Re: [tips] Would William James Attend?
- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M6C 1G4 Canada chri...@yorku.ca > On Oct 21, 2016, at 12:07 PM, Mike Palij wrote: > > |New Thought movement > | > |New Thought is a spiritual movement that began in the > |United States in the late 19th century which promotes > |positive thinking and healing. > > Yikes! Positive psychology was scooped! ;-) Yup. Read Barbara Ehrenreich's _Bright-Sided_. Pos Psych, despite its incessant appeals to "science," is pretty much just the latest incarnation of the long-running American obsession with happiness -- from New Thought to Christian Science to Positive Thinking to the Prosperity Gospel to Positive Psych. She reports a great interview with Marty Seligman in which even he can't quite keep a totally straight face while extolling its putatively "scientific" virtues. And that was before the "happiness equation" collapsed in ruins. Chris - Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M6C 1G4 Canada chri...@yorku.ca --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49752 or send a blank email to leave-49752-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
RE: [tips] Would William James Attend?
Thanks Chris. It's always good to have someone knowledgeable who can address these historical issues. Jim Jim Clark Professor & Chair of Psychology University of Winnipeg 204-786-9757 Room 4L41A (4th Floor Lockhart) www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark<http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark> From: Christopher Green [mailto:chri...@yorku.ca] Sent: October-22-16 1:13 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Would William James Attend? I haven't watched the presentation, Jim. However, I find that characterization of James' interests (and of spiritualism as it was conducted in the late 19th century) to be a little anachronistic or ahistorical. It wasn't so much that James wanted to reject the natural-scientific approach to psychology. It was that he wanted to carve out a wider understanding of what constitutes "nature" (following more or less directly from the most famous work of his own godfather, Ralph Waldo Emerson). James' question about spiritualism (and about religion more broadly) was what we would find if we were to study in the same manner that we study the (rest of the) natural world, and with the same seriousness. Even his _Varieties of Religious Experience_ concludes that we need is fewer scholastic "proofs" of God's existence and more empirical and comparative studies of religious experience itself. The turn of the 20th century was a time when we were trying to figure out what the boundaries of the "new" psychology were going to be. Although many "lab men" of the era rejected spiritualism and psychical phenomena early on (partly in an effort to impress physiologists and other scientists with the "seriousness" of their commitment to a certain kind of naturalism), others, like James, weren't so certain that there was nothing worthy of scientific study in the realm of the spiritual. (Let us not forget that Hall's _American Journal of Psychology_ was founded on a donation by Robert Pearsall Smith, a leader of the American "Holiness Movement" and one of the ASPR's wealthiest members.) Most psychologists fell away from the ASPR after they saw how tendentious much of the research was ultimately going to be. James, however, seemed never to be satisfied that we had gathered enough evidence to be certain that it was nothing but fantasy and fraud. Chris . Christopher D Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 43.773895°, -79.503670° chri...@yorku.ca<mailto:chri...@yorku.ca> http://www.yorku.ca/christo ... On Oct 22, 2016, at 1:30 PM, Jim Clark mailto:j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca>> wrote: Some modern day students of religion (e.g., Hood) speak positively about James's interest in phenomena that challenged the natural science approach to psychology. Here's one presentation in which Hood articulates that view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qeLfh7E9mA Jim Jim Clark Professor & Chair of Psychology University of Winnipeg 204-786-9757 Room 4L41A (4th Floor Lockhart) www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark<http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark> From: Christopher Green [mailto:chri...@yorku.ca] Sent: October-22-16 10:41 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Would William James Attend? On Oct 21, 2016, at 12:54 PM, Michael Scoles mailto:micha...@uca.edu>> wrote: I can't find the page number from Principles where he says, "Whatever floats your boat." I'm not sure what you're objecting to here, Michael. James was a well known and ardent advocate of spiritualism - an early joiner of the Society for Psychical Research (in Britain) and the virtual founder of the American Society for Psychical Research. He conducted extensive questionnaire studies of people's experiences of the paranormal. He visited a variety of "mediums," commenting publicly on their putative authenticity. He was so outspoken about it that other psychologists of the era (1) begged him to tone it down for the good of the psychology (Cattell), (2) actively strove to demonstrate the frauds perpetrated by his favoured spiritualists (Münsterberg, Jastrow, Hall, or (3) just publicly denounced him (Witmer (in)famously dubbed him the "spoiled child of psychology"). All that said, James' peculiar version of philosophical pragmatism might, to a first approximation, be summed up as "whatever floats your boat" (if floating a boat is taken to be doing something that seems to help the boat to "work"). :-) Best, Chris . Christopher D Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 43.773895°, -79.503670° chri...@yorku.ca<mailto:chri...@yorku.ca> http://www.yorku.ca/christo ... On Fri, Oct 21, 2016 a
Re: [tips] Would William James Attend?
