Psychology: Briefer Course »

Today's scholars know James's psychology primarily through his great Principles of Psychology (1890), but those who studied the subject at the turn of the century were more apt to learn his view through his Psychology: Briefer Course (1892). Indeed, professors at colleges and universities throughout the United States use this book—which their students labeled "Jimmy" to distinguish it from the larger "James"—in their classes, and more than six times as many copies of the Briefer Course were sold by 1902 as were sets of Principles.

Despite its title, the Briefer Course is more than a simple condensation of the larger work. For example, to the material from Principles James added several chapters on the physiology of the senses that helped mesh his psychology with the other sciences of the period. The earlier chapter title "The Stream of Thought" is replaced here with "The Stream of Consciousness." Psychology: Briefer Course remains a useful and highly readable introduction to James's views on psychology and is an essential source for anyone interested in studying all of his psychological writings.

Booknews

American psychologist and philosopher James (1842-1910) examines a wide range of topics such as the importance and physical basis of habit, stream of consciousness, self and the sense of personal identity, discrimination and association, the sense of time, memory, perception, imagination, reasoning, emotions compared to instincts, the will and voluntary acts, and other subjects. This brief version omits the long-outdated first nine chapters of his original two-volume treatise. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Foreword

Introduction by Michael M. Sokal

Psychology: Briefer Course

Index

Notes

Appendix

James's Annotations of His Private Copy of Psychology: Briefer Course

A Note on the Editorial Method

The Text of Psychology: Briefer Course

1. The History

2. The Documents

3. The Editorial Problem

Apparatus

Emendations

Textual Notes

Historical Collation

Word-Division

General Index

Key to the Pagination of Editions