William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism
by Robert Richardson.
Hardcover Link : amzn.to/3UcMv2F
Kindle Link : amzn.to/3StZwU9
William James’s ideas are deeply embedded in western (modern) psychology, often without explicit recognition.
"William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism" by Robert Richardson is a Bancroft Prize-winning biography and offers a very detailed (intellectual) exploration of James's life and work. It should be paired with Alice & Henry James’s biographies/ diaries (apart from all of James’s writings compiled by the Library of America press and articles in magazines like The Atlantic).
What a crucial read for Masters students to better understand the foundations of modern psychology ! (especially if you need some context as to how we have arrived here - evidence-based therapy).
As an Indian, I was most curious about James's encounters with Eastern thought - the books that he read (Chandogya Upanishad - छांदोग्य उपनिषद् ), the lecture on Indian mythology that he attended (Mahabharata - महाभारतम्) and his (two) meetings with Swami Vivekananda (Narendranath Datta). James has included long quotations from Vivekananda in his book “The varieties of religious experience.” All of this made me interested in correlations between his works and Eastern philosophy/theology. Besides this, I was surprised to learn that James’s ideas on pragmatism had influenced the pragmatism of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and a few other Indians (always something new to learn!).
I am greatly influenced by Hitchens & Dawkins and I find that reading biographies & works by people like James, Blaise Pascal, Arthur Eddington and presently the indologist , philologist and scholar of Sanskrit Lit - Patrick Olivelles translation of the Upanishads (specifically the Brihadaranyaka बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद् & Chhandogya छांदोग्य उपनिषद्) helps me to find my own path towards questions that I have had since my childhood about the nature of being, the mind and the body.
As a psychologist trained in the West and the East, I find my perspectives ever-expanding. I try to go to the original source - and the sources seem to keep going to other sources leading me to read vastly. I review only part of what I read. the rest, is for myself.
I hope James kindles the spirit of inquiry within you as he did me.
5 окт 2024
