Is life worth living? This question, the title of one of William James’ essays, is one James himself struggled with in his life and work. Trained as a doctor, James never practiced medicine. Perhaps due to his own struggles with depression and melancholy, he was drawn to philosophy and psychology. That interest turned into a serious academic career. Known as the father of American psychology, James is the founder of functional psychology and cofounder of the James-Lange Theory of Emotion. He also wrote an important work on the psychology of religious experience. James’ philosophical work forms some of the seminal thinking on pragmatism—the belief that usefulness, not truth, should be the focus of philosophical ideas.
The Select Works of William James contains James’ key texts on psychology and philosophy. All eight volumes are indexed, allowing you to search for a word or a phrase with a click. Citations are automatically generated according to your preferred format. Look up difficult medical and philosophical terms using the dictionary lookup tool. References to other philosophers and psychologists are linked to their books. This allows you to see exactly what James is refuting or supporting by pulling up the reference and comparing the two side by side.
