What William James thinks about creativity

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American philosopher and psychologist (1842 to 1910); studied at Harvard; author of The Principles of Psychology (1890), The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) and Pragmatism (1907).

William James did not write this page.

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Only William James on creativity. See everyone on creativity

2 dated positions, c. 1906–1907, in their own words. Our reading of what William James has said — not written or endorsed by them.

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1. c. 1906–1907

   Our readingFree will means real novelty: the future may not simply repeat the past

   Their wordsFree-will pragmatically means NOVELTIES IN THE WORLD, the right to expect that in its deepest elements as well as in its surface phenomena, the future may not identically repeat and imitate the past.

   ↗Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking (1907)gutenberg.org All 20 from this book

3. c. 1906–1907

   Our readingIn knowing as in acting, people are creative and add to reality

   Their wordsIn our cognitive as well as in our active life we are creative. We ADD, both to the subject and to the predicate part of reality.

   ↗Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking (1907)gutenberg.org All 20 from this book