Toronto's "Other" Original APA Member: James Gibson Hume

Green, Christopher D. (2002) Toronto's "Other" Original APA Member: James Gibson Hume. Canadian Psychology 43(1):pp. 35-45.

Abstract

It is well known that James Mark Baldwin held a position at the University of Toronto when he assisted in the formation of the American Psychological Association in 1892, but the proceedings of the preliminary organizational meeting of the APA, held in July of that year, include the name of second Torontonian as well, that of one J. G. Hume. The present paper outlines the career of James Gibson Hume, who studied with G. Stanley Hall, William James, and Hugo Münsterberg, and who headed the Philosophy Department at the University of Toronto for over 30 years. He was by no means a great or influential philosopher or psychologist, but the study of his life gives one some insight into what a more common philosopher-psychologist was doing and thinking during the time that Hall, James, Münsterberg, and others were revolutionizing both disciplines.