History of Neurology WILLIAM JAMES MD PHYCOLOGY PHILOSOPHY

History of Neurology WILLIAM JAMES MD PHYCOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY BEARS & SQUIRRELS RICHARD J. BAROHN, MD GERTRUDE AND DEWEY ZIEGLER PROFESSOR OF NEUROLOGY THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER

• Born in New York City; wealthy family, went to Europe • Brother- Henry James (author) William James MD (1842 -1910) • Studied art first • Harvard undergrad; studied in Europe under Von Helmholtz • Harvard Med school- graduated age 27 • Zoological expedition with Louis Agassiz in Brazil (Amazon) • Nervous breakdown/depression (3 years) • On recovery he had an epiphany: • “My first act of free will shall be to believe in free will” • Returned to life: experience/anti-mental, anti intellectual, anti-Cartesian • 1872 (age 30)-taught Physiology at Harvard • 1875 -Began teaching Psychology • Established 1 st 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) 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 “The James” 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 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 “The Jimmy”

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 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

30 -Second Psychology Bears

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 with 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 Second Philosophies Squirrels

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 REALTES TO MEDICINE Platonic/Cartesian Lockeian/Jamesion Premise: All disease can be understood through molecular mechanisms Premise: All medical decisions are based on incomplete knowledge of disease cause Dx: Based on knowledge Dx: Pattern recognition of of molecular defect symps/signs and “indirect” lab tests Rx: Fixing defect Rx: Practical - what works Bench to Bedside (clinical)

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)