History of Neurology
WILLIAM JAMES, MD
FEBRUARY 6TH, 2017 NEUROLOGY RESIDENT MORNING REPORT William James MD (1842-1910) • B NYC; wealthy family, went to Europe • Brother- Henry James (author) • 1st studied art • Harvard undergrad; studied in Europe under Von Helmholtz • Harvard med school- graduated age 27 • Zoological expedition with Louis Agassiz in Brazil (Amazon) • Nervous breakdown (3 years) • On recovery epiphany: – “My first act of free will shall be to believe in free will” – Returned to life: experience/anti-mental, intellectual, Cartesian • 1872 (age 30)-taught physiology at Harvard • 1875-Began teaching psychology – Established 1st experimental psychology lab in the USA • Principles of Psychology; started in 1879, published in 1890 • 1879-began teaching philosophy • After publication of Principles James lost interest in this “nasty little subject”: “All one cares to know lies outside it” William James MD (1842-1910)
“The James” • 1890 Principles of Psychology-2 volumes: the “James” • One of the “Great Books” of Western Civilization! • 1892-Psychology The Briefer Course: the “Jimmy” • 1897 The Will To Believe & Other Essays in Popular Philosophy • 1899-Talks to Teachers on Psychology: and to Students on Some of Life's Ideals • 1902- The Varieties of Religious Experience – Another religious epiphany from vacation in Adirondacks: “it seemed as if the Gods of all the of all nature- mythologies were holding an indescribable meeting in my breast with the moral “The Jimmy” Gods of the inner life” • 1907- Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking • 1909-A Pluralistic Universe • 1909-The Meaning of Truth: A Sequel to "Pragmatism Great Books of Western Civilization James’s Theory of Emotion in: Principles of Psychology
• Also formulated by colleague Carl Lange and Giuseppe Sergi – James-Lange-Sergi Theory of Emotion • Emotion is the mind's perception of physiological conditions that result from some stimulus • It is not that we see a bear, fear it, and run; we see a bear and run; consequently, we fear the bear • Our mind's perception of the higher adrenaline level, heartbeat, etc. is the emotion • “Aesthetic emotion, pure and simple, the pleasure given us by certain lines and masses, and combinations of colors and sounds, is an absolutely sensational experience” in Principles James & Attention in: Principles of Psychology
Focusing of sensory apparatus is an essential feature of all sensory processes. “Millions of items of the outward order are present to my senses which never properly enter into my experience. Why? Because they have no interest for me. My experience is what I agree to attend to. Every one knows what attention is. It is the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration, of consciousness are of its essence. It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others” The Principles of Psychology When confronted more than one input the brain does not process equally. James: Pragmatism &Free Will in The Will to Believe & Pragmatism
Truth is relativistic
The value of every truth is dependent on the use to the person who holds it
The mind of the observer and simple acts of observation will affect the outcome of any imperial approach to truth as the mind and its experiences and nature are inseparable
“The pragmatist always means 'true” for him who experiences the workings”
James would seek the meaning of 'true' by examining how the idea functioned in our lives
“Will to Believe” grounds justified belief in an unwavering principle that would prove more beneficial From: 30 Seconds Philosophies 2009 William James MD: The Social Value of the College Bred Speech, then published essay, then in books
In Memories and Studies (1911)
“Mankind does nothing save through initiatives on the part of inventors, great or small, and imitation by the rest of us. These are the sole factors active in human progress. Individuals of genius show the way, and set the patterns, which common people then adopt and follow. The rivalry of the pattern is the history of the world” A plaque from a former student given to Dr. Barohn THEORIES OF KNOWLEDGE
. Platonic/Déscartes (Cartesian) Lockeian/Jamesion Innate, a priori idea and principle Knowledge derived from experience/senses
We can know all things We cannot know all things
Goal: Seek “certain knowledge” Goal: Understand limitations Knowledge that works Seek knowledge “sufficient”& “good enough” for our needs, maybe less than certain
Reduction, absolutism Induction, relativism Created by Philosophers Created by physicians THEORIES OF KNOWLEDGE AS IT RELATES TO MEDICINE Platonic/Cartesian Lockeian/Jamesion Premise: All disease can be Premise: All medical understood through molecular decisions are based on mechanisms incomplete knowledge of Dx: Based on knowledge disease cause of molecular defect Dx: Pattern recognition of symps/signs and “indirect” lab tests Rx: Fixing defect Rx: Practical - what works Henry James: Brother of William (1843-1916) He wrote all of the following novels except?
• The Portrait of a Lady • Wings of a Dove • Brideshead Revisited • The Golden Bowl • Daisy Miller • The Turn of the Screw Answer: Brideshead Revisited (Evelyn Waugh 1945)