William James

American philosopher and psychologist — author of Principles of Psychology, The Varieties of Religious Experience, and Pragmatism — brother of Henry James — who created pragmatism and the first American psychology laboratory.

Creates pragmatism as a philosophical method — James's pragmatism (that the truth of an idea consists in its practical consequences, its 'cash value' in experience) is the most distinctly American philosophical contribution and anticipates much of 20th century philosophy of science.