The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2)James, William
Philosophy
The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2)
James, William
Psychology
The ordinary associationist-psychology supposes, in contrast with
this, that whenever an object of thought contains many elements,
the thought itself must be made up of just as many ideas, one idea
for each element, and all fused together in appearance, but really
separate.[249] The enemies of this psychology find (as we have already
seen) little trouble in showing that such a bundle of separate ideas
would never form one thought at all, and they contend that an Ego
must be added to the bundle to give it unity, and bring the various
ideas into relation with each other.[250] We will not discuss the
ego just yet, but it is obvious that if things are to be thought in
relation, they must be thought together, and in one _something_, be
that something ego, psychosis, state of consciousness, or whatever
you please. If not thought with each other, things are not thought in
relation at all. Now most believers in the ego make the same mistake as
the associationists and sensationists whom they oppose. Both agree that
the elements of the subjective stream are discrete and separate and
constitute what Kant calls a 'manifold.' But while the associationists
think that a 'manifold' can form a single knowledge, the egoists
deny this, and say that the knowledge comes only when the manifold
is subjected to the synthetizing activity of an ego. Both make an
identical initial hypothesis; but the egoist, finding it won't express
the facts, adds another hypothesis to correct it. Now I do not wish
just yet to 'commit myself' about the existence or non-existence of the
ego, but I do contend that we need not invoke it for this particular
reason--namely, because the manifold of ideas has to be reduced to
unity. _There is no manifold of coexisting ideas;_ the notion of such
a thing is a chimera. _Whatever things are thought in relation are
thought from the outset in a unity, in a single pulse of subjectivity,
a single psychosis, feeling, or state of mind._
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