The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2)James, William
Philosophy
The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2)
James, William
Psychology
First of all, I am aware of a constant play of furtherances and
hindrances in my thinking, of checks and releases, tendencies which
run with desire, and tendencies which run the other way. Among the
matters I think of, some range themselves on the side of the thought's
interests, whilst others play an unfriendly part thereto. The mutual
inconsistencies and agreements, reinforcements and obstructions, which
obtain amongst these objective matters reverberate backwards and
produce what seem to be incessant reactions of my spontaneity upon
them, welcoming or opposing, appropriating or disowning, striving with
or against, saying yes or no. This palpitating inward life is, in me,
that central nucleus which I just tried to describe in terms that all
men might use.
But when I forsake such general descriptions and grapple with
particulars, coming to the closest possible quarters with the
facts, _it is difficult for me to detect in the activity any purely
spiritual element at all. Whenever my introspective glance succeeds in
turning round quickly enough to catch one of these manifestations of
spontaneity in the act, all it can ever feel distinctly is some bodily
process, for the most part taking place within the head._ Omitting for
a moment what is obscure in these introspective results, let me try to
state those particulars which to my own consciousness seem indubitable
and distinct.
In the first place, the acts of attending, assenting, negating, making
an effort, are felt as movements of something in the head. In many
cases it is possible to describe these movements quite exactly. In
attending to either an idea or a sensation belonging to a particular
sense-sphere, the movement is the adjustment of the sense-organ, felt
as it occurs. I cannot think in visual terms, for example, without
feeling a fluctuating play of pressures, convergences, divergences,
and accommodations in my eyeballs. The direction in which the object
is conceived to lie determines the character of these movements, the
feeling of which becomes, for my consciousness, identified with the
manner in which I make myself ready to receive the visible thing. My
brain appears to me as if all shot across with lines of direction, of
which I have become conscious as my attention has shifted from one
sense-organ to another, in passing to successive outer things, or in
following trains of varying sense-ideas.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account