William James

William James

Philosopher, Psychologist

William James was a pioneering American philosopher and psychologist, known for his work on pragmatism and the psychology of belief.

Men Philosophy Truth Life Science Philosophical
Born
January 11, 1842
Died
August 26, 1910
Quotes
716
Rank
#130

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William James quotes (page 31 of 36)

716 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.

William James Philosopher, Psychologist
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"The total mental efficiency of a man is the resultant of the working together of all his faculties. He is too complex a being for any one of them to have the casting vote. If any one of them do have the casting vote, it is more likely to be the strength of his desire and passion, the strength of the interest he takes in what is proposed. Concentration, memory, reasoning power, inventiveness, excellence of the senses, all are subsidiary to this."

Memories Passion Men
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William James Philosopher, Psychologist
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"Religions have approved themselves; they have ministered to sundry vital needs which they found reigning. When they violated other needs too strongly, or when other faiths came which served the same needs better, the first religions were supplanted."

Religion Needs Firsts
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William James Philosopher, Psychologist
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"In my individual heart I fully believe my faith is as robust as yours. The trouble with your robust and full bodied faiths, however, is, that they begin to cut each others throats too soon, and for getting on in the world and establishing a modus vivendi these pestilential refinements and reasonablenesses and moderations have to creep in."

Believe Heart Cutting
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William James Philosopher, Psychologist
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"The stream of thought flows on; but most of its segments fall into the bottomless abyss of oblivion. Of some, no memory survives the instant of their passage. Of others, it is confined to a few moments, hours or days. Others, again, leave vestiges which are indestructible, and by means of which they may be recalled as long as life endures."

Memories Fall Mean
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"Sobriety diminishes, discriminates, and says no; drunkenness expands, unites, and says yes. Not through mere perversity do men run after it."

Running Men Sobriety
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William James Philosopher, Psychologist
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"If any one phrase could gather its (religion's) universal message, that phrase would be, - All is not vanity in this Universe, whatever the appearances may suggest."

Vanity Religion Would Be
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"We hear in these days of scientific enlightenment a great deal of discussion about the efficacy of Prayer. Many reasons are given why we should not pray. Others give reasons why we should pray. Very little is said of the reason we do pray. The reason is simple: We pray because we cannot help praying."

Prayer Science Simple
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William James Philosopher, Psychologist
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"So far war has been the only force that can discipline a whole community, and until an equivalent discipline is organized, I believe that war must have its way."

War Believe Discipline
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"From a pragmatic point of view, the difference between living against a background of foreigness (an indifferent Universe) and one of intimacy (a benevolent Universe) means the difference between a general habit of wariness and one of trust."

Mean Views Differences
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"If the topic be highly abstract, show its nature by concrete examples. If it be unfamiliar, trace some point of analogy in it with the known. If it be inhuman, make it figure as part of a story. If it be difficult, couple its acquisition with some prospect of personal gain. Above all things, make sure that it shall run through certain inner changes, since no unvarying object can possibly hold the mental field for long."

Running Couple Educational
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William James Philosopher, Psychologist
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"... I am the same personal being who in old times upon the Earth had those experiences."

Earth Reincarnation Old Time
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"To know an object is to lead to it through a context which the world provides"

Truth World Objects
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"However inadequate our ideas of causal efficacy may be, we are less wide of the mark when we say that our ideas and feelings have it, than the Automatists are when they say they haven't it. As in the night all cats are gray, so in the darkness of metaphysical criticism all causes are obscure. But one has no right to pull the pall over the psychic half of the subject only . . . whilst in the same breath one dogmatizes about material causation as if Hume, Kant, and Lotze had never been born."

Cat Night Ideas
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"The exercise of voluntary attention in the schoolroom must therefore be counted one of the most important points of training that take place there; and the first-rate teacher, by the keenness of the remoter interests which he is able to awaken, will provide abundant opportunities for its occurrence."

Teacher Philosophy Educational
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William James Philosopher, Psychologist
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"The war-function has grasped us so far; but the constructive interests may some day seem no less imperative, and impose on the individual a hardly lighter burden."

War May Individual
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William James Philosopher, Psychologist
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"Conversion is in its essence a normal adolescent phenomenon, incidental to the passage from the child's small universe to the wider intellectual and spiritual life of maturity."

Spiritual Children Maturity
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"In this real world of sweat and dirt, it seems to me that when a view of things is 'noble,' that ought to count as presumption against its truth, and as a philosophic disqualification. The prince of darkness may be a gentleman, as we are told he is, but whatever the God of earth and heaven is, he can surely be no gentleman."

Real Views Sweat
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"The first thing that intellect does with an object is to class it with something else."

Class Doe Firsts
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"Results should not be too voluntarily aimed at or too busily thought of. They are sure to float up of their own accord from a long enough daily work at a given matter."

Long Matter Enough
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