A historical and philosophical analysis argues that mistrust of consciousness in early 20th-century psychology did not originate solely with behaviorism. William James, writing before John Watson's 1913 manifesto, already expressed unease about consciousness. James's critique stemmed from his opposition to perceptual elementarism—the view that mental states are composed of atomic sensory elements. He argued that just as no isolated sensory elements can be found in conscious experience, no pure consciousness can be separated from its contents. This argument relied on rejecting appeals to unconscious mental processes as unobservable, mirroring his skepticism about introspecting consciousness itself.
C. D. Broad developed three different accounts of time over his career. The shift from his second to third account was instigated by his engagement with precognitive dreams and the thought of John William Dunne. Fully appreciating Broad's interest in psychical research and precognitions is required for understanding the theory of time he defended in the second volume of Examination of McTaggart's Philosophy. Interpreting that work in light of Broad's engagement with Dunne can help remove inconsistencies in his third account.
Between 1940 and 1960, British analytic philosophers, particularly Casimir Lewy, applied linguistic analysis to psychical research—the study of telepathy, clairvoyance, ghosts, and communication with the dead. Lewy's early work marks a sustained effort to examine the meaning of language used by psychical researchers. This period is significant because it represents a unique chapter in analytic philosophy, focused on the language of psychical phenomena, and because the origins of analytic philosophy of religion are inseparable from this engagement with psychical research.