Ally Brumfield - Final Blog Post

 Ally Brumfield

Final Blog post

Dilemma of Determinism

Chapter 1 of John Kaag’s Sick Souls Healthy Minds: How William James Can Save Your Life, Kaag talks about William James’s multiple career paths, how his father influenced his adventurous lifestyle, and how that lifestyle took a tole on his mental health later in life. Kaag makes us question if pursuing infinite possibilities is a good thing or if it leads to an inevitable longing for fulfillment. 

William James’s father, Henry, was raised by Calvinistic principles but later had a “religious crisis” after reading works by Emanuel Swedenborg, a “Lutheran mystic”(Kaag 14) of the eighteenth-century. This dictated how Henry would go on to raise William and his siblings. They were raised with an abundant amount of freedom and the only thing that was mandatory in their upbringings was that they could not limit their possibilities. Kaag said “He believed that the point of life wasn’t merely to make a living, to assume some narrowly circumscribed tasks and do it repeatedly day after day” (Kaag 14). When I first read this chapter for my presentation, I felt that this was contradictory. How could you not assume a “circumscribed task” but also constantly try to live life without boundaries or limitations? Is that not a task that you must subscribe to daily? After reading it again I realized that William addresses the contradiction by saying “as I know that this character cannot be forcibly imposed on him, but must be freely assumed, I surround him as far as possible with an atmosphere of freedom” (Kaag 15). This, to me, means that he wishes for his children to live a free life on their own, without his guidance, and he will only guide them by allowing the possibility of a life of freedom.

 

 Henry and William James

                  

                  As a teenager William wanted to be a painter and studied under William Hunt, a very talented painter of that time. His father, Henry, warned him not to narrow his options which William protested but his painting career did not last longer than a year. Kaag suggests that William is spoiled, not in a harsh way, it was simply an acknowledgement of his privileges. Kaag also mentions how too much free time, or free will, may lead to a very unfulfilling life, one that is meaningless. He says, “Thomas Hobbes might be right that leisure is the mother of philosophy, but leisure also…spawns morbid depression” (Kaag 18). I agree with this idea, and I think that this is what happened in William’s case. If you knew that you could do whatever you want in life and that you aren’t working towards one goal, do you think you would be happier? Do humans need a goal in life and once that goal is reached are they truly happy? These are questions that I asked myself while reading this chapter. I think that humans do need goals within their life and some type of guidance. The life that William’s father tried to provide for Henry does not provide enough structure. On the other hand, I think that humans should have multiple goals on life that lead up to a long-term goal, like a goal to be happy or finding what makes you happy. You could argue that this is what Henry wanted for William, but I think that if William found something that made him truly happy and that he wanted to commit to for the rest of his life, his father would still want him to explore. 

            Around the time of the civil war William’s younger brothers enlisted and William did not. This was because he was “a rather sickly young man with bad eyesight” (Kaag 19). Being enlisted during the Civil war represented manhood and gave men purpose. This was one of the first major limitations that William experienced throughout his life, not being able to fight for liberty, which was something that his family strongly valued. He tried to apply himself to sciences and become a doctor but his absence from the war continued to affect him. 

 

  Young William

 

 

            William was on a search for “meaningful work”, work that involved attention, exertion, and experience according to Ella Lyman Cabot. He decided to pause his medical studies and voyage to South America, to the Amazons. William was not built for the sea and was longing for the voyage to be over. He was not “robust enough” according to Kaag. After the voyage he returned to medical school and continued pursuing natural sciences. 

            During the late 1860s is when William encountered the idea of determinism, which is the idea that life is already predetermined and “suffered as one long, senseless tragedy” (Kaag 28). He then coined the term the “dilemma of determinism” which would end up being the cause of his mental health decay. In 1867 he took another break from medical school because of his health. He, again, was limited but this time he was a prisoner to his own body, with a lack of mobility.  This caused him to be further bothered by determinism and its ideals. I think that it hit him even harder because he grew up being allowed all the freedom in the world. The “dilemma of determinism” caused him to be suicidal, feeling as if that was the only way he can control his own fate.  

            He was able to get past this dark space. James said “the stronghold of deterministic sentiment is the antipathy to the idea of chance” (Kaag 36). He declared that determinism vitiates all moral judgments. Is he right? Is everything predetermined by nature or is free will and chance the driving force behind reality? I think that I have more of a pragmaticview on reality. Every action or decision has an effect on how we experience life. I think that we do have some type of control over what happens in our lives but there are certain things that are destined to happen because of our actions.