The Relevance of William James' Radical Empiricism to the Anthropology of Consciousness
Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 1995 Charles Laughlin, John Mcmanus 12 citations
William James's lesser-known methodology, radical empiricism, demands that all scientific ideas be grounded in direct experience and that no experience be excluded from scientific inquiry. This paper outlines James's thoughts on radical empiricism, evaluates its strengths and problems in light of contemporary science, and offers a biogenetic structural elaboration of his concepts of relations and pure experience. This elaboration counters Jacques Derrida's post-structuralist critique. The relevance of James's views to the anthropology of consciousness is explored, emphasizing the necessity—anticipated by James—of merging phenomenology with structuralism.