(1890) William James
I really wonder how much Philosophy of Mind (which is what, as far as I can tell, this mostly is) has subsequently progressed. Particularly notable is James’ attack on Associationism – the notion that ideas are compounded out of elemental constituents. Reductionism has not just been vehemently applied to the question of the relationship between the Mental and Physical realms – but also within the realm of the Mental itself. Associationism is, par excellence, an application of the reductionist thinking that seems to tempt many a human mind wherever it turns its attention.