L'idée du soi et l’éthique de l’autobiographie dans la pensée de William James

The thesis is devoted to the study of the links between subjectivity, biography, autobiography, psychology and moral philosophy in the works of William James. It makes use of various elements, in history of science, in evolutionary biology, in scientific and clinical psychology, in philosophy, in order to deal with the question of the relationships between subjectivity and objectivity in a scientific as well as moral perspective. In the first chapter, the education of the young James, his travels and encounters, and especially his knowledge of the controversies about evolution are described. The following chapter is devoted to Alice James’ case, the relationship between William and Alice illustrates the central problem of the thesis, how the subjective and the objective viewpoints are intertwined. The difference between objective and subjective viewpoints is overcome in Alice James’ practice of autobiographical writing, a practice which poses the problem of the unity or plurality of the self. This problem is dealt with in the third chapter, devoted to the idea of the self in The Principles of Psychology, and to the attempt at establishing psychology as a natural science. The Darwinian perspective leads to the idea of the brain's evolution and of its functional abilities. The theory of the stream of consciousness allows creating the link between subjectivity and objectivity, mind’s spontaneity and contingent variation of brain’s activity. Le last chapter is devoted to the study of The Varieties of Religious Experience and to James’ attempt at establishing a science of religion along the line of his central problem of the link between subjectivity and objectivity. The conclusion presents radical empiricism and pluralistic universe as the next stages of James’ reflection.