William James And John Dewey

In early American literature, religion is one of the more consistent as well as prevalent themes. This is primarily due to the fact that early settlers of the American colonies were seeking to escape religious persecution, as well as to find a place to freely develop and expand their religious convictions. Despite sharing common English heritage as well as branching from the Anglican and Catholic church, religious views on liturgy and deontological ethics differed greatly amongst the settlers. This can be seen in the works of John Winthrop and Roger Williams. While both men’s religious beliefs stemmed from the same roots, each held different opinions on how rigid religion and liturgy should be held throughout the community.

The history of psychology is in infancy at the present time. Many philosophers can be credited to the development of this science. Starting in the early 18th and 19th centuries philosophers such as Rene’ Descartes and John Locke opened the world of what we know as psychology today. The British empiricists also contributed to psychology. Some of these men include David Hume and David Hartley.

Psychology is defined by Merriam-Webster, as the science of mind and behavior. It is a study of how an individual's psyche can be created, developed, altered or destroyed. Carol Gilligan, a Harvard Graduate School professor, for many years has analyzed the psychological theory and development, specifically in a book entitled In A Different Voice.

The narratives of Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglas were nothing short of powerful as their unique resilience reflected a gruesome upbringing that would then influence audiences everywhere. Immediately the reader is introduced to the gendered distinctions in narratives as Douglas has letters and statements of prominent men reinforce the validity of his work while Jacobs is forced to create a pleading tone for acknowledgement of her experience as a female slave. Although slavery was an excruciating experience that unjustly plagued millions of African Americans, gender roles and constructs allowed for distinct offenses that forced women to experience unique abuse relative to their male counterparts. The narratives of Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglas reinforced the trials of slavery with examples of educational hardship, physical trauma and differing aspirations of freedom. These factors and a few others such as motherhood and masculinity influenced their legacy in context of slavery as a gendered experience.

Advancements and accomplishments are often the what documents our progression in history. Whether it be helping found the groundwork for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution or finding new uses for a farm product, they all come together to benefit the history of the United States of America. Benjamin Franklin and George Washington Carver were one of many to succeed in such progression. They helped shape the United States through their outstanding accomplishments in their innovative ideas and values.

Benjamin Franklin and John Winthrop—although having contrasting ideas of societal principles—both portray their visions and beliefs through their religious backings and their discussions and actions regarding charity. As Franklin aimed to portray and achieve a sense of individualism and self-discipline, and Winthrop worked to implicate a communal and interdependent society, both attempted to put these ideas into practice, ultimately reaching unexpected conclusions.

Self-respect is a difficult topic to define. It is often addressed and illustrated throughout fiction and history, yet the majority of people find it difficult to define in a way that isn’t shallow. Some might argue that self-respect is irrelevant and should not play a hand in the choices a person makes. Despite what others may say, it is an undeniable fact that individuals should always work to protect their personal pride. A person should always make decisions in an effort to maintain self-respect because it helps him to make good decisions in the future, preserve his own personal identity, and earn respect from those around him.

English settlements along the eastern seaboard later became the thirteen colonies which would form the US. To establish a presence in North America, England relied on private trading companies, one in particular, the Virginia Company, established the country’s first permanent settlement in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. Puritans, reformers who wished to “purify” the Church of England, settled in New England but their efforts lacked success and some wanted to split from the church. Among those who desired to split from the church were William Bradford and John Winthrop who both assisted in bringing new settlers to the colonies. The Puritans’ values of hard work, thrift, and responsibility led to thriving settlements and financial success.

During the 1800s, slaves received treatment comparable to that of livestock. They were mere possessions of white men stripped of almost every last bit of humanity in them. African-Americans were constricted to this state of mind by their owners vicious treatment, but also the practice of keeping them uneducated. Keeping the slaves illiterate hindered them from understanding the world around them. Slave owners knew this. The slaves who were able to read and write always rebelled more against their masters. Frederick Douglass, author of "A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," and Harriet Jacobs, author of "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," were prime examples. Both slaves had been taught how read and write at a young

Benjamin Franklin and John Winthrop, men with different ideals, present the same notion that America should be presented as a “city upon a hill.” Franklin believed that the American dream should be presented as an ideal where men and women are equal and can both move up in social class on their own, practicing any religion they desired. On the other hand, Winthrop believed that the new world was a religious safe haven only for the Puritans. American Exceptionalism was overall the main focus, guiding America to define itself as a special nation founded upon democratic values and liberty.

Associationism is interconnected with empiricism; an individual must undergo an experience in order to learn, retain, and recall that experience. This theory views the construct of ideas, not the soul, as how individuals learn (James, 1998, p. 141). The alternative to associationism was the spiritualist theory. This was also called the soul theory, or idealism, which had been exemplified by previous philosophers. Spiritualists view cognition, and memory as not requiring previous

William James’ book was entitled: Principles of Psychology which was published in 1890 and also established him as one of the greatest thinkers of his time.

William James was an American psychiatrist and philosopher, born in 1842 and touted as the leader of the philosophical movement of Pragmatism and of the psychological movement of functionalism (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014). James’ rebuttal to the Clifford’s Ethics of Believe, was the famed Will to Believe.

Another famous child psychologist of the 1900’s is Dewey (Cahan, 1992). He strongly believed that there are 2 psychologies, one social and one biological (Cahan, 1992). Dewey believes we are organisms in an environment and that they cannot be separated (Cahan, 1992). He was interested in the ways humans act in multiple social situations (Cahan, 1992). Dewey believed that the school environment

Psychology is not just philosophical speculation and reasoning over the years it has evolved and it is now also recognised as a science, to understand what psychology is all about it is necessary to know it’s origins and the theorist who brought it out of obscurity, Sigmund Freud. He developed the Psychodynamic or Psychoanalytical perspective to enable better understanding of human behaviour these concepts will be discussed further later in this study. After Freud opened the gateway other perspectives and approaches have been developed, now with five main areas of psychology - Cognitive, Behaviourist, Biopsychology and Humanist approaches. For a comparison with the Psychodynamic theory, Behaviourist Theory will be discussed.