I haven’t watched the presentation, Jim. However, I find that characterization of James' interests (and of spiritualism as it was conducted in the late 19th century) to be a little anachronistic or ahistorical. It wasn’t so much that James wanted to reject the natural-scientific approach to psychology. It was that he wanted to carve out a wider understanding of what constitutes “nature” (following more or less directly from the most famous work of his own godfather, Ralph Waldo Emerson). James’ question about spiritualism (and about religion more broadly) was what we would find if we were to study in the same manner that we study the (rest of the) natural world, and with the same seriousness. Even his _Varieties of Religious Experience_ concludes that we need is fewer scholastic “proofs” of God's existence and more empirical and comparative studies of religious experience itself. The turn of the 20th century was a time when we were trying to figure out what the boundaries of the “new” psychology were going to be. Although many “lab men” of the era rejected spiritualism and psychical phenomena early on (partly in an effort to impress physiologists and other scientists with the “seriousness” of their commitment to a certain kind of naturalism), others, like James, weren’t so certain that there was nothing worthy of scientific study in the realm of the spiritual. (Let us not forget that Hall’s _American Journal of Psychology_ was founded on a donation by Robert Pearsall Smith, a leader of the American “Holiness Movement” and one of the ASPR’s wealthiest members.) Most psychologists fell away from the ASPR after they saw how tendentious much of the research was ultimately going to be. James, however, seemed never to be satisfied that we had gathered enough evidence to be certain that it was nothing but fantasy and fraud. Chris ….. Christopher D Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 43.773895°, -79.503670° chri...@yorku.ca http://www.yorku.ca/christo ... On Oct 22, 2016, at 1:30 PM, Jim Clark wrote: > Some modern day students of religion (e.g., Hood) speak positively about > James’s interest in phenomena that challenged the natural science approach to > psychology. Here’s one presentation in which Hood articulates that view. > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qeLfh7E9mA > > Jim > > > Jim Clark > Professor & Chair of Psychology > University of Winnipeg > 204-786-9757 > Room 4L41A (4th Floor Lockhart) > www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark > > > From: Christopher Green [mailto:chri...@yorku.ca] > Sent: October-22-16 10:41 AM > To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) > Subject: Re: [tips] Would William James Attend? > > > > > On Oct 21, 2016, at 12:54 PM, Michael Scoles wrote: > > > I can't find the page number from Principles where he says, "Whatever floats > your boat." > > > I’m not sure what you’re objecting to here, Michael. James was a well known > and ardent advocate of spiritualism — an early joiner of the Society for > Psychical Research (in Britain) and the virtual founder of the American > Society for Psychical Research. He conducted extensive questionnaire studies > of people’s experiences of the paranormal. He visited a variety of “mediums,” > commenting publicly on their putative authenticity. He was so outspoken about > it that other psychologists of the era (1) begged him to tone it down for the > good of the psychology (Cattell), (2) actively strove to demonstrate the > frauds perpetrated by his favoured spiritualists (Münsterberg, Jastrow, Hall, > or (3) just publicly denounced him (Witmer (in)famously dubbed him the > “spoiled child of psychology”). > > All that said, James’ peculiar version of philosophical pragmatism might, to > a first approximation, be summed up as “whatever floats your boat” (if > floating a boat is taken to be doing something that seems to help the boat to > “work”). :-) > > Best, > Chris > ….. > Christopher D Green > Department of Psychology > York University > Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 > Canada > 43.773895°, -79.503670° > > chri...@yorku.ca > http://www.yorku.ca/christo > ... > > On Fri, Oct 21, 2016 at 10:09 AM, Mike Palij wrote: > > > http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/we-tried-to-talk-to-the-dead-at-new-yorks-only-spirit-church > > Some things never change. > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a891720c9&n=T&l=tips&o=49747 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send
RE: [tips] Would William James Attend?
