondents who have

      generously supplied letters. Several who were most generous and to whom

      I am most indebted have, alas! passed beyond the reach of thanks. I wish

      particularly to record my gratitude here to correspondents too numerous

      to be named who have furnished letters that are not included. Such

      material, though omitted from the book, has been informing and helpful

      to the Editor. One example may be cited--the copious correspondence with

      Mrs. James which covers the period of every briefest separation; but

      extracts from this have been used only when other letters failed. From

      Dr. Dickinson S. Miller, from Professor R. B. Perry, from my mother,

      from my brother William, and from my wife, all of whom have seen the

      material at different stages of its preparation, I have received many

      helpful suggestions, and I gratefully acknowledge my special debt to

      them. President Eliot, Dr. Miller, and Professor G. H. Palmer were,

      each, so kind as to send me memoranda of their impressions and

      recollections. I have embodied parts of the memoranda of the first two

      in my notes; and have quoted from Professor Palmer's minute--about to

      appear in the Harvard Graduates' Magazine. For all information about

      William James's Barber ancestry I am indebted to the genealogical

      investigations of Mrs. Russell Hastings. Special acknowledgments are due

      to Mr. George B. Ives, who has prepared the topical index.

      Finally, I shall be grateful to anyone who will, at any time, advise me

      of the whereabouts of any letters which I have not already had an

      opportunity to examine.

