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Abraham Tucker as an 18th-century William James: stream of consciousness, role of examples, and the importance of writing

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journal contribution
posted on 2013-10-15, 11:22 authored by Michael Billig
This article discusses the psychological writings of the neglected, eighteenth century English philosopher, Abraham Tucker. The article explores the similarities between Tucker’s work and that of William James. It is suggested that both share a humorous and humane style, which concentrates on exploring concrete examples, especially from everyday life, rather than constructing abstract theories. Moreover, there are a number substantive similarities. Tucker, like James, saw consciousness occurring over time as a river or stream. Both stressed the importance of habit for individual and social life; and both depicted the infant as being overwhelmed by sensation. Several reasons for Tucker’s neglect are suggested. He may have been ‘dethroning’ the ideal of the conscious, rational ego before the importance of unconscious thinking had gained currency. It is argued that in celebrating Tucker and James as psychologists, we are emphasising the importance of warm-hearted writing as against rigid theory and methodology.

History

School

  • Social Sciences

Department

  • Communication, Media, Social and Policy Studies

Citation

BILLIG, M., 2012. Abraham Tucker as an 18th-century William James: stream of consciousness, role of examples, and the importance of writing. Theory & Psychology, 22 (1), pp.114-129.

Publisher

© Sage

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publication date

2012

Notes

This article has been accepted for publication in the journal Theory & Psychology. The definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0959354311398518

ISSN

0959-3543

Language

  • en