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== View on spiritualism and associationism == [[File:Houghton MS Am 1092 (1185) - William James.jpg|thumb|James in a séance with a spiritualist medium]] James studied closely the schools of thought known as [[associationism]] and [[Spiritualism (philosophy)|spiritualism]]. The view of an associationist is that each experience that one has leads to another, creating a chain of events. The association does not tie together two ideas, but rather physical objects.<ref name="James, 1892">James, William. 1985 [1892]. ''Psychology (Briefer Course)''. [[University of Notre Dame Press]]. {{ISBN|0-268-01557-0}}.</ref> This association occurs on an atomic level. Small physical changes occur in the brain which eventually form complex ideas or associations. Thoughts are formed as these complex ideas work together and lead to new experiences. [[Isaac Newton]] and [[David Hartley (philosopher)|David Hartley]] both were precursors to this school of thought, proposing such ideas as "physical vibrations in the brain, spinal cord, and nerves are the basis of all sensations, all ideas, and all motions …"<ref name=":4">[[Robert D. Richardson|Richardson, Robert D.]] 2006. ''William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism''. [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin]]. {{ISBN|0-618-43325-2}}.</ref> James disagreed with associationism in that he believed it to be too simple. He referred to associationism as "psychology without a soul"<ref name="j1890">James, William. 1890. ''The Principles of Psychology''.</ref> because there is nothing from within creating ideas; they just arise by associating objects with one another. On the other hand, a spiritualist believes that mental events are attributed to the soul. Whereas in associationism, ideas and behaviors are separate, in spiritualism, they are connected. Spiritualism encompasses the term [[innatism]], which suggests that ideas cause behavior. Ideas of past behavior influence the way a person will act in the future; these ideas are all tied together by the soul. Therefore, an inner soul causes one to have a thought, which leads them to perform a behavior, and memory of past behaviors determine how one will act in the future.<ref name=j1890 /> James had a strong opinion about these schools of thought. He was, by nature, a [[Pragmatism#A list of pragmatists|pragmatist]] and thus took the view that one should use whatever parts of theories make the most sense and can be proven.<ref name=":4" /> Therefore, he recommended breaking apart spiritualism and associationism and using the parts of them that make the most sense. James believed that each person has a soul, which exists in a spiritual universe, and leads a person to perform the behaviors they do in the physical world.<ref name=":4" /> James was influenced by [[Emanuel Swedenborg]], who first introduced him to this idea. James stated that, although it does appear that humans use associations to move from one event to the next, this cannot be done without this soul tying everything together. For, after an association has been made, it is the person who decides which part of it to focus on, and therefore determines in which direction following associations will lead.<ref name="James, 1892" /> Associationism is too simple in that it does not account for decision-making of future behaviors, and memory of what worked well and what did not. Spiritualism, however, does not demonstrate actual physical representations for how associations occur. James combined the views of spiritualism and associationism to create his own way of thinking. James discussed tender-minded thinkers as religious, optimistic, dogmatic, and monistic. Tough-minded thinkers were irreligious, pessimistic, pluralists, and skeptical. Healthy-minded individuals were seen as natural believers by having faith in God and universal order. People who focused on human miseries and suffering were noted as sick souls. James was a founding member and vice president of the [[American Society for Psychical Research]].<ref>Eugene Taylor. (2009). ''The Mystery of Personality: A History of Psychodynamic Theories''. Springer. p. 30. {{ISBN|978-0387981031}}</ref> The lending of his name made [[Leonora Piper]] a famous medium. In 1885, the year after the death of his young son, James had his first sitting with Piper at the suggestion of his mother-in-law.<ref>[[Deborah Blum]]. (2007). ''Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life''. Penguin Group. p. 98. {{ISBN|978-0-14-303895-5}}.</ref> He was soon convinced that Piper knew things she could only have discovered by supernatural means. He expressed his belief in Piper by saying, "If you wish to upset the law that all crows are black, it is enough if you prove that one crow is white. My white crow is Mrs. Piper."<ref>[[Gardner Murphy]], [[Robert O. Ballou]]. (1960). ''William James on Psychical Research''. Viking Press. p. 41</ref> However, James did not believe that Piper was in contact with spirits. After evaluating sixty-nine reports of Piper's mediumship he considered the hypothesis of [[telepathy]] as well as Piper obtaining information about her sitters by natural means such as her memory recalling information. According to James the "spirit-control" hypothesis of her mediumship was incoherent, irrelevant and in cases demonstrably false.<ref>Francesca Bordogna. (2008). ''William James at the Boundaries: Philosophy, Science, and the Geography of Knowledge''. University of Chicago Press. p. 127. {{ISBN|978-0226066523}}</ref> James held séances with Piper and was impressed by some of the details he was given; however, according to [[Massimo Polidoro]] a maid in the household of James was friendly with a maid in Piper's house and this may have been a source of information that Piper used for private details about James.<ref>[[Massimo Polidoro]]. (2001). ''Final Séance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle''. Prometheus Books. p. 36. {{ISBN|978-1573928960}}</ref> Bibliographers [[Frederick Burkhardt]] and [[Fredson Bowers]] who compiled the works of James wrote "It is thus possible that Mrs. Piper's knowledge of the James family was acquired from the gossip of servants and that the whole mystery rests on the failure of the people upstairs to realize that servants [downstairs] also have ears."<ref>[[Frederick Burkhardt]] and [[Fredson Bowers]]. (1986). ''Essays in Psychical Research''. Harvard University Press. p. 397 in William James. [http://www.nlx.com/collections/66 ''The Works of William James'']. Edited by Frederick H. Burkhardt, Fredson Bowers, and Ignas K. Skrupskelis. 19 vols. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press. 1975–1988.</ref> James was convinced that the "future will corroborate" the existence of [[telepathy]].<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hnfjc6;view=1up;seq=441 About the Shadow World]. ''Everybody's Magazine''. v. 20 (1909).</ref> Psychologists such as [[James McKeen Cattell]] and [[Edward B. Titchener]] took issue with James's support for [[Parapsychology|psychical research]] and considered his statements unscientific.<ref>Lamont, Peter. (2013). ''Extraordinary Beliefs: A Historical Approach to a Psychological Problem''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 184–188.</ref><ref>Kimble, Gregory A; Wertheimer, Michael; White, Charlotte. (2013). ''Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology''. Psychology Press. p. 23. {{ISBN|0-8058-0620-2}}</ref> Cattell in a letter to James wrote that the "Society for Psychical Research is doing much to injure psychology".<ref>Goodwin, C. James. (2015). ''A History of Modern Psychology''. Wiley. p. 154. {{ISBN|978-1-118-83375-9}}</ref>
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