The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America Chapter Summary & Analysis - Part 2, Chapter 4 The Man of Two Minds, Section 3 Summary

Part 2, Chapter 4 The Man of Two Minds, Section 3 Summary

The reader gets an overview of the life of William James' father, Henry James Sr. By doing this, the author shows how Henry Sr. rebelled against his own father, his father's religion and took to Swedenborgism. Henry Sr. was given to excesses in his youth, which almost caused him to lose everything. It should be noted that Henry Sr. changed his mind continually when something came along that coincided with his views better. He seems to have taken a little bit of several religions to come up with his final belief system. His radical religious beliefs were bound to have an effect on his children. This section also explains that Emerson was a good friend of the James.' The two men both disliked institutionalization and systems. However, that is about as far as their agreements went, even though their respect for one another went much further.