James, William

Cultural  

1. An American philosopher and psychologist of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was one of the first theorists to suggest that humans, like other animals, possess instincts. He also opposed then-dominant views by arguing that human identity is grounded not in metaphysics but in behavior.

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Novelist Henry James was William James's brother.

Example Sentences

Born in Pascagoula, Miss., on Christmas Day 1946, James William Buffett had wanderlust in his blood.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2023

St-Pierre said she won the free trip in a contest on Instagram and had never previously heard of the organizer, who identified himself on social media as James William Awad.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 6, 2022

James William Pressler Jr., who lived in Washington, was born in Kingston, N.Y., on Aug. 8, 1948.

From Washington Post • Jan. 4, 2022

Maricopa County prosecutors say 62-year-old James William Giannopoulos also was sentenced Wednesday to lifetime probation.

From Washington Times • Jun. 3, 2015

He had four sons, James, William, John and Alexander, who, inheriting the liberty-loving principles of that period, were all true patriots in the Revolutionary war.

From Sketches of Western North Carolina, Historical and Biographical by Hunter, C. L.