Work · Pragmatism & US Philosophy
The Principles of Psychology
The stream of consciousness.
Introduction
James signed a contract for a psychology textbook in 1878; it took him twelve years, and when it appeared in 1890 it filled two volumes and some 1,400 pages. Ranging from brain physiology and habit to attention, memory, emotion and will, it helped set the agenda for psychology in America. Famous chapters include “The Stream of Thought”, which describes consciousness as personal, always changing and continuous, and “The Consciousness of Self”, which divides the self into material, social and spiritual parts. The chapter on emotion sets out what became known as the James–Lange theory: we feel sorry because we cry, not the other way round. A shortened version, Psychology: Briefer Course, followed in 1892.
Read the full text
Free full text, often an older edition or translation
Connections
Taken up in
- An Inquiry into the Good1911 · Nishida Kitarō
- Mind, Self, and Society1934 · George Herbert Mead
More works by William James
- 1907Pragmatism
As of November 2026 · Improve this page · How Agora is made