Ontology after Philosophical Psychology: The Continuity of Consciousness in William James's Philosophy of Mind [Hardcover]

Ontology after Philosophical Psychology addresses the question of William Jamess continuity of consciousness, with a view to its possible actualizations. In particular, Michela Bella critically delineates James's discourse. In the wake of Darwin's theory of evolution at the end of the nineteenth century, James's reflections emerged in the field of physiological psychology, where he developed for the case for a renewed epistemology and a new metaphysical framework to help us understand the most interesting theories and scientific discoveries about the human mind. Bellas analysis of the theme of continuity makes it possible to appreciate, both historically and theoretically, the importance of James's gradual transition from making observations of experimental psychology on the continuity of thought to developing an epistemological and ontological argument that continuity is a characteristic of experience and reality. This analysis makes it possible both to clarify James's position in relation to his historical context and to highlight the most original results of his work.Michela Bella is postdoctoral researcher at Universit? de Nantes.

It is obvious that Michela Bella has remarkably done justice to the central aims of the book : (1) to analyze the theme of continuity and (2) to illustrate the continuity of thought in James. . . . The scholarliness of the author is evident from the literature consulted and studied. She has painstakingly examined all the works of William James including reviews and correspondences and has consulted extensively the most relevant secondary literature. The thematic continuity and intellectual eruditeness of the work is greatly appreciable. . . . the academic profundity of this book exhibits the scope of a comparative scholarship of continuity between James and each of them. Bella has not attempted to find applications of Jamess view of continuity and dynamism. In fact, this work can be used as key source for future research anl"