How did William James use the term multiverse differently from modern cosmologists?

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Discover the difference between the observable universe and the whole universe — Multiverse Learn about the distinction between the observable universe and the whole universe.

The term "multiverse" was coined by the American philosopher William James in 1895, but he used it in a context entirely distinct from modern cosmology.

While modern cosmologists use the term to describe a hypothetical collection of diverse physical universes—often involving proliferating space-times, quantum mechanical "many worlds," or varying physical constants—James originally employed the word to address the confusing moral meaning of natural phenomena. He was not referring to the existence of other physical universes, but rather to the philosophical and ethical complexities of the world as we experience it.1