Outstanding philosopher and psychologist, who was also a pioneer in psychical research in the United States. James began his long and distinguished career following his graduation from Harvard Medical School in 1869. Two years later, he became an instructor in anatomy and physiology at Harvard College, where he was deeply involved in the emergence of psychology as a science distinct from both philosophy and physiology. In 1890 he published his classic text, The Principles of Psychology, which established psychology as a lab science subject to experimentation. He then turned to philosophical concerns and wrote his important essays on pragmatism, his career culminating in his influential work, The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902).
James became interested in psychical research out of both psychological and philosophical concerns. He participated in the formation of the society for psychical research (1882) and served as its president for the 1884-85 term and vice-president from 1896 to his death. He was also active in the formation of the American society for psychical research (1885). In 1885 he became aware of Leonora Piper (1859-1950), a medium in Boston. Greatly impressed by his initial visit, he conducted extensive observations of her for a period of 18 months and felt that he had found in her significant evidence suggestive of human survival of bodily death. Piper, who lived into her 90s, would later be studied by a number of prominent researchers, and while many of the mediums would be caught in fraudulent activity, Piper’s reputation has survived as one of the more extraordinary subjects of psychical research.