In “Children's Ways” by James Sully, the author delves into the fascinating and complex world of childhood, exploring the unique perspectives, imaginative capacities, and developing minds of children. Sully's work, presented here in excerpted form, offers a comprehensive look at various aspects of child psychology, from their imaginative play and engagement with stories, to their language acquisition, their serious attempts to understand the world, their grappling with fears, and the emerg...

One of the few things we seemed to be certain of with respect to child-nature was that it is fancy-full. Childhood, we all know, is the age for dreaming; for living a life of happy make-believe. Even here, however, we want more accurate observation. For one thing, the play of infantile imagination is probably much less uniform than is supposed. There seem to be very serious children who rarely, if ever, indulge in a wild fancy. Mr. Ruskin has recently told us that when a child he was incap...

One of the few things we seemed to be certain of with respect to child-nature was that it is fancy-full. Childhood, we all know, is the age for dreaming; for living a life of happy make-believe. Even here, however, we want more accurate observation. For one thing, the play of infantile imagination is probably much less uniform than is supposed. There seem to be very serious children who rarely, if ever, indulge in a wild fancy. Mr. Ruskin has recently told us that when a child he was incap...

A writer who undertakes to discourse on laughter has to encounter more than one variety of irritating objection. He finds to his dismay that a considerable part of his species, which has been flatteringly described as the laughing animal, has never exercised its high and distinguishing capacity. Nay, more, he soon learns that a good many oppose themselves to the practice and are laughter-haters. This kind of person ( μισόγελως) is so possessed with the spirit of seriousness that the opposi...

This book deals with the cause and psychology of laughter.“We laugh under the most diverse circumstances. Curious incidents of the most various character, some absurdly trifling and others rising into different degrees of importance, will provoke the feeling that prompts laughter, or the emotion of the ludicrous; for it is this with which we have to do, rather than with the audible explosion. Our inquiry is into the interior cause, into the moral element in the incident that provoke...

The present volume takes a wide survey of the field of error, embracing in its view not only the illusions of sense dealt with in treatises on physiological optics, etc., but also other errors familiarly known as illusions, and resembling the former in their structure and mode of origin. I have throughout endeavoured to keep to a strictly scientific treatment, that is to say, the description and classification of acknowledged errors, and the explanation of these by a reference to their psy...

In "Illusions: A Psychological Study," James Sully embarks on a profound exploration of the interplay between perception and reality. Drawing on contemporary psychological theories and philosophical inquiries, Sully delves into the mechanisms of human thought and the nature of illusion. With a literary style that is both accessible and intellectually rigorous, this work fits within the late 19th-century context of burgeoning psychological research, where the boundaries between science and ...

The following Studies are not a complete treatise on child-psychology, but merely deal with certain aspects of children’s minds which happen to have come under my notice, and to have had a special interest for me. In preparing them I have tried to combine with the needed measure of exactness a manner of presentation which should attract other readers than students of psychology, more particularly parents and young teachers.A part of these Studies has already appeared elsewhere. The Introdu...

Delve into the fascinating world of child development with "Children's Ways" by James Sully. This insightful book offers a comprehensive look into the behavioral patterns, emotions, and cognitive processes of children. Sully masterfully blends scientific observation with tender understanding, revealing the hidden intricacies of a child’s mind.Sully’s work explores the playful, curious, and often unpredictable ways children perceive and interact with the wor...

…The present volume takes a wide survey of the field of error, embracing in its view not only the illusions of sense dealt with in treatises on physiological optics, etc., but also other errors familiarly known as illusions, and resembling the former in their structure and mode of origin. I have throughout endeavoured to keep to a strictly scientific treatment, that is to say, the description and classification of acknowledged errors, and the explanation of these by a reference to their ps...

…The present volume takes a wide survey of the field of error, embracing in its view not only the illusions of sense dealt with in treatises on physiological optics, etc., but also other errors familiarly known as illusions, and resembling the former in their structure and mode of origin. I have throughout endeavoured to keep to a strictly scientific treatment, that is to say, the description and classification of acknowledged errors, and the explanation of these by a reference to their ps...

In "An Essay on Laughter: Its Forms, Its Causes, Its Development and Its Value," James Sully embarks on an intellectual exploration of laughter, dissecting its multifaceted nature through a psychological and philosophical lens. Sully employs meticulous analysis, integrating empirical observations with theoretical musings, all while engaging with the broader literary context of Victorian thought, where emotion and reason often intersected. This essay not only categorizes the different forms...