Genuine Reality: A Life of William James

by Linda Simon

Intellectual rebel, romantic pragmatist, aristocratic pluralist, William James was both a towering figure of the nineteenth century and a harbinger of the twentieth. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including 1,500 letters between James and his wife, acclaimed biographer Linda Simon creates an intimate portrait of this multifaceted and contradictory man. Exploring James's irrepressible family, his diverse friends, and the cultural and political forces to which he so energetically responded, Simon weaves the many threads of William James's life into a genuine, and vibrant, reality.

"William James . . . has never seemed so vulnerably human as in Linda Simon's biography. . . . [S]he vivifies James in such a way that his life and thought come freshly alive for the modern reader."—David S. Reynolds, New York Times Book Review

"Superb. . . . Genuine Reality is recommended reading for all soul-searchers."—George Gurley, Chicago Tribune

"Ms. Simon . . . has provided an ideal pathway for James's striding. . . . [Y]ou become engaged in his struggles as if they were your own."—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times

"[A]n excellent narrative biography at once sensitively told and lucidly written."—John Patrick Diggins, Wall Street Journal

Genres: Psychology, Philosophy, Biography

501 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Linda Simon is Professor of English and Chair of the English Department at Skidmore College in New York, where she has taught since 1997. Previously, she was Director of the Writing Center and at Harvard University. She is the author of biographies of Alice B. Toklas, Thornton Wilder, and Lady Margaret Beaufort, as well as articles in such journals as The New England Quarterly, Salmagundi, and Literature and Philosophy. She teaches literature and nonfiction creative writing and lives in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Reviews

[Turgwaith Gondren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read, comprehensive, nicely written and overall a very good biography. It is not an intellectual biography, even though some themes of WJ’s philosophy are briefly mentioned, but rather primary focus is on the relationships William had with family members (father, sister, brother Henry, wife), some of his colleagues and friends, and on his feelings and many internal struggles (depression, anxieties, self-doubt etc.), as those are evident from his lengthy correspondence, which is the author’s main source. In this book reader can find interesting details concerning James’s obsession with psychical research, about his professional motives and inspirations, ample communication with female friends and his love of the Adirondack Mountains and hiking. I somehow expected that more will be said about the writing process and preparation of The Varieties of Religious Experience, as I said before, this is understandable, because this isn’t an intellectual biography of WJ and shouldn’t be read as such.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of the novels of Henry James, but when I read biographies of the James family I always gravitated to William more. He seemed more accessible, more engaged with the world, and a pleasanter person. I've had this biography lying around for awhile and am glad I finally read it.
Simon gives an excellent look into what it was like to grow up in the family headed by Henry James Sr - someone who was always dragging his family from place to place saying it was for their benefit while really it was for his own. It's no wonder his children were all to some degree adrift in the world; whenever they really settled into a school or began to enjoy pursuing education, he hauled them away because they were getting out of his intellectual control or because the people in the area didn't properly appreciate his own genius. It's a wonder any of them accomplished anything! and yet William and Henry accomplished more than almost anybody.
It's difficult to convey the subject of anybody's philosophy in writing (even if it's your own), but Simon conveys a very good sense of the man, in all his muddle and energy. It was interesting to read about how successful he was as a teacher, how he approached his students, and how many of them responded to him with gratitude for his encouragement.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN INSIGHTFUL BIOGRAPHY OF THE FAMED PRAGMATIST AND RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHER

Linda Simon teaches English at Skidmore College and has also written/edited 'William James Remembered,' 'The Biography of Alice B. Toklas,' etc.

She discusses James' theory of emotions, where "our emotions are generated by action in response to stimuli: we are sad because we cry, we fear because we run. To one correspondent who was not convinced, James explained, 'Of course my "theory" about the emotions is quite independent of what species of mental operation the emotion is consequent upon... once there, the emotion consists of a complex of feelings of bodily change... I don't wonder that the theory failed to convince you... the only ones to whom it seems plausible are the physiologists, and that is not necessarily a point in its favor.'" (Pg. 185)