Some modern day students of religion (e.g., Hood) speak positively about James's interest in phenomena that challenged the natural science approach to psychology. Here's one presentation in which Hood articulates that view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qeLfh7E9mA Jim Jim Clark Professor & Chair of Psychology University of Winnipeg 204-786-9757 Room 4L41A (4th Floor Lockhart) www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark<http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark> From: Christopher Green [mailto:chri...@yorku.ca] Sent: October-22-16 10:41 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Would William James Attend? On Oct 21, 2016, at 12:54 PM, Michael Scoles mailto:micha...@uca.edu>> wrote: I can't find the page number from Principles where he says, "Whatever floats your boat." I'm not sure what you're objecting to here, Michael. James was a well known and ardent advocate of spiritualism - an early joiner of the Society for Psychical Research (in Britain) and the virtual founder of the American Society for Psychical Research. He conducted extensive questionnaire studies of people's experiences of the paranormal. He visited a variety of "mediums," commenting publicly on their putative authenticity. He was so outspoken about it that other psychologists of the era (1) begged him to tone it down for the good of the psychology (Cattell), (2) actively strove to demonstrate the frauds perpetrated by his favoured spiritualists (Münsterberg, Jastrow, Hall, or (3) just publicly denounced him (Witmer (in)famously dubbed him the "spoiled child of psychology"). All that said, James' peculiar version of philosophical pragmatism might, to a first approximation, be summed up as "whatever floats your boat" (if floating a boat is taken to be doing something that seems to help the boat to "work"). :-) Best, Chris . Christopher D Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 43.773895°, -79.503670° chri...@yorku.ca<mailto:chri...@yorku.ca> http://www.yorku.ca/christo ... On Fri, Oct 21, 2016 at 10:09 AM, Mike Palij mailto:m...@nyu.edu>> wrote: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/we-tried-to-talk-to-the-dead-at-new-yorks-only-spirit-church Some things never change. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca<mailto:j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca>. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a891720c9&n=T&l=tips&o=49747 (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) or send a blank email to leave-49747-13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a89172...@fsulist.frostburg.edu<mailto:leave-49747-13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a89172...@fsulist.frostburg.edu> --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49749 or send a blank email to leave-49749-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
Re: [tips] Would William James Attend?
I wasn't objecting to anything, but was making a reference to his pragmatism. It reminds me of a discussion here, long ago, about the notion that science is based on faith. I had mentioned a point made by Bernard Davis (and probably others), that science isn't based on faith, because it is tested every time it is applied. If science stopped working, we would stop using it. Someone mentioned that the same could be said about faith. On Sat, Oct 22, 2016 at 10:41 AM, Christopher Green wrote: > > > On Oct 21, 2016, at 12:54 PM, Michael Scoles wrote: > > I can't find the page number from Principles where he says, "Whatever > floats your boat." > > > I’m not sure what you’re objecting to here, Michael. James was a well > known and ardent advocate of spiritualism — an early joiner of the Society > for Psychical Research (in Britain) and the virtual founder of the American > Society for Psychical Research. He conducted extensive questionnaire > studies of people’s experiences of the paranormal. He visited a variety of > “mediums,” commenting publicly on their putative authenticity. He was so > outspoken about it that other psychologists of the era (1) begged him to > tone it down for the good of the psychology (Cattell), (2) actively strove > to demonstrate the frauds perpetrated by his favoured spiritualists > (Münsterberg, Jastrow, Hall, or (3) just publicly denounced him (Witmer > (in)famously dubbed him the “spoiled child of psychology”). > > All that said, James’ peculiar version of philosophical pragmatism might, > to a first approximation, be summed up as “whatever floats your boat” (if > floating a boat is taken to be doing something that seems to help the boat > to “work”). :-) > > Best, > Chris > ….. > Christopher D Green > Department of Psychology > York University > Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 > Canada > 43.773895°, -79.503670° > > chri...@yorku.ca > http://www.yorku.ca/christo > ... > > On Fri, Oct 21, 2016 at 10:09 AM, Mike Palij wrote: > >> >> http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/we-tried-to-talk-to-the >> -dead-at-new-yorks-only-spirit-church >> >> Some things never change. >> > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: micha...@uca.edu. > > To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=357701. > a768e95c4963686e69b47febf8aa657a&n=T&l=tips&o=49747 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to leave-49747-357701.a768e95c4963686e69b47febf8aa65 > 7...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > -- Michael T. Scoles, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology & Counseling University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR 72035 501-450-5418 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49748 or send a blank email to leave-49748-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
Re: [tips] Would William James Attend?
