Reviews for The Principles Of Psychology - Volume I (Illustrated Edition)

The average rating for The Principles Of Psychology - Volume I (Illustrated Edition) based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-07-12 00:00:00 David Martin This was an extremely fascinating, challenging, and at times infuriating read: Fascinating because James accurately predicted so much of modern psychology in 1890, before the experimental method really existed (beyond psychophysics, which he lambasts as a waste of time when one could just introspect instead); Challenging because he roots so many of his insights and explanations in classical philosophy, a slow and thorough approach that breaks the issues down to their fundamental assumptions for examination (I'm not at all used to approaching psychology in this way, and it was extremely rewarding, if laborious); Infuriating because for all he got right, he also got so, so much wrong. James was a religious man, and while he tries to leave spirituality separate from the study of psychology, it regularly seeps back in through his language and assumptions throughout. Case in point: Mind Dust from the Soul. The book is also home to a wide gamut of hilariously antiquated social faux-pas, from racism to sexism to good old classism. The "old Princeton boys" manner of speech is pure comedy when applied to an elaborate discussion of how boring Germany must be for psychophysics to have come into existence. I got a lot of enjoyment from the book for this rich-white-Victorian comedy appeal alone. I'm actually really, really glad I read this book. It doesn't offer much in the way of real insight into my own work, but I feel my perspective has broadened significantly through a consideration of my field's humble roots.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-01-09 00:00:00 Ron Scerbo Wow. He didn’t cut any corners in his explanations and arguments. This tomb is incredibly detailed and surprisingly really witty throughout thanks to that Victorian stiff upper lip bourgeois style of thinking. You can tell he absolutely loves his field, and work and is vibing on thinking through every single principle of psychology that he can come up. James is so incredibly well read and seems to know everyone in this field at the time. He is certainly no dummy. As someone who enjoys learning about different subjects and who never studied any psychology per se, (he also goes deep in metaphysics which Im fairly familiar with) I learnt a tremendous amount from this at times grindingly long book. Overall I’m very glad I stuck with it, and I have no doubt a bunch of the science parts are out of date but regardless, it was a thorough and fascinating read that I would recommend to anyone wanting a very comprehensive overview of everything psychology.