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The Principles of Psychology, Volume 2 (of 2)

William James · Public domain text

280,124 words · about 19 h 37 min to read

About this edition

The text of The Principles of Psychology, Volume 2 (of 2) comes from Project Gutenberg e-text #57634. It is in English and public domain in the United States. Project Gutenberg’s header and license text are removed, and RedLectern sets the text out for reading on screen; no words of the book are rewritten or summarized. More formats (EPUB, Kindle) · How RedLectern is built

This text-only edition leaves out 47 illustrations. See the illustrated edition at Project Gutenberg.

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About this book

Author
William James (1842–1910)
Language
English
Subjects
Psychology
Length
280,124 words · about 19 h 37 min
Sections
25 reader sections · Table of contents
Contents (25)

The opening of XXVI. WILL

Voluntary movements: they presuppose a memory of involuntary movements. Kinæsthetic impressions, 488. No need to assume feelings of innervation. The 'mental cue' for a movement may be an image of its visual or auditory effects as well as an image of the way it feels. Ideo-motor action. Action after deliberation. Five types of decision. The feeling of effort. Unhealthiness of will: 1) The explosive type; 2) The obstructed type. Pleasure and pain are not the only springs of action. All consciousness is impulsive. What we will depends on what idea dominates in our mind. The idea's outward effects follow from the cerebral machinery. Effort of attention to a naturally repugnant idea is the essential feature of willing. The free-will controversy. Psychology, as a science, can safely postulate determinism, even if free-will be true. The education of the Will. Hypothetical brain-schemes.

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