Essays in Radical Empiricism [Paperback]

William James (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1605205060 | ISBN-13: 978-1605205069 | Publication Date: December 1, 2008

‘Pure experience’ is the name which I gave to the immediate flux of life which furnishes the material to our later reflection with its conceptual categories. Only new-born babies, or men in semi-coma from sleep, drugs, illnesses, or blows, may be assumed to have an experience pure in the literal sense of a that which is not yet any definite what, tho’ ready to be all sorts of whats; full both of oneness and of manyness, but in respects that don’t appear; changing throughout; yet so confusedly that its phases interpenetrate and no points, either of distinction or of identity, can be caught. —from Chapter III: “The Thing and Its Relations” What is the difference—if any—between consciousness and experience? What is the relationship between the knower and the known? Why do common sense and philosophy always seem to be at odds? American psychologist and philosopher WILLIAM JAMES (1842–1910), brother of novelist Henry James, was a groundbreaking researcher at Harvard University, author of such works as Principles of Psychology (1890) and The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature (1902), and one of the most influential academics of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Here, in a series of essays first published in book form in 1912, James explores these questions as he discusses: • does consciousness exist? • radical empiricism • conjunctive relations • how two minds can know one thing • the place of affectional facts in a world of pure experience • the experience of activity • the essence of humanism • humanism and truth • absolutism and empiricism • and more.

Editorial Reviews

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Though not technically out of print, both of these titles are only available in hardcover editions selling for well over $100 apiece. These thrifty paperbacks make them much more accessible.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English, French --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Cosimo Classics (December 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605205060
• ISBN-13: 978-1605205069
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,317,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Radical Excursion into Extreme Empiricism, May 1, 2002

By 

J.W.K (Nagano, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essays in Radical Empiricism (Paperback)

For the serious James scholar, this book is indispensible. For those of you who are not too familiar with Jame's ideas and their background, this book is probably too much - and too boring at that. Even for scholars of epistemology, this book can be rather frustrating. Originally written for his grad students at Harvard, the book lacks much in the way of context, and it is completely theoretical. Furthermore, it is filled with many untranslated passages, from German to Latin. I gave the book four stars because it could use some editing. This is the modern era: Latin is dead - even for the most serious philosopher - and German is no longer the language of Philosophy. The passages should be translated, and some of the more abstract essays should come with introductions. That said, the book is still a valuable contribution to empirical epistemology, laying out James of view of "radical empiricism" - where subjects and objects collide. Indeed, the book itself is a pure experience!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars It's Missing Some Material, August 20, 2011

By 

R. Pfau (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Essays in Radical Empiricism (Paperback)

This General Books version is missing the Table of Contents and the Index. The content is also printed on pages that don't match the original (i.e., 90 pages versus 282 pages). The BiblioLife reprint of the book that I ordered after receiving this version seems to be an authentic reproduction of the original James book and costs about the same.