William James in Focus: Willing to Believe

William James (1842-1910) is a canonical figure of American pragmatism. Trained as a medical doctor, James was more engaged by psychology and philosophy and wrote a foundational text, Pragmatism, for this characteristically American way of thinking. Distilling the main currents of James's thought, William J. Gavin focuses on latent and manifest ideas in James to disclose the notion of will to believe, which courses through his work. For students who may be approaching James for the first time and for specialists who may not know James as deeply as they wish, Gavin provides a clear path to understanding James's philosophy even as he embraces James's complications and hesitations.

Author: William J. Gavin
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: 01/10/2013
Pages: 136
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9780253007926

Review Citation(s):
Choice 01/01/2014

About the Author

William J. Gavin is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern Maine. He is author of William James and the Reinstatement of the Vague and Cuttin' the Body Loose: Historical, Biological, and Personal Approaches in Death and Dying. He is former president of the William James Society.