James Angell

James Rowland Angell (1869–1949).James Rowland Angell was an American psychologist and educator known for his tenure as the 16th President of Yale University from 1921 to 1937. His father, James Burrill Angell (1829–1916), held presidency at the University of Vermont (1866–1871) and later at the University of Michigan (1871–1909).

Life

James Rowland Angell (1869–1949) was a prominent American psychologist and educator. He was born in Burlington, Vermont, into a distinguished academic family, with his father, James Burrill Angell, serving as president of the University of Vermont and later the University of Michigan. Angell studied psychology at the University of Michigan under John Dewey and at Harvard University under William James. He furthered his studies in Berlin and Halle.

Angell began his academic career at the University of Minnesota before joining the University of Chicago, where he made significant contributions to psychology as director of the psychological laboratory and later as head of the psychology department. He played a pivotal role in developing the functionalist approach to psychology and supervised influential psychologists like John B. Watson.

During World War I, Angell contributed to intelligence testing for the U.S. Army. He was elected president of the American Psychological Association in 1906 and served as editor of Psychological Monographs. In 1920, Angell became president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and in 1921, he assumed the presidency of Yale University, where he oversaw substantial campus expansions and innovations.

Angell's leadership at Yale included the completion of the residential college system and Sterling Memorial Library. After retiring from Yale in 1937, he became educational counselor at NBC, promoting cultural and educational programming on radio. He died in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1949.

Angell was married twice, first to Marion Isabel Watrous and later to Katharine Cramer Woodman. His legacy includes numerous publications in psychology and education, reflecting his profound influence on American higher education and psychology during the early 20th century.

Theoretical View

James Rowland Angell, influenced significantly by John Dewey's philosophy, was a key figure in functional psychology.

Angell's functionalism emphasized several key points:

Interest in Mental Operations: Functional psychology focuses on understanding mental activities and their relationship to broader biological functions. Angell argued that studying the evolution of mental operations in humans helps explain how these operations adapt to environmental conditions. He critiqued approaches that merely isolated mental elements without considering their functional significance.
Adaptation and Survival: Mental processes serve the organism by facilitating adaptive behaviors that help in coping with unfamiliar situations. Angell viewed mental functions as integral to the organism's survival and argued that understanding these functions required studying their role in behavioral habits and environmental interactions.
Holistic Approach: Angell rejected the separation of mind and body, advocating for a holistic approach that examines how mental operations interact with behavior and environmental conditions. He positioned functionalism as exploring the comprehensive relationship between organisms and their environments, emphasizing the functional role of the mind within this union.

Criticisms

Critique of Functionalism Over Structuralism: Angell's emphasis on functionalism, which focuses on the purpose and adaptive functions of mental processes rather than the structure of consciousness, drew criticism from proponents of structuralism. Structuralists believed in analyzing consciousness by breaking it down into its elemental components, which they argued provided a more rigorous approach to understanding mental processes.
Perception of Contradictions in Views on Consciousness: Some critics argued that Angell's views on consciousness were contradictory. They pointed out his description of consciousness as a functional entity that emerges during moments of crisis, likening it to a "deus ex machina" (a contrived or artificial solution to resolve a plot) in its function. Critics questioned whether this portrayal fully captured the complexity and continuous nature of consciousness.
Criticism from Donna Haraway: Donna Haraway, in her book Primate Visions: Gender, Race, and Nature in the World of Modern Science, discussed Angell's role in integrating university, industry, philanthropy, and science policy. She critiqued how these interconnections shaped the material structures and ideologies of scientific management in society, suggesting a broader societal critique rather than a direct criticism of Angell's psychological theories.

Works

Psychology: An Introductory Study of the Structure and Function of Human Consciousness: This textbook, published in 1904, is a seminal work in functional psychology. It explores how human consciousness functions and its role in adapting to the environment.
Chapters from Modern Psychology: This collection likely includes various essays and chapters authored by Angell on contemporary psychological topics. It reflects his contributions to advancing psychological thought during his career.
The Influence of Darwin on Psychology: This article, part of a larger collection titled Darwinism: Critical Reviews from Dublin Review, Edinburgh Review, Quarterly Review, examines how Darwin's theory of evolution influenced the development of psychological theories.
The Evolution of Intelligence: Published as part of The Evolution of Man: A Series of Lectures Delivered before the Yale Chapter of the Sigma Xi during the Academic Year 1921-1922, this work explores the evolutionary development of human intelligence.