Introduction

William James is one of the most noted philosophers of the American classical period - the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The philosophy which he expounded, Pragmatism, was the dominant philosophical movement of the time, and it continues to exert an influence on American philosophy today. In 1840, James published The Principles of Psychology, a two-volume work which surveys experimental findings in psychology and which remains a classic today. James's aim in this work is to find a system which can mediate between these two styles of philosophy — a system which can combine scientific awareness of facts with religion, optimism and the significance of the human being. Yet James professedly wishes to reconcile or mediate between the positivist (tough-minded) and the metaphysical (tender-minded) approaches. Before examining James's theory of truth of detail, it will be helpful to set the stage with some contemporary background material.