The Letters of William James, Vol. 1James, William
General
The Letters of William James, Vol. 1
James, William
Intellectuals -- United States; James, William, 1842-1910; Philosophers -- United States; Psychologists -- United States
From London James crossed to Paris, to attend the International Congress
of Physiological Psychology which had been arranged to coincide with the
International Exposition of that year. He found between 60 and 120
colleagues, most of them European, of course, in attendance at its
sessions. This incident in his life may be summarized in a few sentences
from his own report of the Congress, in "Mind": "The most striking
feature of the discussions was, perhaps, their tendency to slope off to
some one or other of those shady horizons with which the name of
"psychic-research" is now associated.... The open results were, however
(as always happens at such gatherings), secondary in real importance to
the latent ones--the friendships made, the intimacies deepened, and the
encouragement and inspiration which came to everyone from seeing before
them in flesh and blood so large a portion of that little army of fellow
students from whom and for whom all contemporary psychology exists. The
individual worker feels much less isolated in the world after such an
experience." To Stumpf he wrote similarly (Aug. 15): "The sight of 120
men all actively interested in psychology has made me feel much less
lonely in the world, and ready to finish my book this year with a great
deal more _entrain_. A book hanging so long on one's hands at last gets
outgrown, and even disgusting to one."
On his way home James went again to see his sister, and her account of
him is not to be omitted.
"William, instead of going to Switzerland, came suddenly back from Paris
and went home, having, as usual, exhausted Europe in a few weeks,
finding it stale, flat and unprofitable. The only necessity being to get
home, the first letter after his arrival, was, of course, full of plans
for his return _plus_ wife and infants; he is just like a blob of
mercury--you can't put a mental finger upon him. H. and I were laughing
over him, and recalling Father, and William's resemblance (in his ways)
to him. Tho' the results are the same, they seem to come from such a
different nature in the two; in W., an entire inability or indifference
to 'stick to a thing for the sake of sticking,' as some one said of him
once; whilst Father, the delicious infant! couldn't submit even to the
thralldom of his own whim; and then the dear being was such a prey to
the demon homesickness.... But to return to our mutton, William: he came
with H. on August 14 on his way to Liverpool. He told all about his
Paris experience, where he was a delegate to the Psychological Congress,
which was a most brilliant success. The French most polite and
hospitable. They invited W. to open the Congress, and they always had a
foreigner in the Chair at the different meetings. I extracted with great
difficulty from him that 'Monsieur Willyam James' was frequently
referred to by the speakers. He liked the Henry Sidgwicks and Fred.
Myers. Mrs. Myers paid him the following enigmatic compliment: 'We are
so glad that you are _as_ you are.'"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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