Abstract

This study deals with the philosophical import of Royce's psychological theories, as these lead to the development of an ethical concept of the self that receives expression in the philosophy of loyalty. I analyze the cognitive and social psychologies, with particular emphasis on the problem of their integration, as evidenced by Royce's sustained effort, from the early 1880's to the twentieth century, to harmonize the internal-temporal with the external-social aspects of selfhood. I hold that the solution to this problem comes through the elaboration of a logical definition of individuality that strongly relies on the psychology of attention. Of additional interest is the discussion of the philosophical import of certain little-known aspects of Royce's production, such as the psychology of imitation, the bearing of psychology on the interpretation of American problems and ideals, and the relation between originality, selfhood and the unconscious. This last topic includes a discussion of the influence of Royce's philosophy on the psychoanalytical theory and practice of James Jackson Putnam, leader of the Boston group of physicians and psychotherapists who introduced Freudian ideas in the U.S.A. ;The approach to Royce's thought from the perspective of psychology makes it possible to bring out the strength of his emphasis on the concrete and experiential aspects of life and the presence of a phenomenological vein running through his philosophy. This opens the way for us to envision his idealism as one that, seeking at all times to conquer the spirit of abstraction, was able to side-step two excesses: that of monism and that of atomism, by showing that an isolated individual is as much of an abstraction as a conceptual totality. Royce's concept of the human self aligns him against individualism and in favor of pluralism, because he starts out with the individual self, not the isolated self. It is on this basis that he is able to develop a psychosocial conception of selfhood that can sustain an ethics of freedom and individuality, and do justice as well to the moral requirement of allegiance to social goals