WILLIAM JAMES'S DOCTRINE OF SELF: THE ESSENCE OF HIS PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHER

In the preface to his Talks to Teachers on Psychology (1899), William James attempted to recall some of the circumstances connected with their origination: "In 1892 I was asked by the Harvard Corporation to give a few public lectures on psychology to the Cambridge teachers.".;James's audiences, on the several occasions the talks were given, were treated to more than just the concrete examples and practical ideas on teaching that we readers of the printed version can trace to his psychology textbooks. His listeners found themselves in the company of an engaging speaker, a dynamic individual who exemplified the very principles of which he spoke. To shed some light upon the interactions attending his spoken message, we shall survey the preparation of teachers, during his time, and particularly, their schooling in psychology.;In order that his stated purpose for composing the Talks may be clarified, we shall study his writings on "self," claimed by commentators to be crucial for a comprehension of his psychology as a whole. In this chapter of The Principles of Psychology, one encounters a discussion of that fundamental psychological fact called "me" or "mine", considered from many points of view. Here one can study James's eclectic approach, sometimes criticized as unsystematic, to his subject. At the same time, one may enjoy writing that was especially pleasing to its author.;Regarding his recollection of the circumstances surrounding the initial delivery of the talks, there is no evidence that William James was ever asked to lecture the teachers of Cambridge, nor is there any evidence that he ever did lecture them, in spite of what he and others have said.