She observes, "Like many scientists of his time, James believed that scrupulous and rigorous investigation of psychic phenomena---mediums, thought transference, extrasensory perception, and even reported sightings of ghosts---might yield secrets that... as yet remained impenetrable. For James, psychical research offered a way to explore human consciousness outside of 'classical' psychology... His conviction that it would be useful to investigate ... from a scientific perspective made him greatly sympathetic to the efforts of... the London Society for Psychical Research." (Pg. 189, 191) Later, she adds, "His own yearning for spiritual communion was satisfied by Leonora Piper, whose integrity he continued to defend... Piper may have been a talented actress with a prodigious memory; James thought not." (Pg. 288-289)

She records, "Unlike other professors, he did not lecture to his students, but instead invited them to share in the stream of his thought as he worked through problems and responded to their questions. His task, as he saw it, was not to impart to his students a body of knowledge, but to teach them to philosophize, to understand philosophy not as a noun but as an active verb." (Pg. 270)

Of James' The Will to Believe, she notes, "The ten essays... contain some of his most eloquent statements on the intellectual and emotional risks of religious belief... James knew that advocating faith made him an antagonist of those who hungered for scientific proof... Yet he knew that empiricism would not suffice to guide his readers in making moral decisions..." (Pg. 274-275) She states, "he sought to understand how 'a broken and contrite heart,' such as his own, could achieve solace through some manner of faith... he had not overcome the feeling... of being 'separated from God.' For thirty years, he had envied those who experienced religious epiphany... he dedicated 'The Varieties of Religious Experience' to ... his mother-in-law, whose unquestioning belief ... he so desperately wished he could share." (Pg. 296-297)

She states that James learned of Charles Peirce's "destitute state... and rushed to rescue him. It was clear that Peirce needed money, and he set out to raise enough funds for a yearly pension of five hundred dollars... In the end, James managed to raise ample funds from contributors..." (Pg. 350-351) She notes, "Because James thought that he and [Bertrand] Russell shared philosophical interests... he was especially frustrated that Russell so adamantly misunderstood his ideas... Still, as much as he wanted to dismiss Russell's objections to his work, he believed that Russell... might help him to clarify ideas that he never, to his own satisfaction, managed to convey adequately." (Pg. 372-373)

This fascinating biography of an important American philosopher will interest philosophers, those interested in religious philosophy, and many others.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read James' Varieties of Religious Experience and the collection headlined by The Will to Believe, finding both books interesting, especially the latter. Both were based on lectures and, indeed, I learned that much of his published material, excepting his Psychology, was so based. What I did not get from this book, however, was any real sense of James as a philosopher or of what he meant by 'pragmatism'--a problem, apparently, for many of his contemporaries.

While weak on James' thought, this book does convey his personality--or at least a coherent representation of it and of its sources in terms of his family and his class background. What's remarkable is that both he and his brother, Henry, managed to achieve anything at all, all of the Jameses afforded the luxuries of wealth, all of them shaped by an extremely neurotic and domineering father. Their story is one of constant travel, constant moving from home to home, constant questing for health through one doctor or spa after another--and, in William's case, one medium after another.

While written well enough and an easy read overall, I'd not recommend this as a thorough biography of James owing to its weakness as regards his intellectual life which, after all, is why he's remembered.

[Elliot Ratzman · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you want an introduction to the thought of pragmatist Williams James, to the intellectual context of his time, this is definitely NOT the book to read. After 390 pgs you’ll have no idea why a biography of James was even warranted; the author provides no sense of his importance, significance or enduring attraction. It’s as if he’s an afterthought to his more famous brother Henry. The book is just about entirely stitched together from the thousands of letters between James and his family and friends, so we get a blow-by-blow of daily life, which seems to consist of mostly illness, European travel, children (also ill), minor gossip, bizarre obsessions with psychics and fad health cures. Though he was a beloved teacher, his students are cast as losers and sycophants. There are no more than a dozen fleeting pages focusing—superficially—on what he is actually know for: his books. By the end you get a sense he was a minor thinker, obsessed with his speaking fees, weighed down by illnesses.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.
This book is all I want, the ability to tell a story with clarity. I’m not one with much interest in a biography subject’s written works, I’m mainly interested in their personal life and history. And in this case the author has not delved overly deeply into William James’ works, which suited my preference.
Good work Linda Simon.

[Frank Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

has some photographs I haven't seen anywhere else
one is a photo at the home of Charles Richet, in which it looks for all the world like he's texting!

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book single handedly spawned a nearly yearlong obsession with all thing William James