      H. J.

      _August, 1920._

      CONTENTS

      I. INTRODUCTION                                                     1-30

      _Ancestry--Henry James, Senior--Youth--Education--Certain

      Personal Traits._

      II. 1861-1864                                                      31-52

      _Chemistry and Comparative Anatomy in the Lawrence

      Scientific School._

      LETTERS:--

      To his Family                                                         33

      To Miss Katharine Temple (Mrs. Richard Emmet)                         37

      To his Family                                                         40

      To Katharine James Prince                                             43

      To his Mother                                                         45

      To his Sister                                                         49

      III. 1864-1866                                                     53-70

      _The Harvard Medical School--With Louis Agassiz

      to the Amazon._

      LETTERS:--

      To his Mother                                                         56

      To his Parents                                                        57

      To his Father                                                         60

      To his Father                                                         64

      To his Parents                                                        67

      IV. 1866-1867                                                      71-83

      _Medical Studies at Harvard._

      LETTERS:--

      To Thomas W. Ward                                                     73

      To Thomas W. Ward                                                     76

      To his Sister                                                         79

      To O. W. Holmes, Jr.                                                  82

      V. 1867-1868                                                      84-139

      _Eighteen Months in Germany._

      LETTERS:--

      To his Parents                                                        86

      To his Mother                                                         92

      To his Father                                                         95

      To O. W. Holmes, Jr.                                                  98

      To Henry James                                                       103

      To his Sister                                                        108

      To his Sister                                                        115

      To Thomas W. Ward                                                    118

      To Thomas W. Ward                                                    119

      To Henry P. Bowditch                                                 120

      To O. W. Holmes, Jr.                                                 124

      To Thomas W. Ward                                                    127

      To his Father                                                        133

      To Henry James                                                       136

      To his Father                                                        137

      VI. 1869-1872                                                    140-164

      _Invalidism in Cambridge._

      LETTERS:--

      To Henry P. Bowditch                                                 149

      To O. W. Holmes, Jr., and John C. Gray, Jr.                          151

      To Thomas W. Ward                                                    152

      To Henry P. Bowditch                                                 153

      To Miss Mary Tappan                                                  156

      To Henry James                                                       157

      To Henry P. Bowditch                                                 158

      To Henry P. Bowditch                                                 161

      To Charles Renouvier                                                 163

      VII. 1872-1878                                                   165-191

      _First Years of Teaching._

      LETTERS:--

      To Henry James                                                       167

      [Henry James, Senior, to Henry James]                                169

      To his Family                                                        172

      To his Sister                                                        174

      To his Sister                                                        175

      To his Sister                                                        177

      To Henry James                                                       180

      To Miss Theodora Sedgwick                                            181

      To Henry James                                                       182

      To Henry James                                                       183

      To Charles Renouvier                                                 186

      VIII. 1878-1883                                                  192-222

      _Marriage--Contract for the Psychology--European

      Colleagues--Death of his Parents._

      LETTERS:--

      To Francis J. Child                                                  196

      To Miss Frances R. Morse                                             197

      To Mrs. James                                                        199

      To Josiah Royce                                                      202

      To Josiah Royce                                                      204

      To Charles Renouvier                                                 206

      To Charles Renouvier                                                 207

      To Mrs. James                                                        210

      To Mrs. James                                                        211

      To Henry James                                                       217

      To his Father                                                        218

      To Mrs. James                                                        221

      IX. 1883-1890                                                    223-299

      _Writing the Principles of Psychology--Psychical

      Research--The Place at Chocorua--The Irving

      Street House--The Paris Psychological Congress

      of 1889._

      LETTERS:--

      To Charles Renouvier                                                 229

      To Henry L. Higginson                                                233

      To Henry P. Bowditch                                                 234

      To Thomas Davidson                                                   235

      To G. H. Howison                                                     237

      To E. L. Godkin                                                      240

      To E. L. Godkin                                                      240

      To Shadworth H. Hodgson                                              241

      To Henry James                                                       242

      To Shadworth H. Hodgson                                              243

      To Carl Stumpf                                                       247

      To Henry James                                                       250

      To W. D. Howells                                                     253

      To G. Croom Robertson                                                254

      To Shadworth H. Hodgson                                              256

      To his Sister                                                        259

      To Carl Stumpf                                                       262

      To Henry P. Bowditch                                                 267

      To Henry James                                                       267

      To his Sister                                                        269

      To Henry James                                                       273

      To Charles Waldstein                                                 274

      To his Son Henry                                                     275

      To his Son Henry                                                     276

      To his Son William                                                   278

      To Henry James                                                       279

      To Miss Grace Norton                                                 282

      To G. Croom Robertson                                                283

      To Henry James                                                       283

      To E. L. Godkin                                                      283

      To Henry James                                                       285

      To Mrs. James                                                        287

      To Miss Grace Norton                                                 291

      To Charles Eliot Norton                                              292

      To Henry Holt                                                        293

      To Mrs. James                                                        294

      To Henry James                                                       296

      To Mrs. Henry Whitman                                                296

      To W. D. Howells                                                     298

      X. 1890-1893                                                     300-348

      _The Briefer Course and the Laboratory--A

      Sabbatical Year in Europe._

      LETTERS:--

      To Mrs. Henry Whitman                                                303

      To G. H. Howison                                                     304

      To F. W. H. Myers                                                    305

      To W. D. Howells                                                     307

      To W. D. Howells                                                     307

      To Mrs. Henry Whitman                                                308

      To his Sister                                                        309

      To Hugo Münsterberg                                                  312

      To Henry Holt                                                        314

      To Henry James                                                       314

      To Miss Grace Ashburner                                              315

      To Henry James                                                       317

      To Miss Mary Tappan                                                  319

      To Miss Grace Ashburner                                              320

      To Theodore Flournoy                                                 323

      To William M. Salter                                                 326

      To James J. Putnam                                                   326

      To Miss Grace Ashburner                                              328

      To Josiah Royce                                                      331

      To Miss Grace Norton                                                 335

      To Miss Margaret Gibbens                                             338

      To Francis Boott                                                     340

      To Henry James                                                       342

      To François Pillon                                                   343

      To Shadworth H. Hodgson                                              343

      To Dickinson S. Miller                                               344

      To Henry James                                                       346

      LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

      William James                                              _Frontispiece_

      Henry James, Sr., and his Wife                                         8

      William James at eighteen                                             20

      Pencil Sketch: _A Sleeping Dog_                                       52

      Pencil Sketch from a Pocket Note-Book: _A Turtle_                     66

      Pencil Sketch: _Retreating Figure of a Man_                           83

      William James at twenty-five                                          86

      Pencil Sketches from a Pocket Note-Book                              108

      Pencil Sketch: _An Elephant_                                         139

      Francis James Child                                                  291

      DATES AND FAMILY NAMES

        1842.         January 11. Born in New York.

        1857-58.      At School in Boulogne.

        1859-60.      In Geneva.

        1860-61.      Studied painting under William M. Hunt in Newport.

        1861.         Entered the Lawrence Scientific School.

        1863.      

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