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American psychology before William James has generally been regarded as either non-existent (Cattell) or of little significance (Baldwin, Brett, Murphy). The present volume by Jay Wharton Fay is an attempt to show that neither estimate is justified. Much depends, however, on one's definition of psychology. Mr. Fay's point of view is that there was a science of mind long before Wundt and that, though this science may have been strongly linked to metaphysics and ethics, it made permanent contributions to our understanding of mental processes as well as psychological theory. Admitting this, one must agree with Mr. Fay that American psychology before William James is more a neglected than a negligible field.
American interest in psychology began in colonial days (1735) and, while this interest was influenced at all times by European philosophers, particularly those of the Scottish school, it manifested a vitality of its own. From the start American writers seem to have been interested in practical applications. In the colonial period, these applications were closely bound up with theology, in the eighteenth century with ethics, and in the nineteenth century with problems of education. In the last period much of the writing was in the form of text-books. Many of these turned out to be excellent manuals and some, like The Human Intellect by Noah Porter (1811-1892), gained wide recognition and were used abroad. Moreover, a number of important modern psychological concepts and points of view were first developed if not announced by early American psychologists. Thus, ante-dating Watson by more than fifty years, James Rush not only gave expression to the basic ideas of behaviourism but published a lengthy study in defence of what is now desribed as the sub-vocal theory of thought. After the Civil War American writers became very much interested in the educational field and it was one of them (Louisa Parsons Hopkins) who first introduced the term educational psychol