On Oct 21, 2016, at 12:54 PM, Michael Scoles wrote: > I can't find the page number from Principles where he says, "Whatever floats > your boat." > I’m not sure what you’re objecting to here, Michael. James was a well known and ardent advocate of spiritualism — an early joiner of the Society for Psychical Research (in Britain) and the virtual founder of the American Society for Psychical Research. He conducted extensive questionnaire studies of people’s experiences of the paranormal. He visited a variety of “mediums,” commenting publicly on their putative authenticity. He was so outspoken about it that other psychologists of the era (1) begged him to tone it down for the good of the psychology (Cattell), (2) actively strove to demonstrate the frauds perpetrated by his favoured spiritualists (Münsterberg, Jastrow, Hall, or (3) just publicly denounced him (Witmer (in)famously dubbed him the “spoiled child of psychology”). All that said, James’ peculiar version of philosophical pragmatism might, to a first approximation, be summed up as “whatever floats your boat” (if floating a boat is taken to be doing something that seems to help the boat to “work”). :-) Best, Chris ….. Christopher D Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 43.773895°, -79.503670° chri...@yorku.ca http://www.yorku.ca/christo ... > On Fri, Oct 21, 2016 at 10:09 AM, Mike Palij wrote: > > http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/we-tried-to-talk-to-the-dead-at-new-yorks-only-spirit-church > > Some things never change. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49747 or send a blank email to leave-49747-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
Re: [tips] Would William James Attend?
I can't find the page number from Principles where he says, "Whatever floats your boat." On Fri, Oct 21, 2016 at 10:09 AM, Mike Palij wrote: > > http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/we-tried-to-talk-to- > the-dead-at-new-yorks-only-spirit-church > > Some things never change. > > -Mike Palij > New York University > m...@nyu.edu > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: micha...@uca.edu. > > To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=357701. > a768e95c4963686e69b47febf8aa657a&n=T&l=tips&o=49737 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to leave-49737-357701.a768e95c4963686e69b47febf8aa65 > 7...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > -- Michael T. Scoles, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology & Counseling University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR 72035 501-450-5418 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49740 or send a blank email to leave-49740-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
Re: [tips] Would William James Attend?
On Fri, 21 Oct 2016 08:14:21 -0700,Christopher Green wrote: Séances held in the old Swedenborg Church in New York? Darn tootin' he would! I think that the Swedenborgian Church is the clincher. For more on the church see: http://newyorknewchurch.vzwebsites.com/aboutus.html and http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/realestate/07scap.html Given its location on 35th street between Park Ave and Lexington Ave, I must have passed by it a few times though I don't have a memory of it (Yeshiva U's "Stern College for Women" [which some wags follow-up with "ain't that the truth!"] has one of its buildings on 35th Street and Lexington Ave -- I taught a few course there in the 1990s when I was faculty at YU). There is an entry on Swedenborgian religion or the "New Church" on Wikipedia; see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Church It is a bit long but it has one interesting section which I quote: |New Thought movement | |New Thought is a spiritual movement that began in the |United States in the late 19th century which promotes |positive thinking and healing. Yikes! Positive psychology was scooped! ;-) |One of its earliest proponents was Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, |a healer who said that illnesses in the body originated from |false beliefs in the mind. Where have I heard that before? ;-) |One of the people he healed was Warren Felt Evans, a |Swedenborgian minister, who himself became a healer and |published several books promoting New Thought and |explaining it in terms of New Church doctrines. Swedenborg |had stated that there was a correspondence of heaven |with all things on earth,[144] and thus there is a correspondence |between the mind and the body. In general, the organized |churches based on New Thought (e.g., Unity Church, |Religious Science, Church of Divine Science) have |developed their own teachings separate from those of |Swedenborg and the New Church. Oddly enough, the section on psychology does not mention William James though there is a sizable literature on this, partly promoted by Eugene Taylor; see: http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-4261-1_22 Looks like some Historian of Psychology should go and get the Wikipedia entry updated. ;-) -Mike Palij New York University m...@nyu.edu On Oct 21, 2016, at 11:09 AM, Mike Palij wrote: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/we-tried-to-talk-to-the-dead-at-new-yorks-only-spirit-church Some things never change. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49739 or send a blank email to leave-49739-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
Re: [tips] Would William James Attend?
Séances held in the old Swedenborg Church in New York? Darn tootin’ he would! Chris ….. Christopher D Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 43.773895°, -79.503670° chri...@yorku.ca http://www.yorku.ca/christo ... On Oct 21, 2016, at 11:09 AM, Mike Palij wrote: > > > > > > http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/we-tried-to-talk-to-the-dead-at-new-yorks-only-spirit-church > > Some things never change. > > -Mike Palij > New York University > m...@nyu.edu > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: chri...@yorku.ca. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=430248.781165b5ef80a3cd2b14721caf62bd92&n=T&l=tips&o=49737 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-49737-430248.781165b5ef80a3cd2b14721caf62b...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > > > > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49738 or send a blank email to leave-49738-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
[tips] Would William James Attend?
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/we-tried-to-talk-to-the-dead-at-new-yorks-only-spirit-church Some things never change. -Mike Palij New York University m...@nyu.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49737 or send a blank email to leave-49737-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
