The Routledge Guidebook to James’s Principles of Psychology: (The Routledge Guides to the Great Books)

The Routledge Guidebook to James’s Principles of Psychology is an engaging and accessible introduction to a monumental text that has influenced the development of both psychological science and philosophical pragmatism in important and lasting ways. Written for readers approaching William James’s classic work for the first time as well as for those without knowledge of its entire scope, this guidebook not only places this work within its historical context, it provides clear explications of its intertwined aspects and arguments, and examines its relevance within today’s psychology and philosophy. Offering a close reading of this text, The Routledge Guidebook to James’s Principles of Psychology is divided into three main parts: • Background • Principles • Elaborations. It also includes two useful appendices that outline the sources of James’s various chapters and indicate the parallel coverages of two later texts written by James, an abbreviated version of his Principles and a psychological primer for teachers. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand this influential work.

Table of Contents:
Author’s Preface List of Abbreviations I. Background 1 Life and Work 2 Substance and Style 3 Evidence and Interpretation 4 Psychology and Philosophy II. Principles 5 Body and Mind 6 Reflex Action and Thought 7 Perception and Association 8 Imagination and Reasoning 9 Cognition and Emotion 10 Consciousness and Subconsciousness 11 Attention and Will 12 Self and Society III. Elaborations 13 Belief and Reality 14 The Known and the Unknown 15 Jimmy and Beyond Appendix: Sources and Treatments Bibliography Index

About the Author :
David E. Leary is University Professor Emeritus and Dean of Arts and Sciences Emeritus at the University of Richmond, USA.

Review :
"Reflecting a lifetime of research and teaching in modern psychology and sympathetic study of its most eloquent writer, David Leary has produced a thorough and readable guide to William James’s classic text. It is a reference guide and more. Leary explains James’s ideas in the contexts of his own development, in the contexts of the emerging New Psychology of the late nineteenth century, and in their creative relation with later psychology and philosophy. This is magisterial coverage of a masterwork." Paul Croce, Stetson University, USA, and former President of the William James Society "David Leary’s ground-breaking book walks readers carefully through James’s masterpiece, without losing the forest for the trees. Leary shows us something that has been elusive in the literature: how the Principles of Psychology, with all its rich details, hangs together as a whole." Alexander Klein, California State University, Long Beach, USA