Het thuis van interesse: de veelsoortigheid van het zelf in het werk van William James

This project examines the notions of self and identity in the work of the psychologist and philosopher William James along his career. Such analysis hopes to provide an original interpretation of James's writings in light of self-identity problem, and to allow further exploration into the terms of the question. In line with Locke's tradition, William James first describes self-identity as psychological continuity through the image of the "stream of thoughts". However, as his research evolves, he moves towards an understanding of identity where values and interests play a central role in shaping one's personality. Yet, values and interests are received, rather than created, by the individual through 'transformative' experiences, such as conversions, that modify one's mindset. Thus, the resulting account of self-identity is one where who we are is strictly related to what is most important for us.