Be Not Afraid of Life

"In his review of Sick Souls, Healthy Minds (Princeton 2020), New York Times Book Review editor John Williams wrote: "I'd advise you to read Kaag's primer...But if you haven't read James himself, do that first. It's wonderful that he inspires intermediaries to bring his thought to modern-day readers, but his cogent and humane work doesn't strictly need intermediaries. He remains ready to help you directly." Williams is right: William James does not need to be translated by contemporary theorists in order to speak to our present age. Sometimes the best we can do for James is let him speak to us in his own words, in the way that has inspired more than a century of readers and teachers. The idea for this collection is the result of listening to Williams' wise suggestion: gather the very best and most accessible of James's writings, tie them tightly to an existentially motivating framework, and let the readers come. The essays and selections gathered here will be geared to our present age, to an age that craves meaning, but generally dismisses traditional ways of tapping life's significance. James was one of the first thinkers tarry with what might be called "the modern predicament," a culture-premised on overblown leisure, comfort, sophistication, and excess-that seems intent on being dissatisfied with itself. This collection will be structured to mirror the six chapters of Kaag's Sick Souls, Healthy Minds and be motivated by the same question: Is life worth living? The selections from Be Not Afraid of Life present James-the-existentialist, who rejects determinism, argues forcefully for human freedom, articulates a healthy-minded psychology, urges his readers to explore the stream of consciousness, presents a novel formulation of truth based on practical meaning, and never forecloses the possibility of mystical transcendence. In other words, this anthology gives us a thinker perfectly attuned to the concerns of our present day"--