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Origins of self-help
Christian Century, Oct 30, 2007
ORIGINS OF SELF-HELP: It has been 100 years since the publication of William James's Pragmatism. Before it appeared, James boasted to his brother Henry that he wouldn't be surprised if the book would be "rated as epoch-making." Indeed, James's work on pragmatism started a philosophic revolution.
Because James believed in other realms of consciousness and that higher energies can be harnessed for human empowerment, he might also be considered the father of modern self-help spirituality. "The ecumenism of the self-help genre is also quintessentially Jamesian," says Theo Anderson. For James, "spirituality is presented as an unmediated relationship between the individual and the divine. Institutions only get in the way" (Wilson Quarterly, Summer).
COPYRIGHT 2007 The Christian Century Foundation
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning
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