Autograph Manuscript Letter Signed by William James Sent to Mr. Washburn
Cambridge: n.p., 1908. Loose_leaf. Single sheet of William James' stationary with James' handwriting on both sides. 21 cm x 13 cm. James' home address at the top of the sheet. The text of the letter reads: "Jan 13. 08 / Dear Mr. Washburn, You are evidently a first-rate "psychometrist" and clairvoyant. I wish that you might get down to some methodical work with some one 'scientific" enough to carry public weight as a witness. As for the Yogi student, the man introduced was Prof [Wincenty] Lutoslawskiwho was lecturing at the Lowell Insti-tute. He told very little about yoga and I am sur-prised to hear of any one having started to try it, as a conse-quence of his lecture. He is now in California. I take no personal "stock" in yoga myself, and am not res-ponsible for what happens to experimenters. Truly yours, William James." This letter was not included in the 1920 published collection of James' letters (published by The Atlantic Monthly Press). A sardonic letter from the famous philosopher and psychiatrist, in which the author throws up his hands and makes clear that he does not buy into all of the touted benefits of yoga. The professor to whom James refers, Lutoslawki, wrote the first Polish handbook on yoga (published in 1909). James writes in his 1907 paper, "The Energies of Men", that Lutoslawski practiced yoga in order to help his mental health (what James referred to as neuroses, alternating periods of crippling lethargy and then extreme activity). While James concedes in this paper that Lutoslawski's condition greatly improved after his adoption of yoga into his daily routine, James credits this improvement to the power of positive thinking or self-suggestion (a placebo effect). This letter reflects some of his views espoused in that paper. The letter was written about two and a half years before the philosopher died in 1910. An original manuscript that illustrates a tension between eastern and western philosophy, and between science and mysticism. Very Good. Item #000017206
Light wear to the leaf's edges.
Price: $3,000.00