The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-05-28
A FRENCH VIEW OF
WILLIAM JAMES
Boutroux's William james Is a
valuable Account of a kinS
Among american Thinkers.

American intellectual lie mas pro-
duced no more interesting figure than
the late William James. Inc most
charming and Unaffected Of
IONS. the most inspiring Of teachers,
all who came into contact with nm
were stamped en~,uringly with the
mark of his personality. The intel
lcctual curiosity Of the mar was
boundlcss. 1t led him from physlol~
o3y into the then new branch OF
scientific psychology. II 50 into
philosophy. Whatever he touched
he ilumined. His rank as the first
Of American PSYCHOLOGISTS Is unques-
toned. Though he himself, with his
usual modcsly. would undoubtediE
have awarded the palm 10 Royce, II
is already becoming clear that he
is the only philosopher Of any de-
gree Of originality which America
has produced. His pTagmatism is IN
d fair way TO become the philosophy
of The era.
He despised the mere secondhand
conventionalities Of knowledge. With
him everything is fresh. 1t Is at flrSt
hand. Even the shifty realms OF
s~piriIualism he must Investigate for
himself. Respect for the teachings
of the schools as such he had nom.
And with it all there went such a
lucidity and brilliancy OF ~presenta-
ton, such a gift for bringing truth,
clad in everyday garments, into the
market-place. as hardly finds its equal
in philosophy outside the homely
shrewdness Of q Socrates.
While both were living. he shared
with Simon Newcomb an unQuestion-
ed prim4cy among American men OF
science. His reputation was world
wide. 1t is perhaps characteristic OF
the man that his work appealed
more to the clarity and the brilliance
of the French mind than to the more
analytic German thought. His infiu-
cnce on the development Of German
thinking is, until quite recently. al
most negligible. while France owes
to him a great intellectual debt.
AS one Of the signs Of his influence
on France comes the little book by
Emile Boutroux Iongmans, Green
~ Co. 81. setting forth his person
ality and his work. The book gains
II added interest for h readers
Of these columns through its transla-
ton by Or. and Mrs. Henderson. OF
the translation it need only be said
that 1t meets the final test; one for
gets that it is a translation he is read
ing. The book itself is an attempt
to set forth concisely the central
themes which occupied the attention
of the Observation-Disclosures. After
a section devoted NO Life and Per-
sonality.' there follow chapters on
Psychology" Religious Paychol-
ogy," 'Pragmatism,' metaphysical
Views and a brief Conclusion"
The skeleton on which BOutrOuX
has chosen to hang his treatment is
James's conception Of three sorts Of
experience. each equally vital: the
physical, the psychological, and the
religious.
When we attempt to apply to hu-
man life the canons of physical ex-
perience. we find them insufficient fol-
the task imposed upon them. For
the essential thing about the human
mind is the presence Of the idea
whose peculiar characteristic is tina
it is perceived by a consciousness
It is hopeless to attempt to describe
the idea in purely physical terms
it is a reality Of another sort. Its ex
perience is a psychological experience
Psychology must stand on it's owl
u it must not attenpt to de
scribe mental experience by merr
physical ~anaiosies. Its method is es
sentially that OF unbiased introspec
ton.
Now the psychologist is accustome,
TO regard each individual conscious
ness as a closed series; one can neve
know at first hand the mental ex
periences of another. But there ar
certain facts which seem to show thai
after all. these barriers between min
and mind may under some condition
be broken through. and direct com
municatiOn may be set up. This com
munication seems to take plac
through those ark subconsciou
regions which Myers has called sub
liminal.' 1t is thus possible tha
mind may communicate with min,
the consciousness of man with tn.
Of God. Such an experience is til
religious experience, the third so,
recognized by James. Under its spell
man feels a profound sense Of d
rect communion with a superior COZ
seriousness. It's essential characte,
istic is it's individual nature, it's varis
ton from subject to subject. r,
ligiouS experience thus gives us
truer picture Of the real nature
cOpScjOuSDoSS thar does DhVchOIOo