The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature

William James (1842-1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. He studied medicine with an emphasis on the nervous system and psychology at Harvard, but he never practiced. Instead, he spent his life as a scholar, mentoring young thinkers while pursuing his interest in the intersection between psychology and philosophy. Most of his career was spent teaching at Harvard on a variety of subjects, including physiology, anatomy, and philosophy. Throughout his life, James developed academic relationships with many major figures, including Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, John Dewey, and Mark Twain.

James was born into a wealthy family; his father was a theologian who cultivated a culture of intellectualism and writing in his home. William’s brother Henry, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times, wrote famous works such as The Portrait of a Lady, The Turn of the Screw, and The Ambassadors. William was close to his sister Alice who, like William, had a mental health condition. Like many women during the 19th century, Alice’s condition was dismissed by medical professionals as “hysteria.” Alice chronicled her health issues in her diaries, which were published after her death. Her writing was praised for being ahead of its time.