William James in Focus: Willing to Believe

Title Page, Copyright, Dedication

William James in Focus AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY John J. Stuhr, editor EDITORIAL BOARD Susan Bordo Vincent Colapietro John Lachs Noëlle McAfee José Medina Cheyney Ryan Richard Shusterman William James in Focus William J. Gavin Indiana University Press BLOOMINGTON AND INDIANAPOLIS Willing to Believe This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 USA iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931© 2013 by William J. Gavin All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gavin, W. J. (William J.), [date] William James in focus : willing to believe / William J. Gavin. p. cm. — (American philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-253-00786-5 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-253-00792-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0253 -00795-7 (electronic book) 1. James, William, 1842– 1910. I. Title. B945.J24G385 2013 191—dc23 2012031813 1 2 3 4 5 18 17 16 15 14 13 For Cathy This page intentionally left blank Our mind is so wedded to the process of seeing an other beside every item of its experience, that when the notion of an absolute datum is presented to it, it goes through its usual procedure and remains pointing at the void beyond. —William James, “The Sentiment of Rationality” This page intentionally left blank ...