Sick Souls, Healthy Minds

by John Kaag

"In his diaries, the American philosopher and psychologist William James, for whom the personal and the philosophical were never far apart, recounted how in his late twenties he was confronted with existential despair regarding the issue of free will: do humans have the capacity to act freely and meaningfully? James famously decided that his "first act of free will is to believe in free will," and declared that, "if you can change your mind, you can change your life." This belief in the efficacy of ideas on our practical beliefs and actions would lead to James becoming one of the founders...