The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2)James, William
Philosophy
The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2)
James, William
Psychology
By a conception of this sort, one incurs neither of the internal
contradictions which we found to beset the other two theories. One has
no unintelligible self-combining of psychic units to account for on the
one hand; and on the other hand, one need not treat as the physical
counterpart of the stream of consciousness under observation, a 'total
brain-activity' which is non-existent as a genuinely physical fact.
But, to offset these advantages, one has physiological difficulties
and improbabilities. There is no cell or group of cells in the brain
of such anatomical or functional pre-eminence as to appear to be the
keystone or centre of gravity of the whole system. And even if there
were such a cell, the theory of multiple monadism would, in strictness
of thought, have no right to stop at it and treat it as a unit. The
cell is no more a unit, materially considered, than the total brain
is a unit. It is a compound of molecules, just as the brain is a
compound of cells and fibres. And the molecules, according to the
prevalent physical theories, are in turn compounds of atoms. The
theory in question, therefore, if radically carried out, must set up
for its elementary and irreducible psycho-physic couple, not the cell
and its consciousness, but the primordial and eternal atom and its
consciousness. We are back at Leibnitzian monadism, and therewith leave
physiology behind us and dive into regions inaccessible to experience
and verification; and our doctrine, although not self-contradictory,
becomes so remote and unreal as to be almost as bad as if it were.
Speculative minds alone will take an interest in it; and metaphysics,
not psychology, will be responsible for its career. That the career may
be a successful one must be admitted as a possibility--a theory which
Leibnitz, Herbart, and Lotze have taken under their protection must
have some sort of a destiny.
THE SOUL-THEORY.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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