Functionalism. Part B, William James Contribution, aspects of consciousness, Instincts and habits.

This is the 10 lecture part#2 functionalism.
the link of first part of functionalism given below.
• Functionalism.School o...
William James' contribution to functionalism Before we review the thoughts of some members of the school of functionalism, we too most consider the foundation provided by William James.
William James is probably the most important early American Psychologist. He established first American psychology lab at Harvard in 1875 (four years before Wundt's lab), however, his lab was for teaching/demonstration, not original research. In 1890, he published a highly influential textbook "The Principles of Psychology". In 1902 wrote Varieties of Religious Experience, which continues to be used and referenced today in Psychology of Religion studies.
The subject matter of psychology
James stated at the beginning of The Principles that "Psychology is the Science of Mental Life, both of its phenomena and their conditions". In terms of subject matter, the key words are phenomena and conditions. The teen phenomena is used to indicate that the subject matter of psychology is to be found in immediate experience; the term conditions refers to the importance of the body, particularly the brain, in mental life.
Pragmatism
In 1907 James published Pragmatism, overview of his Pragmatic philosophy. According to pragmatism, which is a cornerstone of functionalism, any belief, thought, or behavior most be judged by its consequences.
James on free-will
James argued that whether or not free-will can be objectively verified, it is unquestionably subjectively experienced and essential to human social life. Pragmatically, free-will is simply the conscious decision to accept one idea or enact one behavior when others could be accepted or enacted. Thus, one could consciously decide to believe in free-will and live life accordingly, thereby making free-will true. James' aspects of consciousness Consciousness is a continuous flow, and any attempt to divide it into temporally distinct phases can only distort it. James coined the phrase stream of consciousness to express this idea James argued against structuralism by pointing out that consciousness is: personal, continuous, constantly changing, variable, selective, and functional, all of which are ignored in reductionistic 'studies' of consciousness. I. Personal: it is each person's subject experience of life, no two conscious experiences are the same. A. .... 2. Continuous: it is not composed of distinct, independent elements. It is a constant, continuous flow which cannot be divided up for analysis. 3. Constantly Changing: Consciousness is changing. Even though consciousness is continuous and can be characterized as a steady stream from birth to death, it is also constantly changing. 4. Variable: no two conscious experiences are exactly the same, even of the same thing. 5. Selective: we only conscious of a small subset of what affects our senses. 6. Functional: the purpose of consciousness is to help us adapt to environment. Instincts and habits James did not believe that instinctive behavior is "blind and invariable." Rather, he believed that such behavior is modifiable by experience. Furthermore, he believed that new instinct-like patterns of behavior develop within the lifetime of the organism. James called these learned patterns of behavior habits. According to James, habits are formed as an activity is repeated. Repetition causes the same neural pathways to, from, and within the brain to become more entrenched, making it easier for energy to pass through those pathways. Thus, James had a neurophysiological explanation of habit formation, and his account of learning was very close to Pavlov's. The habits to which there is an innate tendency are called instincts; some of those due to education would by most persons be called acts of reason" (James, 1890). Habits are functional because they simplify the movements required to achieve a result, increase the accuracy of behavior, reduce fatigue, and diminish the need to consciously attend to performed actions. James believed we could consciously learn desired habits and eliminate undesirable ones achieving self-improvement "Act as you wish to become." ideo-motor theory of behavior According to this theory, neural events cause thought, thought drives behavior. Thus, on the mind-body question, James was an interactionist. Usually this is automatic, but consciousness can intervene. Such that attention focuses on one of several possible thoughts arising from simultaneous neural activity. The attended thought drives behavior. By practicing certain modes of thinking we can more effectively control our behavior.

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