It is intended that another volume shall be issued which shall contain papers having biographical or historical importance which have not yet been reprinted in book form. The present volume is intended not only for students of Professor James's philosophy, but for students of metaphysics and the theory of knowledge. A word more may be in order concerning the general meaning of this doctrine. It is set forth in Essay XII of the present volume. In a narrower sense, 'empiricism' is the method of resorting to particular experiences for the solution of philosophical problems.
Rationalists are the men of principles, empiricists the men of facts.
The deeper features of reality are found only in perceptual experience. Empiricism in this sense is as yet characteristic of Professor James's philosophy as a whole. It is not the distinctive and independent doctrine set forth in the present book. The postulate is that the only things that shall be debatable among philosophers shall be things definable in terms drawn from experience. The Meaning of Truth, pp.