The Principles of Psychology, Vol. I

By: William James

Narrated by: Christian Chapman

First published in 1890, this book established psychology as a science and served as the quintessential work in the field for decades. James' intricate studies and paradigm-shifting ideas transformed the way we look at human thought and action. The text covers the core concepts of what it means to be human - brain function, consciousness, discrimination, memory, sensation, imagination, reasoning, and instinct. Chapters on four central ideas - habit, stream of consciousness (stream of thought, as James put it), emotion, and will - remain the definitive treatments of the topics.

James' work influenced all major branches of psychology that followed, including psychoanalysis, Würzburg, gestalt, behaviorism, cognitive psychology, evolutionary psychology, and behavioral economics. No credible psychologist of the last hundred years fails to cite William James and the Principles of Psychology as a major influence.

The book is published in two volumes, the first containing Chapters I through XVI and the second continuing from XVII to XXVIII.

Note: This audio has been edited to normalize narration speed.

Public Domain (P)2018 New Classic Books

very enlightening

Found this book to be very straight forward, many of his insights were applicable to my own thinking

Read by narrator at a blistering pace.

Any additional comments?

Shame on the editor's of New Classic Books (if indeed there were any) for not moderating the breathtaking speed at which this great and timeless classic was read. I tried decreasing the speed on my phone to 0.75, but then the narrator sounds as if he were on Prozac. I have waited for years for this wonderful book to appear, which made it all the more painful to see it
read so as to make it almost unintelligible. Any competent editor, or narrator, would have realized the problem and made appropriate adjustments.

Mind Expanding

Despite outdated science, the philosophical discussion and insightful, penetrating writing style of James' investigation into Psychology make this a classic. Another reader complained of the speed of narration; you can change the speed in the Audible app. To me the narration was an exhilarating jump into the stream of thought of a genius.

Quintessential Psychology

What made the experience of listening to The Principles of Psychology, Vol. I the most enjoyable?

This is the foundation of all modern psychology and it is astounding to see how farseeing James was in his work. He deals with some pretty complex stuff, but has a knack for bringing the science into very accessible stories and explanations.

What does Christian Chapman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator seemingly effortlessly handles a variety of scientific, Latin, German, and French. Very talented!

A much needed reading

It was necessary for someone to do this. Mic quality not so good. James' writing style is not necessarily clear, and he likes to make things more specific by expanding single words into several word phrases. For example, "idea" he would translate to "thing thought of". It may have been better for him to invent a system of terms and definitions, which would sufficiently categorize his remarks (on his own work and the work of others), rather than making enormously qualified sentences. If he did this later in his work, it was not yet present in this one. This work represents a transition in the trend of psychology (in America, at least) from a humanities-centered mapping of symbolism and neurosis (a la Freud and Jung) to general neuroscience, cognition and brain physiology. The hard and practical character of James would have directed him in this line.