A Pluralistic Universe

Originally delivered as a set of lectures at Manchester College "On the Present Situation in Philosophy," "A Pluralistic Universe" is a classic of philosophical thought. In it, William James explores the ideas of many philosophical contemporaries. Most notably James explores the idea of Gustav Fechner that "the whole universe in its different spans and wave-lengths, exclusions and developments, is everywhere alive and conscious." Put more simply James believes that from the myriad consciousnesses of the world comes a "consciousness of still wider scope." It is this idea that forms the basis for the philosophy of Pluralism.